Article Courtesy of The Osceola News-Gazette

By Keith Laytham, Poinciana resident

Published July 1, 2013

On or about June 28, 2013, a group of Poinciana citizens will be sending to their legislators a new feasibility study and new city charter for the incorporation of the city of Poinciana. A few of the reasons for this effort include the following; 

1. For a community of 47,000 persons, forty years living under a developer controlled homeowners association is enough.

2. During those 40 years, the developer controlled board has materially shifted the economic burdens for providing services to the community by exempting the developer from paying any HOA fees on the vast amounts of properties they own while continuing to provide the voting rights allowing the developer to control the association.

The developer has prejudiced the rights of non-developer members by changing lands usage within the community from industrial/commercial that would have provided much needed jobs for members of the community to creation of an upscale 55+ retirement community that provides minimal jobs but much profit to the developer. 

Lands for industrial, parks, schools, commercial shopping and even churches that were promised for the community have never been made available as were committed by the developer.

These actions would not be allowed under the new Florida HOA law taking effect July 1, 2013.

3. In addition the developer controlled board has amended the charter for the HOA to make impossible the change in control of the HOA from developer to non-developer members.

The developer, AV Homes/Avatar is a fine builder of houses. As a publically held corporation they must answer to their stockholders, not the citizens of Poinciana.

Florida law allows a community such as Poinciana to have its citizens vote to become a city only with support from the legislature and the governor by approval of a legislative bill to allow such a vote to take place.

These Poinciana citizens are asking their legislative delegations to support the people of Poinciana by submitting and passing legislation that would allow the citizens of Poinciana to vote to make Poinciana a Florida municipal government. The people of Poinciana are asking the opportunity to vote to acquire the same local government rights as the citizens of Lakeland, Kissimmee, St. Cloud and the 16 other cities of Polk County have today. 

This cannot be done without support from the elected legislative delegations, the full legislature and Florida’s governor.