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Article Courtesy of First
Coast News Jax
By Sydney Dishon
Published July 21, 2026
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OAKLEAF PLANTATION — Neighbors in a Jacksonville 55-plus community will have to
pay a $1,000 assessment per household after the homeowners association
unanimously approved the charge at a meeting Tuesday night, according to the
homeowner at the center of the dispute.
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Bethany Michel said the board voted to
approve the assessment during the meeting, a move tied to
the ongoing conflict over her inherited home and the
community’s age restrictions.
Michel said she moved to Jacksonville in 2019 to care for
her terminally ill father, a Navy veteran, after COVID
restrictions kept her from giving him the care he needed at
his assisted living facility.
Michel said they needed a home fast, and ended up buying one
in Freedom at Arbor Mill, a 55-plus community in Oakleaf
Plantation. She said the seller told her she would be
grandfathered in after her father died.
But after her father died in 2023, Michel, who's 28 years
old, said the homeowners association started enforcing the
community’s age rules.
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Before its approval Wednesday, residents received a letter about the proposed
special assessment asking each household to pay $1,000, or an extra $100 a month
for 10 months, to cover legal costs tied to enforcing the community’s age
restrictions.
The assessment will go into effect on Aug. 1, 2026.
The HOA’s governing documents say the community is intended for residents age 55
and older. Under the federal Housing for Older Persons Act, 55-plus communities
must have at least 80% of occupied homes with at least one resident who is 55 or
older. The remaining 20% provides flexibility for situations involving younger
spouses, caregivers or inherited homes.
Arbor Mill’s declaration of covenants and restrictions says every occupied home
must still have at least one resident who is 55 or older.
Michel said she simply wants to stay in the home she inherited.
“I’ve invested so much time, effort and energy into being a good resident of
Duval County, and to know that this is how my dad’s dying wish is being honored,
it’s honestly like I wouldn’t wish this upon anybody,” she said.
We reached out to the board late Wednesday about the vote and are waiting to
hear back.
Influencer fights HOA lawsuit over inherited home in Jacksonville 55-plus
community as neighbors face $155K assessment |
