Avenir homeowners must pay $1,800 —

plus property taxes and HOA fees

Article Courtesy of The  Palm Beach Post
By Sarah Peters
Published January 20, 2017

  

PALM BEACH GARDENS -- Home buyers and businesses who move into Avenir will face an annual fee in addition to their property taxes to help the developers finance the project.
   

Homeowners in the 3,250-house development off Northlake Boulevard will pay roughly $1,800 each year to pay for construction and management of infrastructure within Avenir. The tax is also on top of homeowners association fees.

The Palm Beach Gardens City Council voted 5-0 to approve the special taxing district at its Jan. 5 meeting.

Acreage resident Christine Schwartz was the only person to speak against the proposal.

“I would urge you to say no to the community development district for the sake of the people. It is taxation without representation,” Schwartz said. “This is profit to the developers at the expense of the homeowners and future businesses.”

This courtesy rendering shows the Avenir development.

    

Commercial property owners will pay by the square foot. Avenir includes roughly 2 million square feet of commercial space.

   

Representatives of the developers have said there’s an upfront savings and a long-term benefit to having professionally managed infrastructure. There are more than 600 of the development districts in Florida. Old Palm, Evergrene and Palm Beach Country Estates were also developed with special taxing districts, Planner Ken Tuma said.

“There are many communities that have this non-ad valorem tax service,” Tuma said.

The special taxing district, known as a community development district, allows developers to issue tax-exempt bonds to build and maintain infrastructure. The money from the community development district pays for roads, drainage, water distribution, recreation, common area landscaping and conservation.

The developers pay the fees themselves until buyers take over their homes or commercial properties. By Florida law, each contract for the initial sale of residential property must disclose the tax in bold, conspicuous type immediately before the signature line.

A board of five elected supervisors will oversee the district. They must operate according to the Sunshine Law, just as other local governments do.

The supervisors will initially be principals of Avenir Holdings. Control of the board will begin to transfer to property owners when the district is in its sixth year and at least 250 qualified voters live there.
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