Herons Glen

Herons Glen is 1,300 single-story homes east of U.S. 41 in North Fort Myers, in unincorporated Lee County, and building started in 1990. Inside the gates: a golf course, a clubhouse with a restaurant, pools, a fitness center, tennis and sports courts.

None of that is association property, and no developer or private operator owns it either. It belongs to the Herons Glen Recreation District, which is a unit of government. The District is an independent special district and a political subdivision of the State of Florida, set up in 1998. Five supervisors elected by residents run it, its boundaries match the community's, and every home is inside.

Who owns the golf course and the clubhouse?

The District does, and the declaration every owner takes title under is explicit. "The Recreational Facilities have been acquired by the District from the Developer. Each Owner acknowledges that the District is the owner of the Recreational Facilities and the Recreational Facilities are not Common Property." The association looks after the streets, the gate and guardhouse, street lighting, entrance walls, drainage, common landscaping, five preserves and eight lakes.

Owners voted to form the District, which bought the facilities from the developer with tax-free bonds in June 1999.

Does owning here give you the right to use it?

Not as a matter of law, and the District says so. "No, not as a matter of legal right. As a matter of law all the facilities owned by the District are public property and as such must be made available to the general public." In practice the board lets owners and their guests use everything but the golf without a fee, with some preference on tee times. That is board policy, not a right attached to the house, and policy can change.

Do the assessments pay for golf?

No. Two district assessments reach every home: one repays the bonds that bought the facilities, the other covers operations and maintenance. Both land on the annual property tax bill, on top of county taxes, and neither buys a round of golf. "Those annual O&M Assessments are used for all other expenses of the District except maintaining the golf course for playability which is an expense paid for by golf memberships." Golf is a separate annual membership. An owner who doesn't play isn't paying for the course.

What does a buyer pay at closing?

A capital contribution to the District, created by a 2014 amendment to the declaration. "Upon each transfer of record fee title to each Lot a contribution shall be made by the purchaser of such Lot to the working capital of the District in an amount to be considered annually by the Board of Supervisors of the District." Read "the purchaser": that is the buyer, not the seller. It carries the same lien rights as the District's other assessments, so pin down the figure for the year you close.

How many bills does one home get?

Three, or four, depending on the street: everyone pays the master association plus the District's two assessments, and three sub-associations charge a quarterly fee on top. The Fairways of Herons Glen is 75 homes on Kaidon Lane, and The Meadows of Herons Glen is 51 on Via Athena and part of Athenian Lane. Solana at Herons Glen is 88 on Calle Cristal Lane and Rue Alec Loop. "Each sub association has an additional quarterly fee. The sub associations sit outside the Herons Glen Homeowners Association."

What the master assessment covers is published:

• Mowing at each individual home, and basic internet and video service.
• Common-area landscaping, tree trimming, mulching and irrigation, the lakes and the preserves.
• Quarterly road sweeping, common-area insurance and administration, reserves and deferred maintenance.
• A guardhouse and entry gate around the clock, and a part-time roving patrol.

Trimming your own landscaping, pest control, utilities and house insurance stay with you.

What are the homes like?

Single-story throughout, 2 to 4 bedrooms, from about 1050 to about 3450 square feet. Homes have sold here from the $170,000s to around $800,000. At least 114 of the 1,300 are attached, and a property-type search won't separate them. Solana's 88 villas are the clearest case, and its own declaration is exact. "The Villas are fully attached, townhouse style dwellings." A row of them shares one roof structure, up to six villas to a building. Another 26 villas on Marathona Court are duplexes.

What are the rules on renting and pets?

Leases go in writing, cover the whole home, and the declaration sets the floor at "a minimum term of thirty days". A 2019 amendment went further and made advertising a home for any shorter period a violation in itself. "Publication of daily or weekly rates for lease of a Unit shall constitute a violation of this provision." The offense is the advertisement, so short-stay rental income is not a plan that works here.

Up to three pets per home, no breed restriction, leashed and held by a responsible person any time they're outside. The association does not screen buyers.

The course runs 18 holes, designed by Ron Garl and opened in 1991, redesigned by Ron Garl with Ricky Nix in 2021. The earliest plats here read Del Vera Country Club, and the association carried that name too until a 2007 instrument changed it. A listing or deed naming Del Vera Country Club is describing Herons Glen.