Cape Coral approved two community development districts covering 1,327 acres, with petitioners estimating $292 million of infrastructure to be financed by assessments

Cape Coral City Council established two community development districts at its July 22 meeting, approving Ordinance 34-26 for the 7 Islands district and Ordinance 35-26 for the Star Farms at Cape Coral district. Both were created under chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes, the law that lets a landowner petition a city to charter a special purpose government to finance and manage the infrastructure of a new community. Meghan Bradbury reported the approvals for the Cape Coral Breeze.

Star Farms is the larger by a wide margin. The ordinance describes roughly 1,279.549 acres east of Burnt Store Road, south of Yucca Pens Preserve, north of Wilmington Parkway and west of Andalusia Boulevard, brought forward by Forestar (USA) Real Estate Group, Inc. The statement of estimated regulatory costs filed with the petition puts the total cost of constructing the facilities that may be provided at approximately $220,985,639.90.

7 Islands is a different kind of project. The ordinance covers about 47.18 acres adjacent to the North Spreader Waterway, south of Tropicana Parkway W., west of Burnt Store Road, north of SW Pine Island Road and east of the Matlacha Pass Aquatic Preserve, brought forward by Gulf Gateway Resort and Marina, LLC. Its petition estimates the cost of providing the capital facilities at approximately $71,504,778.04.

The financing language in both filings is the substance of the story. Each states that the district may issue special assessment bonds to fund all or part of the cost of those facilities, that the bonds would be repaid through non-ad valorem special assessments levied on developable property within the district, and that prospective future landowners may be required to pay those assessments to secure the debt. Each also notes that a district may impose a further non-ad valorem assessment to fund its own operations and maintenance, and that the district owes the state an annual special district fee of $175 under section 189.018 of the Florida Statutes.

The petitions make the case for the structure in their own terms, arguing that a district delivers services and amenities sooner than the alternatives, that it ensures growth pays for itself without burden on other taxpayers, and that locating inside a district is entirely voluntary because buyers accept the assessments as a tradeoff for what the district provides. Both ordinances were also exempted from the business impact estimate requirement under section 166.041 of the Florida Statutes, an exemption the agenda forms cite directly.

The city's final action record for the meeting lists both ordinances as approved. No bonds have been issued and no assessment rates have been set; those are decisions for the district boards, whose initial members are designated in the ordinances themselves.