High Springs City Commission denies Bridlewood CDD petition

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

Updated on February 17 to correct the spelling of a name.

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – At their February 13 Regular Meeting, the High Springs City Commission denied a request to grant a CDD for the Bridlewood development, renamed Pop-Up Shade Park, finalized the ballot language for five charter amendment questions to be on the November municipal ballot, and gave staff direction to work on raising rental fees for City-owned recreational spaces and fields.

The meeting began with a proclamation for Black History Month. 

Commissioners approved an amended budget for the current fiscal year that reflected changes such as accounting for the use of ARPA funds, the sale of the heavy rescue fire truck, and the acquisition of other trucks. 

CDD for Bridlewood

Mayor Tristan Grunder introduced an ordinance that would grant a Community Development District (CDD) for the 688-acre Bridlewood planned development. This item was previously tabled at the request of the developer at the May 23, 2024 meeting. 

Chris Potts, Vice-President of LJA Engineering, said the development will have 60 acres of open space and a maximum of 2,000 single-family and multi-family residential units. Additionally, there will be up to 200 senior living facility units. The development will use municipal utilities. Potts said, “The development is planning to still move forward whether [the CDD] gets approved or does not.” 

Potts discussed the pros and cons of CDDs vs. HOAs and other options. Potts said using a CDD can result in a 10% to 15% savings on home construction costs because the developer is able to use tax-exempt bond financing and that lower cost will be passed on to the buyer, resulting in lower home prices.

Commissioner Katherine Weitz asked at what point in the sales process the CDD annual expense is disclosed to the prospective buyer. Bridlewood attorney Alyssa Willson said, “There has to be very large bold paragraph language in the closing documents as to the existence of the CDD, that there may be assessments associated with this property, so that appears on the face of every closing occurring within the community.”

Weitz asked, “Is it not required to disclose it’s a CDD from the very beginning? Is it not until closing that that comes to the floor?” Potts said the builders are all aware that it is a CDD development, and they inform all of their buyers. 

Commissioner Andrew Miller asked, “Do you tell them how much the fee of the CDD is in the beginning?” Potts answered, “Yes, it’s similar to when you’re in a neighborhood and you notice that there’s an HOA and you ask a realtor, ‘Hey, what is the HOA fee?’ That is the same process with this.”

Weitz continued, “That presumes that they understand the difference, that they understand what a CDD is. I didn’t until I really researched it. So as a homeowner, let’s say my 24-year-old is looking to buy a house, would he even know to ask those questions? Legally, what I’m asking is, is my 24-year-old going to be told upfront you’ve got a mortgage payment, and…  you’re going to have your property taxes, you’re going to have a CDD Bond payment, a CDD [maintenance] fee, and then your HOA is separate from that, not on your tax bill? Would that be disclosed in the beginning?” Potts answered, “Yes, it would.”

Weitz said her brother has been looking to buy a house in Tampa and “he cannot find a place that he can afford in Tampa because everything he’s being shown is CDDs… My concern with this kind of business model is ‘How does this business model fit in into who High Springs is now?’ not how the developer or who owns a property sees us, but who we are now…  I’m afraid my kids aren’t going to be able to live in High Springs. They’re not going to be able to afford to. When you first came here to the first plan board meeting, you were pitching that this was going to be affordable housing. This is not affordable housing. Now it’s flipped over to, ‘Well, we want to bring you a luxury community.’ We have luxury communities here. [Realtor] Miss Crews said that she was just flabbergasted that there was any pushback at all because she was trying to bring a luxury community here. If you walk around Tillman Acres or High Springs Estates or Edgemore, we have that here already… You’re trying to put your vision of what High Springs is going to be on the people who live here now…  It’s going to be profoundly expensive for people to buy. Who’s going to be able to afford to buy? People from South Florida where it’s being marketed now. People from New York could afford to come down I suppose. But regular people, my older brother couldn’t afford it.”

Weitz: “My interpretation of this is that we’re either forming a plutocracy or an oligarchy, one of the two.”

After Potts said Bridlewood will have homes for all income levels, Weitz asked about language in the petition: “On page six of your petition,… the result of adopting the ordinance is the establishment of an independent local special purpose government… that’s where I reach a full stop… My interpretation of this is that we’re either forming a plutocracy or an oligarchy, one of the two. I understand that by Florida State Statute Chapter 190 it is legal, but in my mind it’s just profoundly unconstitutional because it’s a whole ‘nother form of government… We’re forming another form of government, and I just don’t see how we can do that.”

Willson said, “For the record, it is an independent special purpose unit of local government… There are thousands of special purpose units of local government within the state, and again, they are not exercising general purpose government powers.” 

Miller asked, “This development will have both a CDD and HOA. Is that true?” Potts answered, “Yes,” and again explained that there will be a CDD maintenance fee, an HOA fee, and a CDD fee. The maintenance fee is variable and is adjusted annually by the CDD governing board, based on actual expenditures, Potts said.

Commissioner Wayne Bloodsworth asked if the CDD will cover the whole development. Potts said that is their intention. Bloodsworth asked if local builders will be used. Potts said the plan to use to local builders, but the builders can hire any subcontractors they want.

Addressing Weitz’s concerns about all of the fees making the homes unaffordable for many people, Potts said, “It’s just like if the homeowner decides to buy a Mercedes instead of a Toyota. He chooses to buy the more expensive car. Can’t control… what they want to do with their money.”

During public comment, Rebecca Burns said she is a real estate broker and she sits on a few realtor boards. She said realtors in St. Augustine will frequently leave CDD information out of property listings because buyers don’t want CDDs. Burns said, “St. Augustine does not like the CDDs. They wanted to get rid of them. My buyers that are coming in from all over, Kentucky, California, New York, they are not looking for an HOA, let alone a CDD… People don’t want to live like that.”

