The Villages submitted its first round of development applications late Wednesday afternoon to build more than 2,000 homes and three community centers in Fruitland Park. Half an hour later Community Development Director Charlie Rector said the applications package—about three inches thick—includes little new information.
Rector said he and City Manager Gary La Venia, City Attorney Scott Gerken and and Greg Beliveau, the city’s chief planner, will review the details of the application packages and make recommendations to city commissioners.
The Villages could expect its first round of approvals from the city as early as June, Rector said. “That’s in a perfect world, and that’s assuming state approvals are all on target as well,” Rector added.
When The Villages announced its development plans to city officials last summer, they targeted total home sales of more than $1 billion. City calculations estimate that those sales will create more than $1 million in what a former city manager called “disposable revenues” for the city.
For comparison, Fruitland Park collected little more than $750,000 in property tax revenues last year to fund its $5.5 million budget.
Little opposition to the development has emerged so far. Local residents will have plenty of opportunities to voice any concerns they might have at public meetings, Rector said.
Rector said a calendar of public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Board and City Commission will be available as soon from the City Clerk. Each body must vote twice to okay comp plan changes and then to approve zoning changes The Villages is requesting.
Already, the city is gearing up to accommodate the projected 4,000 new residents. Work to expand and improve the city’s water system—at an estimated cost of almost $300,000—will be on the agenda when commissioners meet on February 13.
And tonight, the city’s new Charter Review Committee will hold its first meeting. City Attorney Scott Gerken said the committee’s main focus will be single member voting districts, a strategy that may help preserve “Old” Fruitland Park when “New” Fruitland Park constitutes a voting majority that is mostly retired and statistically more active at the ballot box.
While new residents will not be eligible to vote in this year’s elections—Rector said home building operations probably won’t start until the spring—a single-member district initiative could be on the ballot for city voters to decide, Gerken said.
