SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2928
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 945808
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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11 Senator Geller moved the following amendment:
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13 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
14 Delete everything after the enacting clause
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16 and insert:
17 Section 1. There shall be created in Broward County,
18 within the City of Tamarac, an independent special district to
19 be known by the popular name "the Woodlands Independent
20 District," hereinafter referred to as the District. The
21 creation of the Woodlands Independent District is the best
22 alternative as this District would provide for enforceable
23 standards which would comport with those expired deed
24 restrictions and covenants upon which the community of the
25 Woodlands was originally constituted. The standards would
26 exceed those of the municipality in which it resides and would
27 allow the Woodlands to ensure that the community, through its
28 own elected officials, is in control of its appearance and
29 standards. Further, the District would have such powers as are
30 afforded to neighborhood improvement districts, thereby
31 ensuring that the Woodlands community would continue to retain
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1 aesthetic appearance and property value.
2 Section 2. The purpose of the District shall be to
3 maintain the appearance, aesthetics, and architectural
4 standards of all private property within the District. The
5 District shall further ensure that the general appearance of
6 all homes and structures is kept at a standard provided by
7 restrictions and covenants originally intended. The District
8 shall have additional powers as generally granted to
9 neighborhood improvement districts pursuant to chapter 189,
10 Florida Statutes.
11 Section 3. The boundaries of the Woodlands Independent
12 District are as follows:
13 A parcel of land in Section 14, Township 49
14 South, Range 41 East being more particularly
15 described as follows:
16 SUBDISTRICT 1
17 THE WOODLANDS, SECTION ONE - PHASE ONE, as
18 recorded in Plat Book 66, Page 22, of the
19 Public Records of Broward County, Florida,
20 together with;
21 THE WOODLANDS, SECTION ONE - PHASE TWO, as
22 recorded in Plat Book 67, Page 23, of the
23 Public Records of Broward County, Florida,
24 together with;
25 SUBDISTRICT 2
26 THE WOODLANDS, SECTION TWO - PHASE ONE, as
27 recorded in Plat Book 66, Page 23, of the
28 Public Records of Broward County, Florida,
29 together with;
30 SUBDISTRICT 3
31 THE WOODLANDS, THIRD SECTION, as recorded in
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1 Plat Book 66, Page 24, of the Public Records of
2 Broward County, Florida, together with;
3 SUBDISTRICT 4
4 THE WOODLANDS, SECTION FOUR, as recorded in
5 Plat Book 66, Page 25, of the Public Records of
6 Broward County, Florida, together with;
7 THE WOODLANDS COUNTRY CLUB, as recorded in Plat
8 Book 67, Page 30, of the Public Records of
9 Broward County, Florida, together with;
10 SUBDISTRICT 5
11 THE WOODLANDS, SECTION FIVE, as recorded in
12 Plat Book 67, Page 43, of the Public Records of
13 Broward County, Florida.
14 SUBDISTRICT 6
15 THE WOODLANDS, SECTION SIX, as recorded in Plat
16 Book 67, Page 40, of the Public Records of
17 Broward County, Florida, together with;
18 SUBDISTRICT 7
19 THE WOODLANDS, SECTION SEVEN, as recorded in
20 Plat Book 67, Page 41, of the Public Records of
21 Broward County, Florida, together with;
22 SUBDISTRICT 8
23 THE WOODLANDS, SECTION EIGHT, as recorded in
24 Plat Book 67, Page 42, of the Public Records of
25 Broward County, Florida.
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27 Section 4. Subsequent to March 19, 2004, the
28 governing board of the Woodlands Independent District
29 shall be composed of nine members who shall be owners
30 of freeholds not wholly exempt from taxation in the
31 area described in section 3.
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1 (1) The initial governing body of the Woodlands
2 Independent District shall be composed of nine members
3 consisting of the president of each of the Woodlands
4 Homeowners Associations sections 1-8, as described in section
5 3 of this act, along with the president of the Woodlands
6 Homeowners Association board of directors following the
7 effective date of this act. Said board shall function only
8 through March 19, 2004. The sole function of said initial
9 board shall be to adopt a resolution authorizing imposition of
10 a non-ad valorem special assessment for all private properties
11 within the Woodlands Independent District and to comply with
12 all other provisions of section 197.3632(3)(a), Florida
13 Statutes.
14 (2) Thereafter, members of the board of the Woodlands
15 Independent District shall be elected by mail ballot submitted
16 to each of the owners of a freehold not wholly exempt from
17 taxation within the area described in section 3. The mail
18 ballot shall be sent by first class mail to the owners of
19 freeholds not wholly exempt from taxation within the area
20 described in section 3 not earlier than February 15, 2004, and
21 no later than March 1, 2004. Each owner of a freehold not
22 wholly exempt from taxation within the area described in
23 section 3 shall mail, deliver, or have delivered the marked
24 ballot provided in this subsection so that it is received by
25 the Clerk of the City of Tamarac no later than 5 p.m. on March
26 19, 2004. The individual receiving the greatest number of
27 votes, who reside in each of the eight subdistricts in the
28 Woodlands Independent District and are owners of freeholds not
29 wholly exempt from taxation in the area described in section
30 3, from among the candidates residing within each subdistrict
31 who have qualified for election 60 days prior to the election,
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1 shall be elected to the governing board from said subdistrict.
