The smallest floor plan at Morada at Vinedo comes with $5,650 a year in special taxes. That holds whether the home sells for the $729,900 the city's bond disclosure estimated or for the "high $600,000s" Trumark Homes advertised when sales opened in May 2026. The figure comes from the preliminary official statement for the 2025 special tax bonds the City of Paso Robles sold to fund Vinedo's infrastructure. It projects a 1,409-square-foot Plan 1 paying $4,996 to Community Facilities District No. 2022-1N and $654 to CFD No. 2022-2N, on top of ordinary property tax.
So the listing price at Vinedo and the amount you'll pay to live there move separately. Lowering the price doesn't touch the special tax line. For anyone comparing a new home in east Paso Robles with a resale across town, that one fact matters more than any median price.
The tax is set by square feet, not dollars
Vinedo sits within the Olsen/South Chandler Ranch Specific Plan off Linne Road. Its facilities district is split into zones, and each home's assigned special tax depends on its living area. Under the amended rate schedule in the bond document, Zone 1 homes run from $5,438 a year for under 1,700 square feet up to $9,466 for 2,900 square feet or more. Zone 2 runs from $4,996 for under 1,600 square feet up to $5,721 for 2,100 square feet or more.
The sale price doesn't appear anywhere in that formula. Here is how the city's projections work out for Morada's four plans, using the estimated lowest prices from the bond document's appraisal data:
| Morada plan | Living area | Est. lowest price | Special taxes per year | Total est. annual tax | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | 1,409 sq. ft. | $729,900 | $5,650 | $13,654 | 1.8707% |
| Plan 2 | 1,990 sq. ft. | $779,900 | $6,289 | $14,847 | 1.9037% |
| Plan 3 | 2,087 sq. ft. | $794,990 | $6,289 | $15,014 | 1.8886% |
| Plan 4 | 2,584 sq. ft. | $839,900 | $6,375 | $15,597 | 1.8570% |
The tiers flatten as homes get bigger. Plan 4 has nearly 1,200 more square feet than Plan 1 but pays only $725 more a year in facilities tax. Per square foot, the smallest home carries the heaviest charge, about $3.55 in facilities tax against roughly $2.21 for the largest. Plans 2 and 3 fall in the same tier, so the extra 97 square feet in Plan 3 adds nothing to the special tax.
When the City Council formed the district in June 2022, its staff report estimated special taxes of $4,200 to $7,500 a year and a total tax rate of 1.70% to 1.90% of assessed value at purchase. The 2025 bond projections land near the top of that range.
What a price cut changes, and what it leaves alone
Ordinary property tax follows the price. The special taxes stay where they are. That's the mechanism behind the second price tag.
In Paso Robles city tax-rate areas, the general ad valorem rate for fiscal year 2025-26 is 1.10731%. That's the 1% base plus voter-approved bonds for the city, Cuesta College, Paso Robles Joint Unified and the school facilities district, according to the San Luis Obispo County tax rate book.
At that rate, every $10,000 off a Vinedo price saves about $111 a year in ordinary tax and nothing in special taxes. So a discount raises the effective rate. If Plan 1 sells anywhere in the high $600,000s instead of the bond document's $729,900 estimate, the share of the price going to tax each year rises above 1.9%. The buyer gets a lower purchase price and keeps the same fixed charge.
Here's another way to measure the $5,650. At the city's general rate, that's the ordinary tax on about $510,000 of assessed value. And Plan 1's full projected bill of $13,654 equals what a resale home outside a district would pay at a taxable value of about $1.23 million.
None of this makes Vinedo a worse buy. A new home with new systems, an optional ADU on three of Morada's four floor plans, and a builder warranty may be worth the trade.
The terms behind the tax line
Because both taxes appear on the county property tax bill, they're easy to read as one number. They work differently:
- CFD 2022-2N, services. The rate schedule set a maximum of $582 per home in fiscal 2022-23. Each July 1 it rises by the change in the Consumer Price Index or 2%, whichever is greater, up to 5%. The bond document projects $654.
