The following addresses some of the claims made in a “Strong Opposition” form letter that was recently circulated:
(EXCERPT FROM LETTER): “HB 4099 proposes sweeping and permanent changes to the governance, elections, and rules of the South Indian River Water Control District (SIRWCD). These changes were introduced without transparency, without meaningful notice to affected landowners, and without discussion at a duly noticed public board meeting. This lack of due process alone is deeply concerning.”
FALSE. This bill was presented September 18, 2025 at the SIRWCD Annual Meeting. The notice of the proposed bill was published in the Palm Beach Post and presented at three separate public hearings of the Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation. It is not permanent. As with all bills, they can be submitted annually through the legislative process. Any changes that would affect either the Jupiter Farms, PBCE or Egret Landing communities would first need to be approved by their own dedicated representatives.
(EXCERPT FROM LETTER): “More importantly, the bill fundamentally undermines fair representation within the District. By restructuring the board, altering voting power to be based on gross acreage, and dividing the District into East and West regions, the bill would effectively disenfranchise homeowners in communities such as mine. Residents of Palm Beach Country Estates would gain disproportionate control over the SIRWCD board, making it nearly impossible for homeowners from smaller-lot communities to be elected or have their interests fairly represented.”
TOTALLY FALSE. HB4099 actually represents an increase in Egret Landing’s influence within the SIRWCD. Egret Landing gains the ability to exclusively elect a supervisor who will only represent Egret Landing/area east of I-95.
The voting power of Egret Landing remains the same. Despite being smaller lots, Egret Landing properties still get one whole vote as though they were one acre in size.
Currently, votes from Egret Landing for SIRWCD elections are extremely diluted because voting is by acreage and the Jupiter Farms area has 50 times the acreage of Egret Landing. It has 4.5 times the acreage of Palm Beach Country Estates (‘PBCE”). HB4099 allows each community the ability to elect its own board members. There would be 3 each from Jupiter Farms and PBCE and one from Egret Landing. Each community’s board member(s) would be the only one(s) to make decisions for each community. For Egret Landing, that issue would only be the maintenance of the drainage outfall. The Egret Landing board member would also serve as a “tie-breaker” vote for any matters that required the vote of the entire 7-member board.
It is important to recognize that SIRWCD does not provide any services to Egret Landing other than maintain the outflow connection for drainage so the SIRWCD’s influence on your community is already negligible and that would not change at all.
(EXCERPT FROM LETTER): “Despite this dilution of voting power, the financial burden on our community would remain unchanged. SIRWCD is a special taxing district with non ad valorem taxing authority, meaning assessments can be imposed without homeowner approval. Under HB 4099, our community risks becoming little more than a revenue source for a board dominated by one neighborhood, with no meaningful voice in decisions affecting our finances or infrastructure.”
FALSE. There is no change to assessments. The supervisor representing Egret Landing will have the sole responsibility to make decisions regarding any possible future assessments. It is anticipated that these decisions will only be made in consultation with the board of directors of the Egret Landing Property Owners Association, Inc. Neither Jupiter Farms or PBCE would have the ability to impose an assessment for Egret Landing.
Egret Landing is already fully developed. Language in the bill for capital improvements exclusively pertains to the PBCE community – which currently has some dirt roadways, open swale drainage, overhead utilities and no sewer system.
(EXCERPT FROM LETTER): “Additionally, the bill removes critical safeguards by eliminating the requirement for independent verification of petitions by the County Supervisor of Elections. This removal of oversight creates unnecessary risk and opens the door to potential abuse or fraud.”
FALSE. The requirement for petitions is of no use for Egret Landing due to it being fully developed. However, the requirement for a notarized petition form is a major improvement from the current system. The requirement for a notary confirms that the person signing the petition is real. That is not the case now. The Supervisor of Elections does not “verify” petitions at all – they simply count the ballots or petitions with no verification of authenticity. Additionally, the Supervisor of Elections has repeatedly stated that they do not want to perform that service for SIRWCD anymore.
HB4099 is a WIN-WIN-WIN for Egret Landing, Jupiter Farms, and PBCE. For at least the past 15 years, Egret Landing and PBCE could not elect supervisors who represent their own community interests because of the unfair influence Jupiter Farms has due to size. And this bill does not negatively affect Jupiter Farms in any way. It allows landowners in Jupiter Farms, PBCE or Egret Landing to deal with their own District issues without the other communities blocking them and it does not impose any additional assessments or restrictions on the other communities.
It should be clear to anyone that HB4099 dramatically helps BOTH Egret Landing and PBCE achieve FAIR representation and it does NOT negatively affect Jupiter Farms in any way.