What is a Metro District?

A Metro District is an area that provides public services and amenities to the people within and near to the district. Metro Districts were created through Title 32 of the Colorado state statutes. They can provide sanitary sewers, roads, irrigation water, public transportation, and parks. They are a way to group taxpayer money together in order to focus it on public improvements. The costs you pay annually towards the district can be deducted from your federal taxes. However, Metro Districts will be an additional cost on top of property taxes.

Metro District Creation

Today, there are more than 3,700 special districts in the state of Colorado. This number has grown quickly due to the amount of development that is taking place in Colorado. Developers are using Metro Districts to fund the infrastructure of new housing developments. When developers build faster than the pace that the local government can afford to support, Metro Districts are created. The developer will front the cost of sewers and roads and as a result, they will hold onto the bonds for the Metro District. This essentially moves the cost of the infrastructure onto the home buyer.

It is important to see if a property you are interested in is located within a Metro District. It can increase the amount you pay for the house annually.

Transfer Cost

When selling a property that falls within a Metro District, is it normal to have to pay an additional fee at the closing of the sale. This is the fee to transfer the property’s ownership from one person to another, much like an HOA transfer fee. You can tell if a property is in a District by visiting your County Assessor’s website and looking up the address of the property.

You can learn more about Metro Districts here!

By: Spencer Abeyta