OREANDA-NEWS. August 17, 2015.  Fitch Ratings has affirmed the rating on Community Facilities District No. 2000-1 of the City of Belmont, CA's (the district) bonds as follows:

--\\$6.3 million outstanding special tax bonds (Library Project), series 2004A at 'A+'.

The Rating Outlook is Stable.

SECURITY

The bonds are a limited obligation of the district and are payable solely from the net revenues of a special tax levied on residential parcels and commercial square footage within the district. The district's boundaries are coterminous with the City of Belmont, CA (the city).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

LIMITED UPWARD REVENUE POTENTIAL: The city-wide parcel tax is currently levied at the maximum rate and, given the mature tax base, has limited upward potential. Revenue performance appears likely to remain stable through maturity.

ADEQUATE AND STABLE LEVELS: Debt service coverage remains adequate and is resilient to Fitch-designed stress scenarios.

STRONG ECONOMY: The city benefits from a strong regional economy, with high income levels and a robust employment market. The booming local high technology industry has contributed to strong housing demand and steadily rising taxable assessed values (TAV).

LIMITED DEBT AND CAPITAL NEEDS: Overall debt levels are low to moderate and further leveraging of pledged parcel taxes appears unlikely.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

CHANGE IN DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE: A material change in debt service coverage, whether due to lower or revenue collections or the issuance of additional debt, would likely impact the rating. The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch's expectation of stable coverage due to steady revenues and no further borrowing.

CREDIT PROFILE

The district's boundaries are coterminous with the city, which encompasses 4.6 square miles in San Mateo County, approximately 25 miles south of San Francisco. The city is a mature, primarily residential community, and its population (26,731 as of 2013) has been stable over the past decade. Residents enjoy good access to the region's many technology-oriented employment opportunities.

STRONG ECONOMY

The city's tax base faced only a single year of modest decline during the last recession and has increased a cumulative 19.7% over the past three years. Year-over-year home value growth of 19.1% through June 2015, as reported by Zillow.com, points to additional TAV gains in future years.

Per capita TAV is high at \\$215,000, and income levels are almost twice the national average. The city's unemployment rate as of May 2015 was a low 2.8%.

PROPERTY-BASED PLEDGED REVENUE

In 2001, Belmont voters authorized the issuance of the series 2004A debt for library construction and improvements to be funded with the levy of a special tax. The special tax consists of a flat dollar amount levied at the maximum rate of \\$71 per residential dwelling unit and \\$0.085 per square foot for commercial properties. The bonds are secured by a first lien on these revenues net of annual library administrative expenses.

The district utilizes excess revenues to fund library maintenance, and at the end of fiscal 2014 had accumulated \\$953,000 of such revenues. Operating costs for the Library are provided for and funded by San Mateo County.

The number of residential dwelling units is expected to remain fairly level around the current 10,500 units given the built-out nature of the district. Commercial square footage has also proven stable since issuance.

STABLE AND ADEQUATE COVERAGE

Gross tax revenues, administrative expenses, net tax revenues, and debt service coverage have proven highly stable since the 2004 issuance of the bonds. Coverage of maximum annual debt service (MADS) remains adequate at 1.3x under conservative assumptions of no further growth in revenues and 2% annual inflation of administrative expenses. Debt service coverage is resilient to Fitch-designed stress scenarios, and could withstand a one-time 20% decline in revenues before MADS coverage reached 1.0x.

Taxpayer concentration is moderate, with the top 10 payers of the special tax providing 13% of total revenues, and only one taxpayer equaling just over 2%.

Further leveraging of pledged revenues appears unlikely. An additional bonds test requires 1.1x coverage of annual debt service for new and existing debt through maturity, but the library project was completed in 2006 and management has no plans for new borrowing.

Annual debt service through final maturity in 2030 is fairly level, approximating maximum annual debt service of \\$645,000. Amortization is above average with 62% of outstanding principal due for repayment within 10 years.