COURTESY : The Reporter
Published August 30, 2003 
By LAURA BYRNES

THE VILLAGES - Joe Gorman, president of The Villages Property Owners' Association, has been picked to take a lead in a statewide review of community development districts.

The review is being conducted by a Florida Senate Committee on Comprehensive Planning.

Gorman told an overflow crowd at this month's POA meeting that he had also been tapped by Cyber Citizens for Justice - a statewide consumer alliance group that has aligned with The Villages' POA - to head up a special committee on community development districts within the CCFJ.

"This is a significant development," Gorman said. "I'm pleased that our association with CCFJ has opened this door."

Gorman said he plans to craft a response to the legislative committee's questions within a month. He also said that members of the POA and CCFJ plan to travel to Tallahassee next month or in October to talk about CDD reform.

Gorman said the survey covers six areas, including:

Retaining state approval of CDDs larger than 1,000 acres rather than granting local jurisdictions approval power - currently, state approval is needed for larger districts. Gorman opposes the move, saying, "It is better to have a more professional, thorough objective review."

Returning construction and development credits for projects financed by a CDD to the district that does the work rather than to the developer. Gorman said those credits should come back to the CDD.

The need for broader disclosure that is more noticeable to prospective buyers.

Granting CDDs enforcement powers when it comes to deed restrictions. "I would not like to see CDDs go through the burden and expense when the county has the power now," Gorman said.

The survey also asks about problems transferring district governing boards to the residents of the district. That is supposed to happen within six or seven years, but Gorman noted that residents have no official say in decisions made by the Villages Center Community Development District - the community's governing body. That's because supervisors don't stand for popular election. Instead, they are elected by landowners, and in the VCCDD, located in the community's nonresidential "downtown" commercial district, the vast majority of property is owned by the developer.

According to the Florida Department of Community Affairs' division of housing and community development, at last count there were 1,150 special districts including 211 community development districts.

Charles Profilet, executive director of the Florida Association of Special Districts, said special districts are designed to provide limited-purpose government on a local level "all with the need to be accountable and accessible to the citizens they serve."

Special districts have provided a broad range of government services in Florida since the turn of the 19th century - functions cover everything from aviation, aquatic plant control and the arts to sports, transportation and water management. Community development districts, however, weren't introduced until the 1980 passage of the Uniform Community Development District Act that allowed for creation of multi-purpose special districts for urban infrastructure.

The Villages' CDDs are second in size only to the district that developed Walt Disney World.

In a 1979 ruling, the Florida Supreme Court defined special districts as "essentially financing vehicles." The districts provide the structure for financing and maintaining services or infrastructure traditionally provided by local government when local government is unable or unwilling to provide that service or improvement.

However, population growth triggers a state-mandated referendum process that allows residents to decide whether or not to incorporate as a city.

According to state law, districts that reach a population of 5,000 in counties of 50,000 or more are required to place an incorporation referendum on the ballot for the next general election. CDD District 2, which includes Gorman's Santo Domingo home, reports 5,553 registered voters. CDD District 4, in the Marion County portion of The Villages, which currently has 3,373 registered voters, projects it will reach 5,000 by November 2004.