Thursday, May 16, 2013

Aventura: What is in a Name? By Geniusofdespair

This is an interesting choice of a name, considering the location of this CDD. 168 CDD's have defaulted in Florida, on municipal bonds valued at 5.1 billion dollars.
This Aventura Isles Community Development District is having a public hearing 5/21 at the County Commission.
Note where the City of Aventura is.
Note where "Aventura Isles" is in relation to the City of Aventura. All locations are approximate.
Here is more information on a Community Development Distric (CDD) from Wikipedia:


Community Development District
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


A Community Development District (CDD) is a local, special purpose government framework authorized by Chapter 190[1] of the Florida Statutes as amended and is an alternative to municipal incorporation for managing and financing infrastructure required to support development of a community.[1]
Contents

1 History
2 Benefits
3 Control
4 Power
5 Facilities and services
6 Criticism
7 References
8 External links

History

Authority for CDDs was established by Florida's "Uniform Community Development District Act of 1980". The legislation was considered a major advancement in managing growth efficiently and effectively. Although CDD's provided a new mechanism for the financing and management of new communities, their operation was consistent with the regulations and procedures of local governments, including state ethics and financial disclosure laws for CDD supervisors.[2] All meetings and records must comply with the Florida Sunshine Law and an annual audit is also required.[2]

As of 2012, Florida had over 600 CDDs with municipal bonds totalling $6.5 billion. Nearly three-quarters of them were established during the housing boom years between 2003 and 2008. The developer makes payments to the CDD for all properties in the district that they own. As long as new homes were selling, they had the money to cover that expense. When the bottom dropped out of the housing market in 2008, property sales in CDDs plummeted, as did developer income. Many developers did not have cash reserves to cover more than a year of CDD payments, so they had no choice but to declare bankruptcy, and 168 CDDs have defaulted on municipal bonds valued at $5.1 billion.[3]
Benefits

County politicians endorse them because they increase property values (plus taxes) and create infrastructure without cost to government. Developers love them because they don't have to use their own money to pay for all the development infrastructure up front. Residents like them because the initial price of their property should be lower due to deferred infrastructure costs.[4]

The theory behind CDDs holds that services and public facilities used by residents and landowners will be available early in the development process, and are controlled by those who use them, and are paid for by self-imposed assessments and fees. Because the CDD is controlled by the landowners/residents, the decision of what services are offered and which facilities are constructed is up to the landowners/residents, not the developer. The cost of capital for CDDs is lower than that of the developer, saving money. Services can be bid out to private companies or provided by the CDD, and residents are not at the mercy of developer-owned enterprises.[2][4]

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is that legal to take a city name when you are not in that city?

Anonymous said...

CDD 's are a ripoff and this one is off to a bad start with a lying name.

Anonymous said...

To first comment -- Aventura may be the only city that is named after a pre-existing shopping center. Names tend to be fair game.

Unknown said...

Aventura isles is a very nice community, and it is close to the city of Aventura

Anonymous said...

This is the worst place to live - EVER! The HOA people are crazy and the management people are rude and unhelpful. Just to give you an idea: They tow about 10 cars a night for issues such as a tire touching the grass - even an inch ($130 to get your car back). NO guest parking. Constantly fining residents: $100 for leaving trashcan out; $100 if you or any of your guest or contractors speed (yes they have cameras)! The seem to HATE kids; constant harassment if your kids are even seen outside; All basketball hoops must be put away in your garage EVERY night-even if you want to use it every day. It's a private gated community, but sometimes it takes your guest over 30 minutes to get in. Now they say they won't even call to tell you your guest is here unless you have their name on an "app." Buildings are VERY poorly made. The lake is not maintained and always has green scum on it. Do NOT move here! You will be miserable.