S&P Rts Pomona Redev Agy, CA 1998 Bnds Ser X 'BBB+'.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Standard & Poor's CreditWire 10/16/98--Standard & Poor's assigned its triple-'B'-plus rating to Pomona Redevelopment Agency, Calif.'s 1998 tax allocation refunding bonds (Mountain Meadows Redevelopment Project) series X.

The rating reflects the security provided by the first lien on tax increment revenues including funds that would otherwise be set-aside in the low and moderate income housing, net of tax sharing agreements from the Mountain Meadows Redevelopment Project Area (MMRPA). Bond proceeds will be used to refund a certain December 1993 loan agreement issued by the agency.

The rating reflects:

-- A medium-sized project area with mix a of residential, commercial

and recreational land uses;

-- Very low volatility in base-to-total assessed valuation revenues,

despite slight growth in assessed property valuations;

-- Moderate concentration in the MMRPA's 10 leading taxpayers; and

-- Strong coverage of maximum annual debt service (MADS) and strong

additional bonds provisions; however, the agency may only issue

additional bonds if the California Redevelopment Agency laws are

amended.

The MMRPA is located in Pomona (population 141,385), situated in Los Angeles County and approximately 30 miles east of Los Angeles, Calif. The MMRPA is a mixed use project area and covers 640 acres, or 4.3% of Pomona's total acreage. The MMRPA is zoned for 76% Los Angeles County Fairgrounds use, 21% residential, 2% commercial, and 1% public use. The MMRPA is built-out.

In fiscal 1996, there was a countywide revaluation which reduced assessed property valuations of the MMRPA by 1% to $109 million. In fiscal 1997, some residential properties taxes were successfully appealed, thus reducing the MMRPA's assessed valuation (AV) another 3%, to $106 million. The project area's 10 leading taxpayers is moderately concentrated at 38% of total AV and 42% of incremental value. The five largest taxpayers alone represent 36% of incremental value. The base-to-total assessed valuation revenue volatility is very low at just 0.09. There are no new developments slated for fiscal 1999.

Fiscal 1999 pledged revenues provide strong coverage at 2.02 times (x) of MADS. The additional bonds test requires coverage of maximum annual debt service of 1.25x from pledged tax increment revenues. However, the agency cannot issue additional debt its redevelopment plan is amended by the California Redevelopment Agency laws.

Pomona is mainly a mixed-use community consisting of residential, commercial and industrial properties. Residents have employment opportunities within the city and have access to the greater Los Angeles County area. Pomona's population has been stable since fiscal 1995 at around 141,380. The median home price in Pomona is $150,000. As the state of California was in a recession from 1992-1995, the assessed property valuation of many cities within the state were negatively affected. Pomona still experiencing lingering effects of the recession has had stable assessed property valuations of around $4.6 billion since fiscal 1993. Pomona's wealth levels are below-average. The city's per capita effective buying income is below-average at just 64% of the state average and 62% of national averages. Also, median household effective buying income is below-average at 88% of the state average and 92% of the national averages.

OUTLOOK: STABLE

The outlook reflects the MMRPA's continued solid coverage of debt service on these bonds, and easy access to the Los Angeles County employment base for Pomona residents, Standard & Poor's said.--CreditWire