The now-closed Woodlands golf course. {Tamarac Talk}
By Kevin Deutsch
A move by 13th Floor Homes to establish a government entity to oversee a planned, upscale development in Tamarac’s Woodlands community was defeated by the city commission Wednesday.
The ordinance, brought up for an initial vote Wednesday, would have established the Woodlands Section 9 Community Development District (CDD) to fund and build infrastructure for the planned community of about 335 single-family homes on a defunct 275-acre golf course. The CDD was proposed by 13th Floor as a cheaper, more effective alternative to a homeowner’s association.
Mayor Michelle Gomez and Commissioner Elvin Villalobos voted Wednesday to approve the first reading of an ordinance to establish the district. Commissioners Marlon Bolton, Kicia Daniel, and Vice Mayor Morey Wright defeated the ordinance after arguing the CDD stood to benefit the developer more than the community’s future residents.
As a government entity, the CDD would be able to purchase special bonds financed by its residents with property assessments. The anticipated prices for the estimated 335 homes in the community have been estimated at around $800,000 to $1 million each.
The CDD would organize the funding and construction of community infrastructure that includes a stormwater management system, water distribution system, wastewater collection system, road improvements, open spaces, and landscaping, according to city records.
According to 13th Floor, establishing a CDD would be the best way to pay for infrastructure in the future community without financially impacting residents outside its boundaries. Residents’ assessment costs in the planned community would be disclosed to homeowners before they buy and would be included on their regular tax bills, according to the developer.
Wright said establishing a Woodlands Section 9 CDD would help 13th-Floor Homes more than the community’s future residents.
“It seems like you’re using my future residents’ money to finance the development,” Wright told a 13th Floor representative at Wednesday’s meeting.
Gomez, a longtime Woodlands resident, said, “A vote against the CDD is a vote against the Woodlands community as it stands,” since the finances of the planned community of homes could financially impact other Woodlands HOAs and residents.
“You are basically jeopardizing the future of this community and the success of Section 9,” Gomez said.
In March, Tamarac’s city commission voted 3-2 to approve a plan by 13th Floor Homes to build the community on the southwest corner of Commercial Boulevard and Rock Island Road. Bolton and Wright voted against the project.
According to The Real Deal, property owner ClubLink has a contract to sell Woodlands to 13th-floor homes for an undisclosed price.
It was not clear Wednesday if or when another ordinance seeking to establish a CDD or other entity for Woodlands Section 9 would be brought before the city commission.
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Author Profile
- Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning crime journalist and author. A graduate of Florida International University, Kevin has worked on staff at The Miami Herald, New York Daily News, and The Palm Beach Post.
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