OKEECHOBEE – During their Sept. 25 meeting, Okeechobee County Commissioners voted to amend the county’s Land Development Regulations (LDRs) to create Uniform Community Development Districts (CDDs).

County Attorney Zackery Good said CDDs allow developers to finance and build the infrastructure for new developments, with the future residents of the development paying back the infrastructure debt over time through property assessments.

If the development fails, the agreement provides a mechanism to place the property in a special taxing district to pay off the outstanding infrastructure debt.

“Some of them just want roads and drainage. Others want parks,” said Commission Chair David Hazellief. “Who makes the decision?”

Good said the developer can ask for anything they want, but the county commission has the authority to approve all or part of the request.

“Your planning board as the local planning agency does have to recommend it,” Good said. However, the recommendation is not binding. The county commission will approve or deny the request.

“You do see CDDs used for housing developments,” said Good. “But they can be used for anything.”

Commissioner Terry Burroughs said CDDs are just another tool available to the county. He said they are used in other counties.

The Planning Board unanimously recommended the commissioners not adopt the ordinance. Commissioner Terry Burroughs said the Planning Board should give their reasoning.

“The general discussion was ‘how does this benefit the existing residents of Okeechobee County.’ They couldn’t see any benefit to the existing residents,” said Planning Director Bill Royce.

Good said there is some government oversight to the formation of the district, but once it is formed, it becomes its own self-regulating taxing district.

“We’ve had so many HOAs (Home Owners Associations) in this county go insolvent and not collect HOA fees to maintain drainage,” said Commissioner Brad Goodbread. He said the county had to go in and repair drainage systems that were supposed to be funded and managed by a HOA.

Good said this ordinance would prevent that in the future, since the agreement specifies the property will become a special taxing district if the CDD defaults.

County Administrator Deborah Manzo said if a developer has to pay the up-front costs for infrastructure, that expense is included in the price of the homes. A CDD allows those infrastructure costs to be paid out over time by those who buy homes in the development.

In the public comment period, Harold Baxter of Center State Development said there are a lot of benefits to the county. “If they don’t pay the CDD over a three-year period, they will forfeit their property, and the property will be sold,” he explained. The new owner will have to pay the outstanding CDD assessment as part of the sale.

“With HOAs, if they fail to pay, they just go on and on and there’s really no punishment to them,” he said.

“When you go to a subdivision 10 years later that has been maintained by a CDD and one that has not, there’s a big difference in how it has been maintained,” he added.