The Villages, Florida
The Villages is a master-planned age-restricted retirement community located mainly in Sumter County, Florida, United States, but also includes portions of Lake and Marion counties. The community is controlled by several Community Development Districts (CDD's), most of which are controlled by H. Gary Morse, the owner of the development company which created The Villages. The overall development lies in central Florida, approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of Ocala and approximately 45 miles (72 km) northwest of Orlando.The Villages includes the census-designated place (CDP) located in Sumter County, also known as The Villages, which had a population of 8,333 at the 2000 census. The CDP is the center of The Villages Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA), which consists of all of Sumter County but does not include the Lake or Marion County portions of The Villages (the Lake County portion is included in the Orlando-Kissimmee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area; the Marion County portion is included in the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area). The Villages earned the No. 1 ranking as the fastest growing micropolitan area in the United States according to a 2008 Census Bureau report.
History
Harold Schwartz, a Michigan businessman, began selling land tracts via mail order in The Villages area in the 1960's. Unfortunately for Schwartz and his business partner Al Tarrson, a Federal law in 1968 banned mail order sales of real estate.Stuck with considerable portions of Florida land, in the early 1970's Schwartz and Tarrson began development of a mobile home park, Orange Blossom Gardens, in the northwestern corner of Lake County. By the early 1980's, though, the community had sold only 400 units. In an attempt to improve the business, Schwartz decided to buy out Tarrson's interest and bring his son, H. Gary Morse, on board in 1983.Morse noted that the successful retirement communities (such as Del Webb's Sun City developments) offered considerable numbers of well-maintained amenities to the residents and were also surrounded by diverse amounts of nearby commercial development. Thus, Morse began to significantly upgrade the development, which worked out well – the mid-1980's saw improvement in sales, and Schwartz then began to buy large tracts of land in nearby Sumter and Marion counties for future expansion.Morse officially changed the overall development name to The Villages in 1992. The development is still controlled in all major aspects by descendants of Schwartz and Morse (as an example, Jennifer Parr, Director of Sales and the spokesperson on the sales video sent out to prospective buyers, is Schwartz's granddaughter).
Structure
A Declaration of Restrictions has been created for each individual neighborhood, which regulates such things as landscaping, repairs and maintenance, placement of satellite dishes, hedges, etc. An Architectural Review Committee controls the composition and consistency of the exterior of the residential properties within The Villages. The committee, which consists of Villages residents, is responsible for approving alterations and modifications to the properties and homes built by the developer. Committee members serve for three years and are selected by the sitting committee.All homes must be occupied by at least one person who is 55 years of age or older. Persons under the age of 19 years are not permitted to reside within The Villages but may visit for a maximum of 30 days per year unless an exemption is granted; however, three subdivisions are designated as 'family units' and are not subject to the under-19 restriction.
Geography
The Villages is located at 28°56′16″N 81°58′16″W / 28.93778°N 81.97111°W / 28.93778; -81.97111 (28.937803, -81.971220).According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 5.6 mi² (14.5 km²). 5.2 mi² (13.4 km²) of it is land and 0.4 mi² (1.0 km²) of it (6.99%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,333 people, 4,392 households, and 3,583 families residing in the CDP. A more recent survey indicates that The Villages passed 75,000 population in December 2007 and based on growth trends from 1990 forward, will double in population in the next 5 years; however, the number includes people who maintain a second or retirement home in the community but claim legal residency elsewhere. The population density was 1,605.5 people per square mile (619.9/km²²). There were 5,065 housing units at an average density of 975.9/mi (376.8/km²²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.4% White, 0.5% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.5% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.06% from other races, and 0.4% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race made up 1.3% of the population.There were 4,392 households, of which 0.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 80.1% were married couples living together, 1.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.4% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.89 and the average family size was 2.05.Age ranges in the population were 0.3% under the age of 18, 0.3% from 18 to 24, 1.5% from 25 to 44, 40.4% from 45 to 64, and 57.5% 65 years of age or older. The median age was 66 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males. As stated above, The Villages is an age-restricted community with only three neighborhoods designated for residences by persons under age 19 (absent a granted exemption).The median income for a household in the CDP was $42,542, and the median income for a family was $45,078. Males had a median income of $58,173 versus $26,176 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $28,343. About 2.8% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those aged 65 or over.Considered a heavily Republican community, The Villages is a popular election stop and platform for personalities such as former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and talk show host/author Glenn Beck.A gated community known for low crime rates, The Villages was featured extensively in the news after a resident was killed in her home during a hold-up in July 2006, the first-ever murder in the retirement community.
