Florida’s planning tools help communities fund infrastructure for responsible growth.
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Responsible growth starts with planning for it.
Florida’s master-planned communities have long put that principle into practice, making the state a national leader in community development.
In RCLCO Real Estate Consulting’s latest ranking of the nation’s top-selling master-planned communities, Florida holds all four top spots, including Association of Florida Community Developers member communities Lakewood Ranch, Wellen Park and Babcock Ranch.
Altogether, 16 Florida communities made the Top 50, accounting for 44% of sales among the nation’s top-selling master-planned communities. Many of these communities rely on the same proven tool to help finance the infrastructure that supports their growth: community development, improvement and stewardship districts.
This remarkable achievement invites a deeper and important question: What does it truly take to accommodate growth well?
Creating a successful community requires far more than constructing homes, retail and commercial spaces. It requires early and coordinated delivery of roads, water and sewer systems, stormwater infrastructure, parks, trails and public spaces. Much of that infrastructure must be planned, financed and built well before a community is fully built out.
At AFCD, we see this challenge across the state. Our members are helping plan and build communities to accommodate Florida’s continued economic and population growth, giving us a firsthand perspective on what responsible growth requires: housing supported by roads, utilities, stormwater systems, parks, and other infrastructure that residents need.
Community development, improvement and stewardship districts are among the tools Florida uses to meet these challenges. Florida law expressly provides for community development districts as an alternative method for managing and financing basic community services and capital infrastructure for projected growth. These districts provide a structure to finance public infrastructure, with those costs repaid over time through assessments, helping approved growth pay for the infrastructure it requires without shifting the burden to taxpayers outside the district.
Florida is far from alone in relying on this approach.
In a separate analysis of the 50 top-selling master-planned communities in the U.S., RCLCO and Launch Development Finance Advisors found that 88% of home sales in the Top 50 at year-end 2025 occurred within communities using a special taxing district.
This does not mean special districts alone drive success. But it does underscore that district financing is an established tool used in many of the nation’s most successful master-planned communities.
Communities designed to serve thousands of residents cannot wait until they are built out to address infrastructure needs. Financing mechanisms that allow infrastructure to be delivered in step with growth allow communities to plan proactively rather than reactively.
Florida lawmakers recognized this need decades ago. The Uniform Community Development District Act of 1980 established a statewide framework for community development districts. These districts help community developers effectively plan for and finance infrastructure as communities grow, allowing public improvements to be delivered in step with development.
Importantly, they are government entities. Florida law requires district financial reports and an annual budget process, and the statute expressly ties district operations to governmental disclosure, accountability, ethics and sunshine requirements. The law also authorizes special assessments for district facilities, providing a mechanism for growing communities to fund infrastructure without relying solely on the broader tax base.
As Florida continues to grow, it would be a mistake to overlook the role these districts can play in addressing one of the most persistent challenges of growth: how to fund critical community infrastructure effectively and sustainably.
The RCLCO rankings highlight a simple point: Successful master-planned communities do not happen by accident. Buyers are drawn to complete communities with infrastructure and amenities that shape how people live day-to-day. Florida’s strong performance reflects new residents’ desire for well-planned, sustainably financed communities where growth and infrastructure are planned together.
The challenge for Florida is to maintain that standard as growth continues and to preserve the planning and financing tools that have made it possible.
Community development, improvement and stewardship districts often operate behind the scenes, but the infrastructure they help deliver is visible in communities across the state. With Florida accounting for 44% of sales among RCLCO’s Top 50 communities, we have a strong model to build upon. As Florida continues to grow, these districts will remain an important tool for helping communities plan, invest in infrastructure and turn growth into complete communities built for long-term economic development.
To learn more, visit the Association of Florida Community Developers.
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Brian Hall is the executive director of the Association of Florida Community Developers, a statewide organization committed to advancing policies that create complete communities, strengthen infrastructure, protect natural resources and improve quality of life throughout the state.
The post Brian Hall: Florida leads the way in planning for responsible growth appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..
