Before coming to The Villages, the idea of Community Development Districts (CDDs) was not a concept most people were familiar with. For most of us, local government consisted of town councils, borough councils, city councils, township commissions and for some New Englanders, town meetings. So what are Community Development Districts and how do they work?
The framework for creating Community Development Districts (CDDs) was established in 1980 by Florida Statute Chapter 190 officially known as the “Uniform Community Development District Act of 1980.” The Act establishes special purpose districts with the power to levy taxes and assessments for public improvements and community facilities. It provides a uniform procedure for establishing independent districts that can manage public improvements and services such as water and sewer systems, roads, and parks within specific geographic areas.
The Villages Community Development District (District Government) is comprised of Commercial Districts, Residential Districts, Dependent Districts and Committees. This article will focus on Residential Districts.
In accordance with Chapter 190, when a new Community Development District (CDD) is established in The Villages the initial Board of Supervisors is elected through a Landowner Election. Each landowner is entitled to one vote per acre or fraction thereof and is not required to be a registered voter in Florida.
When a CDD has been in existence for 6 years and has a minimum of 250 residents registered to vote in Florida a transition occurs. At that point, the Board begins the transformation to a qualified elector Board with staggered seats. Candidates for contested qualified seats appear on the General Election ballot along with county, state and federal candidates. During this transition phase, as the number of residents increases, the composition of the Board of Supervisors increasingly reflects resident representation.
CDD Boards consist of 5 Supervisors who together form the governing body for their District and are entrusted with creating policies and approving budgets for the District. Residential Boards typically have purview over essential community infrastructure, deed compliance and aesthetics, including Villa Roads, water retention areas, storm and gutter facilities, road rights of way, landscaping, common areas, multi-modal transportation paths, sign walls and fences. It is important to note that Chapter 190 does not give jurisdiction over zoning regulation which remains with county or city government.
Next time we will discuss the significant financial responsibilities of residential Community Development Districts.
Rich Cole and Roger Kass serve on the VHA Editorial Board.