Housing issues take back seat to budget
Unlikely to go anywhere is a bill that would address homeowner complaints about community development districts.
COURTESY : St. Petersburg Times
Published April 30, 2003 
By JAMES THORNER

A state bill that would have given community development districts the power to enforce deed restrictions appears dead, at least for this year's legislative session.

Introduced by state Rep. Ken Littlefield, R-Wesley Chapel, in late February, HB 885 also asks developers to highlight to prospective home buyers how much they would pay in community development district assessments.

But opposition from developers, combined with the legislature's focus on budgetary matters this session, stranded the bill in committee in early April.

"Unless there's a miracle, I think it's dead for the year," said Jim Bovis, who sits on the community development district board in Pasco County's Meadow Pointe neighborhood.

The districts are an increasingly popular way to finance construction of neighborhoods. Bonds pay for clubhouses, swimming pools, street lights and other amenities. Homeowners pay off the bonds and hand over yearly assessments for community upkeep.

Fourteen CDD-financed neighborhoods cover Pasco, out of a state total of about 200. Several Pasco residents, all critical of the way the districts operate, had Littlefield's ear in shaping the bill. They originally wanted six issues addressed in the bill but settled for three. 

On the issue of community development district debt, the bill would have required notification in bold letters when a person signed a home contract. Community development district assessments often exceed what a person pays in county taxes, and some buyers are caught off-guard.

The bill would also empower well-funded community development district boards, rather than voluntary homeowners associations, to enforce deed restrictions.

The third issue involves increasing the acreage of community development district projects. In Meadow Pointe, for example, developers created four separate districts. Some community leaders view such duplication as expensive and wasteful.

"I don't think there's anything threatening to CDD developers in there," Pasco resident Larry McLaughlin said of the bill. "What we're asking is to clarify and close the loopholes so consumers have more protection."

Still, opposition came from the Association of Florida Community Developers, which mass-mailed critical letters to legislators. Representatives and senators appeared hesitant to take on such a fight when this year's budget monopolizes most of their time.

Littlefield's office didn't respond to several calls from the St. Petersburg Times seeking comment about the bill. Pasco residents vow to lobby for reintroducing the bill at next year's session.

Giving community development districts enforcement power could be more pressing than ever: Another bill before the Legislature would make it harder for county code enforcement officers to ticket people who fail to keep up their homes.

"We're not going to let this thing die,'" Bovis said Tuesday.


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