Referring to the savings that will be passed on to the home buyer as Potts promised, Brian Bewsher said, “That’s not how the market works. We all know it. We’ve bought houses. We know it’s price per square foot, right. So no way that’s going to happen. So all the profit goes to the developer. All the expense goes to the homeowners.”

Commissioner Chad Howell said he looked at property in Tioga but didn’t want to pay the $400 monthly HOA fee, but he likes the extra protection a CDD would provide for the City.

Grunder said, “I lived in a community for a very brief amount of time that had an HOA, and I was like ‘This is ridiculous. I got to get out of here.’ That was me, though. But there’s other people who absolutely love that… I do think that it’s extremely expensive for people.” Grunder said he agreed with Howell about a CDD protecting the City like an insurance policy. 

Weitz asked about claims that property values are intrinsically higher in CDD neighborhoods, which leads to more tax revenue. Potts said, “If you Google ‘benefits of a CDD’, that is one of the top five items that come up, is that property values within a CDD are typically higher than subdivisions that are not.”

Bridlewood motion

Weitz thanked Potts and Willson for all their time. She said, “This is a great business model for the property owner. I think it would cause a lot of restriction on who could afford to move to High Springs, and in my opinion, it’s a business model that just does not fit with who we are here. So I would make a motion that we deny the CDD application.” Miller seconded Weitz’s motion.

The motion to deny the Bridlewood CDD petition passed 3-2, with Howell and Grunder in dissent.

Mutual aid agreement and renaming a park

After an intermission, Commissioners unanimously approved a mutual aid agreement between the High Springs Police Department and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.

Following a short presentation, they voted unanimously to rename “Pop-Up Shade Park” to “Ms. Tammy’s Shade Park,” in honor of Tammy Webster Fleming, who worked as a teacher at the former High Springs Child Care Center for 42 years and taught the children manners and respect in addition to academics.

Charter amendment questions for November municipal election

City Attorney Scott Walker introduced an ordinance placing five proposed charter amendment questions on the November 4 ballot, as discussed at the January 28 meeting. Walker’s office drafted the questions into ballot-ready form:

1. Updating Commission Seat Information: Shall the Charter be amended to remove the names of former commissioners that previously held the seats and designate when the current term ends for each Commission seat?

2. Updating Commission Salaries: Shall the City’s Charter be updated to allow for the salary of commissioners to continue at the same rate for the subsequent fiscal year in the event the commission does not act to change or continue their salaries?

3. Updating Term Limits for the Mayor: Shall the City’s Charter be updated to limit the Mayor’s term to one year or until such time that a successor is elected and that no commissioner shall hold the position of Mayor for consecutive terms unless by a supermajority vote of the then-sitting commission?

4. Updating Notice for Special Called Meetings and Definition of Special and Emergency Meetings: Shall the City’s Charter be updated to require not less than three days’ notice for special meetings and define special meetings and emergency meetings?

5. Disallowing Single Individual from Holding the Position of City Manager and City Clerk: Shall the City’s Charter be amended to delete the provision that allows a single individual from serving as both the City Manager and the City Clerk?

After some discussion, Weitz made a motion to approve the ordinance with one modification: changing “supermajority” to “majority” in Question 3. Bloodsworth seconded her motion. It passed unanimously during a roll call vote. 

Increasing rental fees for recreation and park facilities

Ashley Mauldin of Parks & Recreation gave a presentation on the need to increase rental fees for recreation and park facilities. She noted that rates haven’t been raised since 2018, and she showed the following slide which lists the current and proposed fees for the recreation rooms and buildings.

Responding to a question from Miller, City Manager Jeremy Marshall said the two room spaces will be renovated before their fees are increased. 

Mauldin said the total annual expense of the spaces is $25,493, current annual revenue from renting out the spaces is $14,616, and projected revenue with the increased rates is $21,924. She showed slides and discussed the fees for the outdoor fields, but no real changes were proposed other than adding some additional charges such as tournament fees.

Mauldin showed the following slide which lists the seven City-owned buildings and spaces that are rented out to various organizations for a nominal $10/year.

Weitz said space rental is an unsustainable business model. Marshall said the goal of the fee increases is to “close the gap,” even though money will still be lost. Marshall said they can only raise the rates so much at one time.

Marshall explained that the organizations with the $10 leases must give up their spaces for the day or night if someone else wishes to rent the space. He added that this doesn’t apply to the Poe Springs Room, which is used only by the Robotics Team and is never rented out. 

Bloodsworth asked about using some of the spaces for City offices. Marshall said there are many possibilities, but the City needs to hire a Planner because it is growing so fast.

Marshall: Renting spaces for $10 per year is “what’s draining us”

Marshall said the real problem is the seven buildings that are rented out for $10 a year. He said, “This is what’s draining us.” Marshall said some of the buildings are deteriorating and need work. 

Grunder said, “We are looking at these numbers, and it’s our duty to be fiscally responsible with the way we dole out City resources… We did for a while and it looked good. We were, ‘Great, $10 a year, that’s awesome.’ I’m glad we were able to do that for so long, but now we’re just not… in that position anymore… And we’re going to have to up these rates with the Civic Center and the Douglass Center.”

Motion on rental spaces

After more discussion, Bloodsworth made a motion to raise the rates at the Civic Center and Douglass Center, and Weitz seconded the motion. Mauldin said they would need to pass a resolution to change the rates, but she only needed guidance that night on which direction they wanted to go.

Grunder said staff should move forward with planning to raise the rates at the four indoor spaces and the minor changes at the fields, and they could have more discussions at a future meeting. Marshall said he would bring back a resolution to formalize the changes.