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Article Courtesy of WTSP
Channel 10 News
By
Libby Hendren, Jennifer Titus
Published June 18, 2025
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WATCH VIDEO |
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SARASOTA COUNTY — A battle over irrigation between Grand Paradiso HOA, West
Villages Improvement District (WVID) and Mattamy Asset Management, has left
homeowners infuriated and raises questions about how improvement districts work.
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Here in Florida, these communities can
levy taxes. According to Florida Commerce, there are more
than 2,000 special districts in Florida.
You may have heard of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight
District, formerly known as Reedy Creek. It's 25,000 acres
and includes the land in and around Walt Disney World.
There's also the Celebration Community Development District
in Central Florida which is just under 1,000 acres. Here in
the Tampa Bay area, there are ones like Bexley in Land O’
Lakes which is 938 acres in Pasco County, and Fishhawk Ranch
which is more than 2,500 acres in Hillsborough County.
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We
also have several community redevelopment agencies like those in Clearwater,
Sarasota, Tampa and Tarpon Springs.
When one of these residential or business neighborhoods is created, board
members are appointed to oversee it.
“You have a governmental entity, OK, like a town, like a city, and, and they’re
like a county that was tasked with all those things incident to the public's
need — you know, putting in roads, you know, firemen, police, all those type of
things, right, and so those should be governed by folks by, they're elected by
those that are in the district," Attorney Charles Gallagher said.
The district has special powers under Florida law. These districts can handle
things like water, sewer, wastewater and streetlights which can complement a
homeowner's association. However, those who oversee these districts are subject
to state ethics and financial disclosure laws.
“The people that you have that are running the improvement district are truly
government elected officials that are working in terms of for the public and for
the public good and public interest,” Gallagher said.
He also adds if there are board members that are affiliated with the developer,
that could be a conflict of interest.
“The improvement districts are a creature of the Florida Constitution. So really
it is — there's an entitlement to them, yes, but it's all the more important
that they serve the public interest and do things for the benefit of the
public,” Gallagher said.
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