2 A ninth member of the board shall be elected in the same
3 manner as the previous eight board members, except that
4 candidates for the ninth member, may qualify by residing
5 anywhere within the Woodlands Independent District, and shall
6 be elected at large.
7 (3) Members of the governing board shall serve a
8 3-year term. Subsequent elections shall be called by the Board
9 in the same manner as provided for in the initial elections
10 and shall be scheduled in order to provide no lapse in
11 representation.
12 (4) Any member of the governing board may be removed
13 by a majority vote of the board for misfeasance, malfeasance,
14 or neglect of duty.
15 (5) Any vacancy in the membership of the governing
16 board resulting from the death, resignation, or removal of any
17 such board member or from any other cause shall be filled for
18 the remainder of the term by election within 30 days after the
19 occurrence of such vacancy. However, in the event that the
20 remaining term is 60 days or less, the vacancy shall be filled
21 by election in a manner consistent with subsection (2).
22 Section 5. The governing board of the Woodlands
23 Independent District shall have the following powers
24 commencing on March 20, 2004:
25 (1) To enter into contracts and agreements and sue and
26 be sued as a body corporate.
27 (2) To have and use a corporate seal.
28 (3) To acquire, own, convey, or otherwise dispose of,
29 lease as lessor or lessee, construct, maintain, improve,
30 enlarge, raise, relocate, operate, and manage property and
31 facilities of whatever type to which it holds an appropriate
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1 interest and grant and acquire licenses, easements, and
2 options with respect thereto.
3 (4) To accept grants and donations of any type of
4 property, labor, or other thing of value from any public or
5 private source.
6 (5) To have exclusive control of funds legally
7 available to it, subject to limitations imposed by law or by
8 any agreement validly enter into by it.
9 (6) To hire and employ full-time and part-time
10 personnel and provide benefits therefor.
11 (7) To cooperate and contract with governmental
12 agencies or other public bodies.
13 (8) To contract for services of planning consultants,
14 experts on crime prevention through community policing
15 innovations, environmental design, environmental security, or
16 defensible space or other experts in areas pertaining to the
17 operation of the governing board of the District.
18 (9) To contract with the county or municipal
19 government for planning assistance and for increased levels of
20 law enforcement protection, code enforcement, and security,
21 including personnel to provide any functions necessary for the
22 accomplishment of its purposes. The Woodlands Independent
23 District shall be responsible for all costs and expenses
24 incurred under the agreement.
25 (10) To improve street lights, parks, streets,
26 drainage, utilities, swales, and open areas and provide safe
27 access to mass transportation facilities in the District with
28 the prior approval of the City of Tamarac.
29 (11) To undertake innovative approaches to securing
30 neighborhoods from crime, blight, and failure to maintain
31 property to community standards.
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1 (12) To provide for crime prevention through community
2 policing innovations, environmental design, environmental
3 security, and defensible space.
4 (13) To adopt property maintenance, aesthetic, and
5 architectural standards more stringent than those adopted by
6 ordinance of the City of Tamarac within the boundaries of the
7 Woodlands Independent District.
8 (a) Said standards shall be set only by adoption of a
9 resolution of the board after two public hearings as provided
10 for in section 166.041(3)(c), Florida Statutes, except that
11 any reference in said section of Florida Statutes to the
12 ordinances of a municipality shall also relate to the
13 resolution of the Woodlands Independent District.
14 (b) Every resolution, upon its final passage, shall be
15 recorded in a book kept for that purpose and shall be signed
16 by the presiding officer of the District and by the clerk of
17 same.
18 (c) Each regulation adopted by the Woodlands
19 Independent District shall be filed with the Clerk of the
20 Woodlands Independent District and the City Clerk of the City
21 of Tamarac.
22 (d) Each regulation shall be printed and codified from
23 time to time and available at each meeting of the governing
24 board of the Woodlands Independent District.
