Rotonda West, Florida

Rotonda West is an unincorporated, deed-restricted community situated in west Charlotte County, FL. It is a peaceful, planned community situated near the beautiful Gulf of Mexico in southwest Florida. It is located mid-way between Sarasota and Fort Myers. The community contains 8,000 home sites with over 5,000 homes completed and is experiencing rapid growth. Residents are predominantly full-time homeowners and their families, as well as tenants and those who winter in the community.

There are six golf courses, including four operated by Rotonda Golf and Country Club and two by Pinemoor Golf Club. Thirty miles of picturesque canals, lakes and ponds wind through the community and offer fishing and boating opportunities for its residents.

Many exotic and beautiful birds call Rotonda West home, as it is a designated Bird Sanctuary. Nearby recreation facilities, beaches, theaters, sporting events, and fine restaurants are available for all.

Clubs, activities, and many volunteer opportunities abound for those who wish to become involved.

It was originally developed by the Cavanagh Communities Corporation, which sold the entire Rotonda complex in 1980 after several years of financial difficulties. It is an unusual subdivision, in that it is shaped like an incomplete wagon wheel. A closed, fresh-water canal system surrounds the outside of the "wheel" and travels inside each of the pie-shaped wedges forming the subdivisions of the development. A protected wetland to the south prevents development of that area. Scrub Jays, bald eagles, great blue herons, egrets, and many other birds and animals inhabit the area.

The oldest and most-developed subdivision, Oakland Hills, once sported Ed McMahon as a home owner. In the 1970s, a television show called "The Superstars" (like Battle of the Network Stars except with athletes) was filmed here. What is now the community center was a bowling alley. A local track was where the track and field events were held.

As conceptualized, each subdivision was supposed to have its own golf course. The theory was the developers could draw residents by offering "a course a day to play." But beleaguered GDC wasn't able to carry through with their promises, and many developers took turns building out the area.

Although the area struggled for a while during the real estate bust period of the 1980s, in 2005 it is one of the hottest areas to build in, with development escalating in nearly all of the sections and several new golf courses.

Many of the homeowners are seasonal snowbirds from northern states and only live in the area part-time during the winter.

While the area is at risk of flooding from storm surge, it is located towards the center of the Cape Haze peninsula and hasn't flooded in recent memory. During Hurricane Charley in 2004, it was located on the left front quadrant of the storm, and although the eyewall came within a couple of miles of the area, most homes escaped major damage. Several large trees were downed, and many shingle roofs were damaged by winds. Quite a few pool cages and screened-in porches were blown down or damaged, but few houses sustained more than relatively minor damage. After Charley, most of the area had power back on in 13 hours, due in no small part to the fact that utilities such as power, phone, and cable are all run underground. Several overhead main feeder lines supply power to transformers in the area, but they were quickly repaired.

In 2005 Hurricane Wilma travelled south of the development, and because of the underground utilities, the area never lost power, even though many surrounding areas did.

The Rotonda West Association is the committee in charge of managing and enforcing deed restrictions. In 2003 they came up against a firestorm of controversy when they attempted to push a new community center to a vote during the summer when many seasonal residents were up north. The new community center was overruled by property owners, and at the next election, several incumbents were voted out.

Homeowners pay an annual association fee that is used for canal and vacant lot maintenance, among other things.

In early 2006 the RWA held another special election to try to get the community center passed (again) and (again) it was defeated by a nearly 2/3 majority.

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Rotonda West Homeowner's Association

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