A bill that would allow Florida residents to recall elected Community Development District (CDD) board members is headed to Governor Ron DeSantis’ desk, following concerns raised by Concorde Estates residents in Osceola County.
The legislation, SB 1180, was filed by State Sen. Kristen Arrington, who represents Osceola County, and passed unanimously in both the Senate and House—Kissimmee Rep. Jose Alvarez sponsored the accompanying house bill. Lawmakers said the measure is intended to provide residents with a formal process to remove board members in cases involving misconduct or lack of oversight.
“Residents should not be left without recourse when issues of governance and financial oversight emerge within their communities,” Arrington said. “This legislation provides a transparent and structured process to hold elected CDD board members accountable while maintaining the integrity of local decision-making bodies.”
If signed into law, the bill would allow residents to initiate a recall for reasons including malfeasance, neglect of duty and incompetence. The process would require signatures from at least 10% of registered voters, followed by a special election. A majority vote would remove the board member from office.
Supporters say the legislation addresses a gap in accountability within CDD governance, where boards manage public funds generated through resident assessments.
Community Development Districts are special-purpose units of local government created under Florida law to finance and manage infrastructure and services in residential developments. They have the authority to levy assessments on property owners to pay for roads, drainage, landscaping and amenities. CDDs are governed by a board of supervisors, which may initially be controlled by developers and later transition to resident-elected members as communities grow.
The legislation follows concerns raised by Concorde Estates homeowners who have questioned financial practices, rising assessments and the condition of neighborhood amenities.
Residents in that community said annual fees have increased significantly in recent years while maintenance and amenities have declined.
“As the years went on, our mortgage kept going up—from about $1,150 to $1,750—and we didn’t understand why,” said resident Aidee Velez, who has led efforts to review and question the district’s finances. “That’s when we started looking at the budget and realized something wasn’t right.”
Velez said residents began working together to better understand how funds were being managed.
“We got some neighbors together and started investigating the budget and looking at the financials,” she said.
Those concerns prompted residents to file public records requests, consult legal counsel and leverage social media to publicize their issues. They also filed a complaint with the Osceola County Sheriff ’s Office, which previously confirmed an investigation was active, but has declined to provide details.
Alvarez called the bill “a major step forward” for residents in places like Concorde Estates.
“I am thrilled to see both chambers prioritizing this important legislation and ensuring that CDD Boards are responsible to the residents they are supposed to serve,” he said.
Residents say the experience has highlighted the limited options available to challenge or remove CDD board members outside of scheduled elections.
“We were told there was no way to recall them and that we had to wait until the next election,” Velez said.
The proposed recall law could change that, giving residents a direct mechanism to seek removal of elected board members before the end of their terms.
