VENICE, FLORIDA / ACCESS Newswire / June 23, 2025 / Recent articles highlight concerns over developers increasingly utilizing special taxing districts in Florida, which can serve residents, but lately appear to be granting developers excessive control. A key example is CS/HB 4061 - West Villages Improvement District, Sarasota County. This bill, passed with expedient unanimity through the Florida Legislature, awaited being sent to the Governor for nearly two months amid Wellen Park resident protests including a Change.org petition that now has 3,177 signatures urging a veto.

On its face, the bill adjusts thresholds for transitioning WVID board seats in from developer-appointed to resident-elected. Currently, the district's board has four developer-appointed and one resident-elected seat, but ongoing litigation by a few residents claims that they deserve one or two more elected seats already. CS/HB 4061 would render resident these claims moot, whether they were valid before or not. Rep. Danny Nix, the bill's sponsor, made a statement on March 26 to the House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee that putting an end to the resident litigation was an intent with the bill.

Residents claim the new thresholds are unrealistic, ensuring developer control indeterminately, control including tax-billed assessment fees paid to the developer's entity for up to 100 years for holding a water permit. More alarmingly, though, the bill grants the district eminent domain powers and the ability to annex land without government approval, allowing a foreign-owned corporation's employees to force easements, seize private property, and expand the district indefinitely.

CS/HB 4061 bypasses officials meant to manage growth and protect resources, enabling unsustainable development. At a June 17 12th District Court hearing, the developer's attorney suggested a 100-year water agreement is irrelevant due to impending water shortages, implying the development knowingly exceeds local resource capacity.

Residents fear a for-profit, foreign-owned company will control tax assessments, profit from them, and dictate resource management and growth, leaving Floridians to bear future costs. The bill's passage raises broader concerns about developer-driven districts undermining local governance and straining resources without oversight.

In 2023, DeSantis dissolved Disney's special district, Reedy Creek Improvement District, stating, 'Allowing a corporation to control its own government is bad policy, especially when the corporation makes decisions that impact an entire region…' Unlike Reedy Creek, where Disney uses the land in perpetuity as a long-term stakeholder (for theme parks, hotels, amenities, etc.), The WVID's foreign-owned master developer makes their profit by selling off the land piece-by-piece over time. They are not a stationary, long-term stakeholder in the region. One could think that the same quote would be even more relevant.

With CS/HB 4061 sent to DeSantis in the extended session's final hours, only a few days remain. Signing or ignoring the bill, which becomes law automatically if not acted upon, supports the developer. A veto is the only hope for the district's residents, with their 3,177 petitioners among 9,972 registered voters, who seek protection from unchecked corporate control. DeSantis' choice will reveal whether he prioritizes voting citizens or a foreign-owned developer's interests.

SOURCE: Florida resident