25 (e) Once enacted, each resolution shall be an
26 enforceable regulation as to private property within the
27 Woodlands Independent District. Each violation of a standard
28 adopted by the Woodlands Independent District may be enforced
29 by the District either through civil injunction or as a code
30 violation enforceable by the City of Tamarac pursuant to part
31 I of chapter 162, Florida Statutes.
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1 1. The Woodlands Independent District shall be
2 entitled to recover all court costs and attorney's fees in any
3 successful action brought to enjoin a violation of a standard
4 adopted pursuant to this subsection.
5 2. For purposes of enforcement of the regulations of
6 the Woodlands Independent District pursuant to part I of
7 chapter 162 and section 162.03, Florida Statutes, each
8 regulation shall be deemed equal in dignity and stature and
9 carry the force and effect of a duly enacted section of the
10 code of the City of Tamarac. Penalties for violations of the
11 Woodlands Independent District shall be as provided in part I
12 of chapter 162, Florida Statutes.
13 (f) The Woodlands Independent District shall enter
14 into an interlocal agreement with the City of Tamarac for
15 enforcement of the Woodlands Independent District standards
16 and regulations pursuant to part I of chapter 162, Florida
17 Statutes. The interlocal agreement shall provide that the
18 Woodlands Independent District shall indemnify and hold
19 harmless the City of Tamarac and its elected officials,
20 agents, and employees from and against any claim or legal
21 action that may arise from the actions of the district or its
22 officers, employees, or agents. Additionally, the Woodlands
23 Independent District shall maintain insurance satisfactory to
24 the City of Tamarac, naming the City of Tamarac as an
25 additional insured, for the term of the interlocal agreement.
26 (14) To privatize, close, vacate, plan, or replan
27 streets, roads, sidewalks, and alleys and to regulate,
28 restrict, or monitor traffic by security devices and personnel
29 on public streets within the District. All such actions
30 require the prior approval of the City of Tamarac.
31 (15) To make and collect special assessments pursuant
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1 to sections 197.3632 and 197.3635, Florida Statutes, to pay
2 for improvements to the District, enforcement of enacted
3 standards and regulations, and reasonable expense of operating
4 the District, including the payment of expenses included in
5 the District's budget.
6 (16) To be authorized to receive a planning grant from
7 the Department of Community Affairs.
8 (17) To issue revenue bonds pursuant to section
9 189.4085, Florida Statutes, and otherwise by general law to
10 pay for capital improvements necessary to meet the purpose of
11 the District.
12 (18) To issue refunding bonds pursuant to section
13 189.4085, Florida Statutes, and otherwise by general law to
14 refund any bonds then outstanding which shall have been issued
15 under the provisions of this act.
16 (19) The District shall not be empowered or authorized
17 in any manner to create a debt as against the state, county,
18 or any or all of the cities, and may not pledge the full faith
19 and credit of the state, county, or any of the cities. All
20 revenue bonds or debt obligations shall contain on the face
21 thereof a statement to the effect that the state, county, or
22 any of the cities in which the District is located shall not
23 be obligated to pay the same and neither the full faith and
24 credit nor the taxing power of the state or of any political
25 subdivision thereof is pledged to the payment of the principal
26 of or the interest on such bonds. The issuance of revenue or
27 refunding bonds under the provisions of this act shall not
28 directly, indirectly, or contingently obligate the state,
29 county, or city in which the District is located to levy or
30 pledge any form of taxation whatever therefor or to make any
31 appropriation for their payment.
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1 (20) To provide for fiscal management and budget
2 preparation as provided in section 163.5151, Florida Statutes.
3 (21) To contract and cooperate with community
4 organizations pursuant to section 163.523, Florida Statutes.
5 (22) To apply on behalf of the District and be
6 eligible to receive planning grants and technical assistance
7 as a local government neighborhood improvement district
8 pursuant to section 163.517, Florida Statutes.
9 Section 6. Organization, compensation, and
10 administrative duties of the governing board of the District
11 shall commence on April 1, 2004.
12 (1) There shall be at least one regular meeting of the
13 governing board of the Woodlands Independent District every
14 second month. The regular meetings of the governing board
15 shall be conducted at a building located within the geographic
16 boundaries of the District. The meetings shall be held
17 pursuant to sections 189.416 and 189.417, Florida Statutes.
18 (2) Special meetings or workshop meetings of the
19 governing board may be called from time to time by the chair,
20 the vice chair, or a majority of the members of the governing
21 board.
22 (3) The members of the governing board shall serve
23 without compensation except for reimbursement of
24 responsibility and necessary expenses as provided for in
25 chapter 112, Florida Statutes.
26 Section 7. The District shall comply with the
27 financial disclosure, noticing, and reporting requirements of
28 section 189.418, Florida Statutes. The District shall prepare
29 and submit reports, budgets, and audits as provided in
30 sections 189.415 and 189.418, Florida Statutes, except as
31 otherwise provided herein.
