According to Article I of the Colonial Heritage Bylaws, the “Development Period” is defined as follows:
“Development Period” shall mean and refer to the period commencing on the date of this Declaration first set forth above and terminating on the earlier of: (a) five years after the date on which Developer no longer owns any part of the Property or the Additional Land; or (b) any earlier date specified by the Developer in a written notice to the Association that the Development Period is to terminate on that date.
Article IV, Section 4.03 of the Bylaws addresses the Board composition and states: “The Board of Directors shall initially consist of five (5) directors appointed by the Developer. During the Development Period, the Developer, in the Developer’s sole discretion, may increase the size of the Board not to exceed seven (7) directors. The Developer shall appoint the members of the Board during the Development Period; however, the Developer, in the Developer’s sole discretion, may elect to have one or more of such board of director positions elected by the membership pursuant to the voting procedures for the election of directors as specified in these Bylaws. After the end of the Development Period, all Directors shall thereafter be elected.”
This means that Lennar’s control over the Board of Directors will end when:
- Five years have passed after Lennar no longer owns any part of the Property or Additional Land, OR
- Lennar voluntarily terminates the Development Period through written notice to the Association.
So, in essence, the founding documents authored by Lennar Corporation give them unlimited, unchecked and absolute control over Colonial Heritage from now until the end of time. Lennar need only own a square inch of property here in our community in order for them to retain control. This control means their ability to raise monthly dues (without owner consent), decide to mow common areas once a month instead off every week, close the indoor and outdoor pools permanently should they choose, open the main gates and allow anyone into the community and spend any monies collected from owner dues however they see fit. For more on how Lennar is spending YOUR money here at Colonial Heritage, click here.
All of this can be accomplished without own consent because Lennar holds a majority of seats on the Board of Directors.
It’s worth noting that Section 4.03 of the bylaws does allow the Developer to voluntarily relinquish some control by allowing homeowners to elect some board positions before the end of the Development Period, but this is entirely at the Developer’s discretion.
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