Federal Representation
The Sumter County portion of The Villages is within Florida's 5th congressional district; the Lake and Marion County portion is within Florida's 6th congressional district.
State Representation
The entirety of The Villages is within the boundaries of Florida Senate District 20 (currently represented by Republican Carey Baker), and is within the boundaries of Florida House of Representatives District 42 (currently represented by Republican H. Marlene O'Toole).
County
The portion of The Villages within Lake County is within Lake County District 1. As of September 2010[update] the current District 1 Commissioner is Jennifer Hill.The portion of The Villages within Marion County is within Marion County District 3. As of September 2010[update] the current District 3 Commissioner is Stan McClain.Areas of The Villages in Sumter County are divided between Sumter County District 1, which takes areas east of Morse Boulevard, and Sumter County District 3, which takes areas west of Morse Boulevard. As of September 2010[update] the current District 1 Commissioner is Richard Hoffman and the current District 3 Commissioner is Don Burgess. Sumter County operates The Villages Sumter County Service Center at 7375 Powell Road in Wildwood.
Local Government (Community Development Districts)
The Villages is developed and maintained using several Community Development Districts (CDD). The CDD is a form of special purpose local government available under Florida law; around 225 communities in Florida currently use this form of government.The Villages currently operates 12 CDD's. Ten of the 12 CDD's cover the various areas of The Villages where residents own homes, and provide and maintain the roads and transportation paths, storm water systems and structures, underground utilities, curbs and gutters, and street lights. The costs of building and maintaining this infrastructure are paid for by annual special assessments included in the property tax bill. Except for Districts 9 and 10 (which are undeveloped as of September 30, 2009), district residents elect the members of the District Board of Supervisors. The portion of The Villages located in Lake County is under the jurisdiction of the city of Lady Lake and is not part of any of the District CDD's. The current district setup is as follows:District 1 – consists of approximately 998 acres (4.04 km2) in the northeast corner of Sumter County, which includes 3,420 residential units
District 2 – consists of approximately 990 acres (4.0 km2) in the northeast corner of Sumter County, which includes 3,668 residential units
District 3 – consists of approximately 894 acres (3.62 km2) in the northeast corner of Sumter County, which includes 3,762 residential units
District 4 – consists of approximately 1,187 acres (4.80 km2) in the southern portion of Marion County, which includes 5,132 residential units
District 5 – consists of approximately 1,408 acres (5.70 km2) in the northeast corner of Sumter County, which includes 6,399 residential units
District 6 – consists of approximately 1,497 acres (6.06 km2) in the northeast corner of Sumter County, which includes 6,677 residential units (planned)
District 7 – consists of approximately 976 acres (3.95 km2) in the northeast corner of Sumter County, which includes 4,765 residential units (planned)
District 8 – consists of approximately 1,070 acres (4.3 km2) in the northeast corner of Sumter County, which includes 5,140 residential units (planned)
District 9 – consists of approximately 946 acres (3.83 km2) in the northeast corner of Sumter County, none of which has been developed and thus there are no residents of the District
District 10 – consists of approximately 999 acres (4.04 km2) in the northeast corner of Sumter County, none of which has been developed and thus there are no residents of the District
The remaining two CDD's are:Village Center Community Development District (VCCDD) – located in Lake, Marion, and Sumter counties, VCCDD provides water and sewer utility services, recreation, security services, fire protection and paramedic services to the residents. The cost of operations is funded by amenity and utility fees that residents pay monthly. VCCDD also provides for the maintenance of common areas and roadways for the commercial areas within its boundaries. The cost of maintenance in the commercial areas is funded through commercial maintenance assessments.
