A Community Development District is a special-purpose unit of local government authorized by state law to finance and manage infrastructure within a planned community. This mechanism allows developers to fund essential services and facilities like roads, water, sewer, and recreational amenities. Residents within the district contribute towards these costs through assessments included on their property tax bills. For example, a new housing development might use this to fund the construction of a park, which would then be maintained through resident assessments.
The use of such districts offers several benefits, including the ability to ensure that new communities have adequate infrastructure from their inception, without burdening existing taxpayers. Historically, the financing of large-scale developments often presented challenges. This solution provided a framework for funding these developments. It ensures that those who directly benefit from the infrastructure investments are the ones primarily responsible for paying for them, facilitating orderly growth and development.