Proposed Retreat district separation could lower estimated 2027 levy by $98.87
A city comparison puts the district levy about 5% lower under a separate plan; City Council is scheduled to consider the proposal Oct. 27.
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The city estimates that separating Banning Lewis Ranch Metropolitan District No. 5 from the ranch’s consolidated service plan would lower the district’s estimated 2027 levy for an average home in The Retreat by $98.87. The change would not itself change residents’ taxes; City Council has not approved the proposal and is scheduled to consider it Oct. 27, 2026.
The comparison puts the levy at $1,880.62 per average home under a separate plan, compared with $1,979.49 under the consolidated plan, a city response to Council member questions says. The estimates use El Paso County assessed values dated Aug. 26, 2026, for taxes collected in 2027. The operating-levy estimate is lower under the proposal; the estimated debt levy is the same. These figures cover District 5’s levy, not a homeowner’s full tax bill.
District 5 serves The Retreat, a 55-and-older community. Under the proposed service plan, the district would manage private-road and park maintenance, recreation, weekly trash pickup, snow removal, stormwater-pond upkeep and property-covenant enforcement. The City would take over water and sewer lines, streetlights, utility infrastructure and fire hydrants. The plan says the separation would not change the district’s services or obligations shared with other districts.
The proposal would set maximum levies of 50 mills for debt and 20 mills for residential operations; these are proposed caps, not current tax rates. It would generally limit residential debt levies to 40 years, bar sales taxes and end-user debt-service fees, and cap total debt at the original amount of the district’s 2018 bonds, with specified refinancing exceptions. In a specified circumstance, the plan would allow a higher debt levy with City Council approval. Bond counsel concluded that approving the plan would not impair the bonds’ security, in an opinion submitted to the City.
The city response lists $9.448 million in bond principal and about $1.509 million in accrued interest outstanding at the end of 2025. Those are outstanding balances, not new borrowing under the proposal.
A draft resolution would find the proposed plan consistent with the City’s broader special-district policy and model plan. The draft resolution is not an approval.