LEESBURG
City leaders talked and listened for more than an hour this week about establishing a Community Development District for the proposed Arlington Ridge community. 

But the Leesburg City Commission took no action. Instead, representatives of the 1,000-unit over-55 development south of Leesburg will come back next month to seek approval. 

A CDD is an independent, special purpose government that has the authority to plan, finance, construct and manage infrastructures systems to support development, such as water and sewer systems and roadways. 

The Villages has four CDDs throughout the sprawling community. And Walt Disney World is also a CDD. 

“This development is going to happen,” said Leesburg attorney Steve Richey, who represents the developer, FRA Investments Ltd. “It’s zoned PUD (planned unit development). That’s not the issue. The issue is which mechanism are we going to use. Should you not issue a CDD, this development will continue.” Richey asked commissioners to talk with city staff if they had questions or found some gaps in information supplied them. 

“Please raise questions with your folks,” Richey said. 

City Attorney Fred Morrison had some concerns about the CDD. “Sometimes you read in newspapers that a CDD will build community centers and sell it to the district at a somewhat inflated price, if you can believe newspapers,” Morrison said. 

Morrison was wondering about the golf course that is on the drawing table. 

“That’s not the case here,” said Jonathan Johnson, an attorney for the developer. “The golf course will be built with private funds. I’ve read some of those press reports. We do it for construction costs, not inflated value. And there’s no plan for this district to acquire the golf course.” 

The almost 500-acre tract generally known as the Bosserman property is located entirely within city limits, west of U.S. Highway 27, east of County Road 33, south of State Road 48 and adjacent to the north banks of the Palatlakaha River. The CDD’s governing body establishes its own budget and, with certain restrictions, runs independently of the local municipal government. Once established, it may impose assessments on land within its boundaries to cover the cost of infrastructure and services. It can also utilize tax-free bond financing to construct the infrastructure improvements in the development. 

The proposal states that the Arlington Ridge CDD would not provide water, wastewater, reuse water, electricity, cable television, telephone or other telecommunications, dial-up or broadband Internet, solid waste collection and disposal, or any other utility service. 

If the agreement is approved, Leesburg could receive about $500,000 for a housing diversity fund and would also receive the benefit of recreational trails, valued at about $300,000. But nothing has been finalized. 

“We will be meeting with the financial team of the developer,” said Deputy City Manager Robert Johnson. “We will continue to negotiate terms of the agreement.” 

As long as the Florida Statutes FS 190 are not changed and protect the homebuyers, commissioners shouldn't approve any more new Community Development Districts!

Change FS 190, protect the homebuyers against financial abuses, and CDDs can be useful in certain cases. But as long as the laws are written to the disadvantage of the consumers, commissioners should clearly reject these kind of plans!