Sumter Landing Community Development District (SLCDD) – located in Sumter County, SLCDD provides recreation and security services to the residents. The cost of operations is funded by amenity fees that residents pay monthly. This CDD also provides for the maintenance of common areas and roadways for the commercial areas within its boundaries. The cost of maintenance in the commercial areas is funded through commercial maintenance assessments.
Unlike the residential CDD's, there are no residents within the CDD boundaries. Thus, the five-member Board of Supervisors for each district is composed of the developer's employees or affiliates.
Homeowners Associations
There are also two homeowners associations in The Villages: The Property Owners Association (POA) and The Villages Homeowners Association (VHA).Unlike traditional associations (in which membership is mandatory for property owners, and where the association has the authority to enforce building standards), both the POA and the VHA are voluntary organizations that work to inform and serve the residents, and neither association assesses mandatory dues.
Recreational Activities
As a master planned retirement community, The Villages offers numerous forms of recreation. The majority of the costs are paid for via the monthly amenities fee assessed to residents (the facilities are owned by the centralized CDD's discussed above).
Golf Courses
The centerpiece of The Villages is its numerous assortment of golf courses. The ability to play golf for free year-round is a key component of The Villages advertising campaigns. As of April 2010[update], The Villages operates 37 courses.Twenty-eight of the courses are executive golf courses, all of which are 9-hole layouts. It is these courses at which residents of The Villages can play free golf for life and can walk the courses for free as well; fees are charged for riding a golf cart on the courses.The remaining nine courses are country club championship courses. Among notable course architects are Arnold Palmer and Nancy Lopez The Orange Blossom Hills and Tierra Del Sol clubs are 18-hole layouts; the other seven clubs are 27-hole layouts. Residents of The Villages are automatically members of these clubs; however, unlike the executive courses residents must pay green fees to play the courses and the clubs charge for priority tee times.The Villages also operates a golf instruction academy for all skill levels.
Recreation Centers
In addition, The Villages operates numerous recreation centers. There are three classes of centers (the number shown are as of April 2010):'Neighborhood' (the 25 'neighborhood' centers offer local adult-only pools, plus bocce, horseshoe, and shuffleboard courts)
'Village' (the 17 'village' centers offer family pools, facilities with billiard meeting rooms and full kitchens, bocce, horseshoe, and shuffleboard courts, plus tennis and pickleball courts)
'Regional' (the 8 'regional' centers offer sports pools, larger venues with stages for theatric and musical productions, fitness centers, and many of the same features as the village centers)
Other Activities
Beyond the golf courses and recreation centers, The Villages also operates numerous softball fields, a polo stadium (The Villages Polo Stadium), and a woodworking shop, plus the Lifelong Learning College.Nightly activities are held in The Villages two town squares, Lake Sumter Landing's Market Square and Spanish Springs Town Square. A third town square, Brownwood Paddock Square, is under construction.
Television
In addition, the Villages developers own and operate the Villages News Network (VNN), which is aired on the local Comcast cable network.
Radio
Stations out of the Orlando and Gainesville/Ocala areas serve The Villages. In addition, The Villages developers own and operate WVLG (AM-640) radio (a Fox News Radio affiliate).
Print
The Villages developers own and operate a local newspaper, The Villages Daily Sun. In addition, the Orlando Sentinel serves the area, as do several local weekly papers.
Transportation
The Villages development is bounded roughly by US 27/US 441 to the east, US 301 to the west, Marion County Road 42 to the north, and Sumter County Road 466A to the south. Sumter County Road 466 serves as the main east-west corridor, with Buena Vista Boulevard and Morse Boulevard serving as major north-south corridors.Due to the prevalence of golf courses many residents in The Villages use golf carts to travel around the community. In December 2008 the residents had around 38,000 golf carts. Tunnels have been built in most of The Villages where a highway must be crossed (though several businesses offer street-legal golf carts for sale), but one overpass exists across US 27/US 441 because there was no way to construct a tunnel in this area.The Villages operates a trolley-style bus tour of the community which operates from the sales and information center located at The Market Square in Lake Sumter Landing.Sumter County Transit operates The Villages shuttle. They provide various weekday loops through the Villages.The Villages operates a shuttle between the community and Orlando International Airport in Orlando. The shuttle stops at Lake Sumter Landing and Spanish Springs. The ride takes approximately 90 minutes and advance reservations are suggested.