- CFD 2022-1N, facilities. This tax repays the bonds. The rate schedule says it will be levied as long as needed to cover the district's requirement, and in no case after fiscal year 2073-74.
- Prepayment. Owners can prepay the facilities tax in full or in part under formulas in the amended rate schedule, subject to the city's approval process.
- Neighbor delinquencies. Under state law cited in the bond document, the special tax on a residential parcel can't rise more than 10% in a given year because other owners in Improvement Area No. 1 fail to pay.
The facilities bonds themselves are recent. Bond Buyer's negotiated-sale results list the Improvement Area No. 1 issue at $13.42 million, dated December 23, 2025. The city has said the bonds are secured by liens on the individual properties in the district and do not become a debt of the city.
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm how these taxes apply to a specific parcel with your escrow officer, tax professional or lender.
What the tax buys, and the part still waiting on financing
The two districts pay for different things. City agenda reports from fall 2025 say CFD 2022-1N funds backbone infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer, while CFD 2022-2N funds ongoing services, including roads, parks, open space, and emergency and community services.
The amenities that sell Vinedo are a separate matter. Trumark's May 2026 announcement describes a 280-acre community with a pool house, the Farmstand, the Overlook recreation center with an event barn, spa and clubhouse fitness center, 48 acres of parks and more than eight miles of trails. The release calls these "planned."
A month earlier, KSBY reported that work on the Planning Area 13 portion of Vinedo had stopped. City Community Development Director Warren Frace told the station that STG LLC, the PA-13 developer, had notified the city earlier in the year that it had lost construction financing and would stop work while the project was refinanced. A local framing contractor told KSBY his crew had been hired to frame 230 units there. The station also reported that the pool, gym and yoga room were incomplete, with a finish date tied to the refinancing timeline, and that project owner Rand Sperry said those amenities would be the first completed once funding was secured. The city said it would give another funding update on May 1.
PA-13 is a different section from Morada, which the bond document identifies as Planning Area 3, and none of these sources ties Morada's planned amenities to the PA-13 refinancing. The bond document does flag a related risk for the builders' own sections, though. For Trumark's Planning Area 3, it lists equity, completed-home sale proceeds and commercial financing as funding sources. For Shea's Planning Area 15, it lists equity and completed-home sale proceeds. For both, it warns that no one is legally obligated to fund the remaining development.
Under the rate schedule, the facilities tax is set by zone and floor area once a home is classified as developed. Planned amenities depend on private funding. The same document counted 23 homes at Shea's Nevina, the 55+ single-story collection, conveyed to owners as of November 1, 2025. Shea's current Vinedo page lists Nevina from $754,490.
Questions to bring to the Vinedo sales office
- Which zone and tier is this lot in, and what is the assigned special tax for this floor plan in the current fiscal year?
- What is the current CFD 2022-2N services tax, and when did it last increase?
- What does the prepayment formula show for this parcel today?
- What's the status of the pool house and the Overlook, and is there a written completion date for each? Where does Planning Area 13 stand today?
- What are the HOA dues, and what do they cover that the services district doesn't?
- When you compare this home with a resale, are you comparing total monthly payments including tax, or only purchase prices?
Quick answers
Does a lower Vinedo price lower the Mello-Roos tax? No. The facilities tax is assigned by zone and living area under the amended rate schedule. A discount lowers only the ordinary ad valorem portion, about $111 a year for every $10,000.
How long does the facilities tax last? As long as needed to meet the district's requirement, and not past fiscal year 2073-74, according to the rate schedule in the bond document.
Is the special tax deductible? That depends on your own situation and current tax rules, so it's a question for your tax professional.
When we compare Vinedo with resale homes elsewhere in Paso Robles, we start from the full annual tax bill, not the sale price, and we'll go through a specific lot's tier, zone and prepayment math with you before you write an offer. If Morada or Nevina is on your list, Robert Sousa can help you set the real carrying cost of those homes against resale options across town. Let's Connect.
