I paid Mello-Roos on my Eastlake Hills home for 25 years, and then it ended. That's true for some Eastlake homes and not for others. Here's how it really works in Eastlake, and how to look up any address in about ten minutes.
By Betty Torano, REALTOR® · Eastlake resident since 1987 · Last reviewed October 8, 2026
Mello-Roos appears on your county property tax bill, on top of the regular 1% tax and separate from HOA dues.
School, city and maintenance districts can all appear, depending on the parcel.
Bond-funded taxes can end. City open space charges are designed to be permanent.
Check the tax bill for the specific parcel, not the neighborhood name.
Mello-Roos comes from California's Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982. After Proposition 13 capped property taxes in 1978, cities and school districts needed another way to pay for schools, roads, parks and infrastructure in brand-new communities. The answer was the Community Facilities District, or CFD: a defined area where property owners pay a special tax that funds those improvements.
Eastlake was one of South County's first big master-planned communities, built in phases starting in the 1980s. The schools, parkways and landscaped open space that make Eastlake feel like Eastlake were largely paid for this way.
“When my family moved in during 1987, we paid Mello-Roos in addition to our regular property taxes and HOA dues. Mello-Roos was a brand-new idea back then, and plenty of people questioned it. In the end, we signed on, it was simply the cost of a brand-new community.”Betty
Buyers often lump these together. They're billed differently, pay for different things, and end (or don't) on different schedules.
| Charge | Who collects it | What it pays for | Does it end? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base property tax | San Diego County, on your tax bill | General government services (about 1% of assessed value, plus voter-approved bonds) | No |
| Mello-Roos (CFD) special tax | The district that formed it, on your tax bill | Schools, roads and other facilities, or ongoing services | Bond-funded taxes can end; service taxes may not |
| Open space / maintenance assessment | City of Chula Vista, on your tax bill | Landscaping, irrigation, lighting and open space upkeep | Designed to be permanent |
| HOA dues | Your Eastlake I, II or III association (and any sub-association), billed directly | Common areas, amenities and association operations | No |
Your base property tax is recalculated from your purchase price, but Mello-Roos isn’t based on value. Mello-Roos stays with the home no matter how many times it sells, from the first owner who bought from the builder to every owner after. It changes only by any annual increase the district allows, until the tax ends.
These are the districts I see most often on Eastlake tax bills. Which ones apply depends on the exact parcel, so treat this as a map of what to look for, not a list of what you'll pay.
Sweetwater Union High School District has used Mello-Roos districts since 1986 to help pay for school facilities, and its first district, CFD No. 1, is named Eastlake.
Chula Vista Elementary School District also uses CFDs to help pay for elementary school facilities, mainly in newer areas. Rates for both are set every year.
The “M” stands for maintenance. CFD 07M funds ongoing upkeep of public landscaping and open space in the Woods and Vistas area, rather than construction.
Formed in 1986 to maintain open space in Eastlake Hills, Shores, the Village Center, Business Center and northern Greens: parkway landscaping, irrigation, lighting and open space lots. Five zones, so amounts vary. Increases are limited by Proposition 218.
Other city districts and county or water charges, depending on when and where the home was built. The tax bill is the only reliable list.
Repays construction bonds. Once the bonds are paid off and the district's obligations are met, the tax can stop. That's what happened with our Eastlake Hills home after 25 years. Newer neighborhoods were built later, so their districts generally have more years left.
The City of Chula Vista set up its open space districts “to ensure financing for perpetual maintenance of public open space areas,” so they're designed to stay. Annual increases are capped at the lower of the San Diego CPI and California's per-capita income index unless owners vote for more.
When I pulled up my current bill, there were no Mello-Roos (CFD) lines left. It still lists several other fixed charges from the city, county and water agencies, such as EASTLK MAINT #1 ZN A for $18.52 (Eastlake Maintenance District #1, Zone A, the city's open space maintenance assessment) and CWA WTR AVAILABILITY, a water availability charge.
None of those are Mello-Roos. They're ordinary fixed charges, and the maintenance assessment is part of why our parkways still look the way they do.
Go to the San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector at sdttc.com, search by address or parcel number (APN), and open the current secured tax bill.
Look past the 1% base tax and voter-approved bonds to the fixed charges and special assessments. Read each line's name rather than relying on the section heading.
“What is the current annual amount for this parcel?” and “When is this tax scheduled to end, if ever?”
Use the district's special tax site at specialdistricttransparency.com/suhsd.
California Civil Code §1102.6b requires sellers to make a good-faith effort to get this notice from each agency that levies a Mello-Roos tax and give it to the buyer. It usually arrives during escrow with the seller’s other disclosures. Your preliminary title report lists these districts too.
Or send me the address. I'm happy to look it up with you →
This guide is general information to help you ask the right questions. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm amounts and end dates for a specific property with the agency that levies each tax, and talk to a tax professional about your situation.
Yes. Mello-Roos taxes come from Community Facilities Districts (CFDs). In Eastlake these include Sweetwater Union High School District's CFD No. 1 (Eastlake), which funds school facilities, and the City of Chula Vista's CFD 07M, a maintenance district for the Woods and Vistas. Some original neighborhoods have paid off their school Mello-Roos. Separately, the city's Open Space District 101 (Eastlake Maintenance District #1) is an assessment district, not Mello-Roos, even though the county lists it with the CFD charges. Which ones apply depends on the exact parcel.
Some original neighborhoods have paid off their school Mello-Roos. My Eastlake Hills home paid it for 25 years and then it ended. You may still see a small city open space maintenance assessment on the bill. That is not Mello-Roos, and it is designed to continue permanently.
It is the City of Chula Vista's Eastlake Maintenance District #1 (Open Space District 101), which pays for open space and parkway landscaping, irrigation and lighting in Eastlake Hills, Eastlake Shores, the Village Center, the Business Center and the northern portion of Eastlake Greens. The "ZN" letter is your zone. The county may list it with the CFD charges, but it is a city maintenance assessment, not a Mello-Roos tax.
Look up the property tax bill at sdttc.com, find the special tax and assessment lines, and call the agency listed for each one to ask the current amount and end date. Buyers should also watch for the Notice of Special Tax, which usually arrives during escrow with the seller’s other disclosures.
No. Mello-Roos is a special tax on your county property tax bill. HOA dues are billed separately by your association.
No. Mello-Roos is set by each district’s formula, often per home or by square footage, not by the price you pay. Your base property tax is reassessed when you buy, but Mello-Roos stays with the home through every sale. It changes only by any annual increase the district allows, until the tax ends.
It can. Many districts allow a set annual increase, and City of Chula Vista open space assessment increases are capped at the lower of two published inflation measures unless property owners approve more. Ask the agency for the formula for your district.
Yes. California Civil Code §1102.6b requires sellers to make a good-faith effort to get the Notice of Special Tax from each agency that levies a Mello-Roos tax on the home and give it to the buyer. It usually arrives during escrow with the seller’s other disclosures.
I've watched Eastlake's districts start, change and end for nearly 40 years. Tell me the home you're curious about, whether you own it or you're thinking of buying it, and I'll help you find exactly what's on the bill and when it ends.