Primary and Secondary Education
The following school listings are primarily for tax base purposes only, as The Villages does not allow full-time residents under age 19 except in its three family unit neighborhoods or by exception granted for hardship cases.The portion of The Villages located in Marion County is zoned toLake Weir High Schoolof theMarion County School District.There are no family unit neighborhoods in the Marion County portion of The Villages.
The portion of The Villages located in Sumter County is zoned toWildwood High SchoolofSumter District Schools. There is one family unit neighborhood (Bison Valley) in the Sumter County portion of The Villages.
The portion of The Villages located in Lake County is zoned toLeesburg High Schoolof theLake County Schools.There are two family unit neighborhoods (Oak Meadows and Spring Arbor) in the Lake County portion of The Villages.
The Villages Charter Schools is a PK-12 charter school in unincorporated Sumter County. Children are eligible to attend the charter school if one or both of their parents work directly for The Villages or one of its direct subcontractors, or if the parents work for a business located within The Villages. However, children of residents who reside in a family unit neighborhood or by granted exemption do not qualify for attendance.
Post-Secondary Education
In addition to the Lifelong Learning College operated by The Villages developer, several publicly-financed options are also available.Sumter District Schools operates the Sumter County Adult Community Education Center in unincorporated Sumter County.For residents of Lake and Sumter counties, Lake-Sumter Community College provides adult education at the South Lake Campus in Clermont, the Leesburg Campus in Leesburg and the Sumter Campus in unincorporated Sumter County.Central Florida Community College serves residents of Marion County, operating the Ocala Campus and the Hampton Center in Ocala in Marion County and centers and campuses in adjacent counties.
Criticism
The Villages has been criticized by author Andrew D. Blechman in his book Leisureville: Adventures in America's Retirement Utopias. According to the Orlando Sentinel, 'Blechman explains how Villages developer Gary Morse has maintained firm control over local decision-making in a community that sprawls across Lake, Sumter and Marion counties. . . . [The author] highlights the complex political and economic arrangements that gave rise to The Villages, and he asserts that few of its 65,000 or so residents understand, let alone oppose, the limitations on their civic power.'As Blechman told National Public Radio in March 2010, 'Everything's owned by the developer. . . . The government is owned by the developer. Everything's privatized — and they're happy with that. You know, they've traded in the ballot box for the corporate suggestion box.'
IRS Audit of CDD Bonds
In January 2008, the Village Center CDD was notified by the Internal Revenue Service of the IRS' intent to audit several recreational bonds issued in 2003 to determine compliance with tax regulations (mainly due to their status as municipal bonds which are exempt from Federal income tax). The IRS sent three 'Notices of Proposed Issues' in January 2009 challenging the tax-exempt status of the bonds on three grounds:the Issuer does not qualify as a political subdivision or 'on behalf of the issuer' of tax-exempt bonds pursuant to Section 1.103-I(b) of the Internal Revenue Code regulations,
the opinions of value do not support the price paid by the Issuer to the developer for the Series 2003 Facilities and the payment of the sales price for the facilities to the developer by the Issuer is not a governmental use of the proceeds of the Bonds, and
the Bonds are private activity bonds the interest on which is not excludable under IRS Section 103.
The position stems in large part from the interrelationship between VCCDD and The Villages developers (since VCCDD has no residents, the Board of Supervisors consists solely of individuals who work for or have an affiliation with The Villages developers, and VCCDD's infrastructure was purchased by the developers-controlled board from the developers).After an IRS settlement offer was rejected by VCCDD, the IRS further expanded its audit in July 2009 to include all recreational and utility revenue bonds issued by VCCDD as well as similar bonds issued by Sumter Landing CDD; however, the 10 district CDD's were not included in the audit.VCCDD opposes the position taken by the IRS, and in January 2010 it formally requested technical advice from the IRS as to the position it has taken.
