[ColdNoMore]

It has some excellent info on the upcoming CDD budgets, balanced pros & cons on actions to increase revenue/decrease costs and the status of some laws...that could affect us here in TV.

NOT meant to be political...simply informative.


Property Owners' Association of The Villages, Inc.

Passed or Pending State Legislation that May Affect The Villages

The District’s Attorney, Valerie Fuchs, advised the District and Community Development District (CDD) Boards of Supervisors of pending or passed legislation that may have an impact on Community Standards and other aspects of District governance.

A brief description is listed below.

Among the more interesting potential changes pertaining to aspects of our Community Standards include the removal of trees and the placement of vegetable gardens on residential properties. Also of interest is pending legislation that would allow CDDs to merge under certain circumstances.

Numbers 3, 4 and 5 have been “enrolled” (passed by both the State House and Senate) but have not been presented to the Governor for approval. We will keep a watchful eye
on these potential changes.

1. SB 7014 - Government Accountability - revises Chapter 218, F.S.; requires each local government entity to establish internal controls designed to prevent fraud, waste and abuse; revises auditor selection procedures.

APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR. Ch. 2019-15 Laws of Florida. Effective July 1, 2019.


2. SB 248 - Public Records - revises Chapter 119, F.S.; defines the term “home addresses” for purposes of public records exemptions for certain personnel and their family members.

APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR. Ch. 2019-12, Laws of Florida. Effective July 1, 2019.


3. SB 82 - Local Regulation of Vegetable Gardens - provides that political subdivisions of the state may not regulate vegetable gardens on residential properties.

STATUS: Enrolled (passed the House and Senate) but has not been presented to the Governor for approval.


4. HB 1159 - Tree Pruning, Trimming, or Removal on Residential Property - prohibits local governments from requiring any notice, application, approval, permit, fee or mitigation for pruning, trimming or removal of trees on residential property if the property owner obtains documentation from an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture or a Florida Licensed landscape architect that the tree presents a danger to persons or property.

STATUS: Enrolled but has not been presented to the Governor for approval.


5. HB 437 - Community Development Districts - authorizes certain lands within a county or municipality which a petitioner anticipates adding to a new CDD to be identified in the petition to establish a new district; provides detailed procedures for amending boundaries of a CDD to add the previously identified parcels of land; authorizes CDDs to merge with another type of special district created by special act or by filing a petition for establishment of a new district; authorizes a CDD merging with another type of district to enter into merger agreements for certain purposes.

STATUS: Enrolled but has not yet been presented to the Governor for approval.

[Aloha1]

Agree!

[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by Aloha1

Agree!

It will be interesting to see what happens around here with the "Local Regulation of Vegetable Gardens" and changes in "Tree Pruning, Trimming, or Removal on Residential Property."

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by ColdNoMore

It will be interesting to see what happens around here with the "Local Regulation of Vegetable Gardens" and changes in "Tree Pruning, Trimming, or Removal on Residential Property."

As for produce gardens, the Villages can still place restrictions. They just can't forbid them. They can still have the height restrictions (so no corn), they can require produce to be in contained box-gardens, they can forbid fencing around the gardens, they can require that homeowners growing produce outside to accept responsibility for vermin that show up as a result, they can require that all produce be harvested and removed from the ground so it can't decay and attract vermin.

In short, they can make it a pretty unattractive endeavor for anyone who wants to grow more than just a few plants of somethingorother.

And that's fine. We can always grow tomatoes in pots on the lanai, and small box veggie gardens can be made just as attractive as flower gardens (not to mention there are a variety of flowering vegetable plants).