A long running dispute in one of Broward County’s largest community of property owners finally reached a settlement on how to pay the nearly $5 million cost of repaving its roads.
Homeowners in the Savanna community of Weston rallied online and in person in opposition to their HOA Board of Directors’ plan to repave all community roads. Board members tried to explain they were saving homeowners money in the long run.
The Board agreed on a solution: Each property owner would pay $860 over the next year to pay for the $4.7 million cost of repaving all the community’s roads. Savanna has almost 3,000 homes in southwest Broward.
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In a statement issued last week, the group — the Savanna Coalition or Savanna United — says many homeowners questioned "the necessity, timing, and process of the [paving] project." They cited a community poll that found "84% of respondents favored postponing the project until reserves were sufficient." Through grassroot efforts, they raised $13,000 and reported over 900 homes registered under the group.
“We started digging, not just things about this $5 million project seemed off, but a lot of other things, like terms of the contractors, how decisions are made and who ends up being in the board,” said Savanna homeowner Julian Duque.
The HOA’s attorney Matthew Zifrony said the decision to repave the streets was made shortly after a mid 2024 survey projected 2029 repair costs over $7 million. Zifrony, who was the board president at the time, said the board was fully transparent, and mentioned this issue monthly in meetings. He said homeowners only started to oppose issues when a $856 special assessment initially came into discussion.
“I personally, representing quite a few communities, have not seen a reaction like this,” Zifrony said. “[A leader behind the Savanna Coalition is] using the road repavement project as a way of firing up the community in order to get on the board.”
The Coalition argued reserve studies had projected the roads' useful life until 2029, yet they argued that he Board advanced the project citing inflation and potential cost savings.
Zifrony disputed this claim saying the roads, which he said were 26 years old, are past their useful life of 20 years. He said repeated requests for engineering studies and legal fees to respond to a 960-page Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation complaint have cost the homeowners “tens of thousands.” In the Sept. 30 board meeting, Savanna Board President Gary Grove doubled down and said the board spent in excess of $50,000 to comply with homeowner’s requests.
The Coalition said it remains committed to "transparency and accountability” and has taken several actions, including collecting "over 600 digital signatures" seeking clarification from the Board. They also filed a petition with signatures from "more than 10% of homeowners," the threshold required to request a special meeting to halt the project and commission an independent engineering study.
The Coalition said “the Board rejected [the] petition and reaffirmed its decision to proceed."
Savanna Board President Gary Grove and Zifrony argued 40% is Savanna’s threshold and the 10% figure is the default requirement in state law. Savanna’s online bylaws feature the 10% figure.
The project in Savanna had become a major point of contention within the community at a time when HOA’s have become the subject of much debate in Tallahassee. Some state lawmakers have called for abolishing them entirely.
Homeowners in the Savanna Coalition said they empathize with HOA governance reforms, but they value the benefits of having amenities — a clubhouse, a pool, and landscaping services — maintained. Zifrony also believes a HOA ban is an overstep.
“Are there bad apples out there? Are there situations where boards are not doing the right thing out-of-control boards. Yeah, I'm sure there are,” Zifrony said. “I'm certainly not going to defend when a board is doing things wrong they shouldn't be, but to abolish all HOAs because of that, I don't think is the appropriate remedy, and I certainly don't think in this instance that Savanna's board has done anything wrong.”
Savanna Coalition homeowner Bharat Krishna said: “This road paving project is kind of the tip of the iceberg because a lot more people are now paying attention to the issues underlying in the governance of the HOA over the last 25 years.”
