The Island, Boca West: 12 estate homes on Wood Duck Drive, no Village approval and a developer's right on vacant lots

From the Village, nothing beyond an estoppel, so long as the lot has a house. The declaration contains no association approval of a sale or lease and no transfer fee. A buyer still needs the master's Certificate of Compliance and the Club's approval, and joins the Country Club.

Every owner is a member of the association, and membership is "appurtenant to, and may not be separated from" the lot (Art. IV § 1, p. 4). Each owner also becomes subject to the master's covenants "by taking title to a Lot" (Art. X § 1, p. 11).

Then the developer, Arvida Corporation under the declaration, holds a right of first refusal. A lot without a house and its certificate of occupancy may not be sold until the owner first offers it to the developer. The developer must have "waived, in writing, its right to purchase" (Art. IX § 1, p. 10).

• The seller's notice goes to the developer with a signed copy of the contract.
• Thirty days. The developer exercises or waives within 30 days. Silence counts as a waiver, and the developer must then record a certificate of waiver (Art. IX §§ 2–3, p. 11).
• Void without it. A sale of an unbuilt lot "without notice to Developer and waiver … shall be void" (Art. IX § 4, p. 11). Foreclosing institutional lenders and public-sale buyers are exempt (§ 5).

Every lot has a house today. A teardown, or a house without a certificate of occupancy, would revive the clause, and whoever now holds Arvida's rights would have to waive.

No capital contribution or transfer fee to The Island. The buyer pays the master's capital contribution and the Club's Joining Fee.

The association's assessments are uniform per lot (Art. V § 4, p. 5). The 1984 ceiling of $11,760 a lot a year rises with the consumer price index, and a Board majority may change it (Art. V § 3, pp. 4–5). The declaration also says the association "shall collect for, and remit to" the master its assessments, so we ask whether the master's share is on The Island's estoppel (Art. V § 2, p. 4). The master bills The Island $199,166 for 2026/2027, up 5.08% (master's adopted 2026/2027 budget, not recorded), plus the master's per-unit charges. The estoppel gives the lot's own figure.

Lots 10 and 11 are one tax parcel. The declaration treats lots developed together as one "except as to assessments" (Art. VIII § 1, p. 9), so we ask whether the estoppel bills one share or two.

The declaration does not restrict leasing, so the master's rules govern: no lease in the first 12 months of ownership and none under four months. A rental amendment to a homeowners' association's documents enacted after 1 July 2021 generally binds only owners who take title after it, or who consent to it (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(1)(h)). If The Island's owners ever add a leasing limit, a buyer after its recording takes subject to it.

• Owners may not display "for rent" or "for sale" signs, only a sign reading "open" of up to five square feet while they or their agent attend (Art. VIII § 11, p. 10).
• No boat, recreational vehicle or motor vehicle other than a four-wheel passenger car "less than 5.6 feet in height" may be placed, parked or stored on a lot (Art. VIII § 4, p. 9). Florida law lets an owner park a pickup truck or a work vehicle that is not a commercial motor vehicle in the driveway (Fla. Stat. § 720.3075(3)(d)).
• Garages must have at least 450 square feet and remote-controlled doors. One may be enclosed or converted only if another enclosed garage takes its place on the lot (Art. VIII § 7, p. 9).
• A lot may be split only to enlarge a neighbor's, with the remainder at least 95% of the smallest lot (Art. VIII § 1, pp. 8–9).

• Some Arvida deeds add their own covenants. The deed of Lot 13 requires Arvida's approval of plans and at least 6,500 square feet of living area. It gives Arvida a lien for curing violations, effective when a claim of lien is recorded (OR 5729/515, Exhibit A). We read the developer's deed in each chain.
• The association's lien arises on recording a claim of lien and yields to an earlier first mortgage held by a bank, mortgage company, insurer, savings and loan or REIT, for amounts due before the foreclosure (Art. V §§ 8–9, pp. 5–6). Chapter 720 governs where the two differ.
• The covenants run 50 years from recording, to February 2034, then renew for 10 years at a time unless owners holding two-thirds of the votes record otherwise (Art. XI § 1, p. 12).
• The association recorded a waiver of the 10-foot side setback for Lot 4 in 2004 (OR 16635/464). We search for any similar certificate on the lot.
• Arvida/JMB Partners quit-claimed Parcel A and Wood Duck Drive to the association in 1991 (OR 6812/494).