Standard&Poor's Ratings Services raised its underlying rating (SPUR) on the Watsonville Redevelopment Agency (RDA), Calif.'s series 2004A nonhousing tax allocation bonds (TABs) and series 2004B-1 and 2004B-2 housing TABs to 'A-' from 'BBB+'. The outlook is stable. The upgrade reflects strong growth in agencywide assessed value (AV) in fiscal 2015. It also reflects our research and a discussion with the agency's management, which suggest that the agency is not in a position to issue additional debt and that the lien is effectively closed. The rating reflects our view of the project area's: Strong maximum annual debt service (MADS) coverage of 3.1x for the nonhousing bonds, and strong coverage of 2.6x MADS for the housing bonds; and Diverse taxpayer
