[Villages Kahuna]

Each Community Development District (CDD) is required by law to be governed by a 100% property owner board by ten years after the formation of the CDD. The law permits a sliding scale of developer involvement on the governing board, from all members of the board in the first year to no developer-appointed board members after the tenth year.

There are currently seven CDD's and as I recall there will be nine after final build-out. From what I can gather from the viewpoint of a relatively new resident, the biggest problem seems to be how the various CDD's will band together to manage or govern the many common elements of the infrastructure and amenities that exist within TV. That's going to be a bear of a problem in that the interests of the residents in the older parts of TV are sometimes materially different than those in the newer parts of the development. For one thing, the age of the infrastructure and amenities in the older sections are going to create some very different needs and financial planning from those in the newer sections.

As far as the role of the developer, some time after complete build-out the developer will be left owning much of the retail buildings in and around TV. I'm pretty sure they "own" the town squares, the retail buildings in the town centers and much of the retail development around the periphery of the development. They could continue to manage those facilities, but personally I think it's more likely that they will sell them off, probably to multiple real estate investors.

Once the build-out is complete, the developer's motivations to maintain the "life style" of TV in order to attract new home buyers will be removed. At that point, it'll be up to the residents, I think, to assume the responsibility for governance and management of the community to continue to maintain the lifestyle for themselves.

The good news, I think, is that based on the sell rate of new homes and the legally-binding ten year program for shifting the membership of the CDD governing boards from developer to residents, it may be another 10-15 years before the residents of The Villages, particularly in the newer CDD's, will be required to run the place themselves.

In that I don't even buy green bananas these days, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy the magnificent management of this place by the developing family members for as long as I still see daylight when I wake up each morning. The actuarial tables tell me that someone else will have to worry about who runs this place when the time comes.

Someone tell me if I have this all wrong.