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1 Section 8. The charter of the Woodlands Independent
2 District may be amended by special act of the Legislature.
3 Section 9. The Woodlands Independent District shall
4 not have the power to levy ad valorem taxes.
5 Section 10. The Woodlands Independent District shall
6 cooperate with and be subject to the paramount authority of
7 the City of Tamarac, including, but not limited to, the
8 adoption, amendment, or repeal of any ordinance. All City of
9 Tamarac governmental planning, environmental, and land
10 development laws, regulations, and ordinances apply to all
11 development of the land within the Woodlands Independent
12 District. The District shall take no action, now or in the
13 future, which is inconsistent with applicable comprehensive
14 plans and, except as provided in subsection (13) of section 5,
15 ordinances or regulations of the City of Tamarac. No fee,
16 charge, or assessment imposed by the District shall entitle
17 any resident or landowner within the District to seek or
18 obtain relief from any fee, charge, assessment, or tax imposed
19 by the City of Tamarac. All property or facilities,
20 including, but not limited to, street lights, parks, streets,
21 drainage, utilities, swales, or other public projects owned by
22 or constructed by the District, shall conform to and comply
23 with the applicable standards and ordinances of the City of
24 Tamarac with respect to comparable property or facilities. The
25 District does not have the power of a local government to
26 adopt a comprehensive plan pursuant to chapter 163, Florida
27 Statutes.
28 Section 11. (1) The City of Tamarac shall remit a
29 ballot to any elector who is the owner of a freehold not
30 wholly exempt from taxation within the area described in
31 section 3 who shall be eligible to vote in any referendum
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1 election provided for in this act. The owner of such freehold
2 shall be determined by the city clerk from the most recent
3 real property assessment roll prepared by the property
4 appraiser pursuant to general law prior to the scheduled
5 referendum election. However, the grantees by conveyance of a
6 freehold in the area described in section 3 subsequent to the
7 most recent real property assessment roll may present evidence
8 of such conveyance to the city clerk of the City of Tamarac
9 not later than 60 days prior to the date of a referendum
10 election, pursuant to this section, whereupon the clerk, after
11 verifying such conveyance, shall substitute the name of the
12 grantee as an elector in place of the owner appearing on the
13 real property assessment roll. No more than one (1) ballot per
14 freehold shall be cast in any referendum election. Said ballot
15 shall be sent by first class mail not earlier than October 1,
16 2003, and not later than October 15, 2003. Each ballot shall
17 be addressed to each property owner at the address for the
18 property within the Woodlands Independent District in the
19 official records of the Property Appraiser of Broward County.
20 Each ballot shall state the following:
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22 There shall be created the Woodlands
23 Independent District.
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25 The Woodlands Independent District shall be
26 created with the power to adopt and enforce
27 property maintenance, aesthetic, and
28 architectural standards more stringent than the
29 City of Tamarac. The Woodlands Independent
30 District shall have the power to make and
31 create special assessments.
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1
2 ___ Yes
3 ___ No
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5 Each property owner shall mail, deliver, or have delivered the
6 marked ballot provided in this subsection, so that it reaches
7 the Clerk of the City of Tamarac no later than 5:00 p.m. on
8 November 1, 2003.
9 (2) The Woodlands Independent District shall be
10 created only if approved by the owners of freeholds not wholly
11 exempt from taxation within the area described in section 3
12 pursuant to this section.
13 Section 12. This act shall be liberally construed in
14 order to effectuate its purposes.
15 Section 13. This act shall take effect only upon its
16 approval by a majority vote of those qualified electors of the
17 area described in section 3 of this act voting in a referendum
18 election to be called by the City of Tamarac, in accordance
19 with the provisions of section 11 of this act, except that
20 section 11 and this section shall take effect upon becoming a
21 law.
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24 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
25 And the title is amended as follows:
26 Delete everything before the enacting clause
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28 and insert:
29 A bill to be entitled
30 An act relating to Broward County; creating the
31 Woodlands Independent District within the City
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1 of Tamarac; providing for boundaries; providing
2 for the purpose and authority of the district;
3 providing for powers, functions, and duties of
4 the district relating to taxation, bonds,
5 revenue raising capabilities, budget, liens,
6 special assessments, non-ad valorem
7 assessments, and contractual agreements;
8 providing for election, organization, powers,
9 duties, and compensation of the governing board
10 of the district; providing for applicable
11 financial notice and disclosure governing the
12 district; providing for the issuance of bonds;
13 providing for district elections; providing for
14 methods of financing the district; providing
15 for powers and duties as granted to
16 neighborhood improvement districts; providing
17 for powers to establish maintenance, security,
18 aesthetic, and architectural standards within
19 the district; providing for powers over streets
20 and ways within the district; providing for a
21 referendum; providing effective dates.
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