Holiday council and RDA approve Royal Holiday Hills affordable-housing agreement after residents ask for delay

The Holiday City Council voted to approve a resolution authorizing an agreement with CAMW Development LLC to advance affordable housing in the Royal Holiday Hills project, and the Redevelopment Agency followed with its own approval. The measures passed after public comment from residents asking for more time to negotiate HOA and shared-amenity terms and after the developer said delay would jeopardize funding and schedule commitments.

Residents from the Holiday Hills community urged the council to postpone action so stakeholders could meet with the developer and iron out details. Tom Peterson, a Holiday Hills resident, said residents felt blindsided by the timing and warned that shared-amenity obligations could create financial burdens for condo owners: "It just causes financial, uncertainty ... the last thing anybody wants to have to get into is litigation," he said, asking council to "please take into consideration, we're citizens of Holiday." Another resident, identified only as Terry, asked the council to extend the public-hearing period to Jan. 20 so stakeholders could present "a strong, unified proposal."

The developer's representative pushed back on the requested delay. Wade Budge, representing the Block E developer, told the council a 30-day pause would increase the risk of missing deadlines tied to restricted affordability funds and said the developer had committed to an accelerated schedule for schematic drawings and further design work. "We would ask that this be approved now," Budge said, adding that the project team planned to return designs by the June timeline in the agreement and had adjusted the commencement of construction to 2028 in more recent schedules.

Council members said they weighed residents' concerns against the city's obligations to spend or obligate restricted funds for affordable housing. Mayor Dally noted the city's obligation under the ADL to place 100 units and said delaying the vote would not change the structure of the agreement but could imperil meeting required timelines. An unnamed council member summarized the majority view: an affirmative vote "provides a pathway forward" to deliver deed-restricted units at 80% AMI while preserving options for future amendments.

On the council motion to adopt Resolution 2025-37 (approving an agreement between the city, the Redevelopment Agency of Holiday, and CAMW Development LLC relating to affordable housing at Royal Holiday Hills), the motion was seconded and recorded "yes" votes were announced for Council members Gray, Quinn, Fotheringham, Durham, Brewer and the chair; the motion passed. The council then adjourned and the Redevelopment Agency convened; the RDA moved and approved Resolution 2025-05, a parallel agreement, with affirmative votes recorded for Directors Gray, Clint, Dally, Follingham, Durham and the chair.

Council members and staff said the vote does not prevent the condo residents and the developer from continuing to negotiate HOA rules or shared-amenity arrangements. Council members repeatedly emphasized that the city's action was a financial agreement to enable delivery of restricted units and that operational HOA disputes remained matters for the property owners and developer to resolve.

Next steps described in the meeting record include the developer returning schematic drawings in the months ahead under the agreement's timeline and the parties continuing stakeholder discussions. The council and RDA approvals enable the city to proceed with the financing and design milestones identified in the agreement; specific funding amounts and several operational details referenced in the meeting transcript were stated by speakers during discussion and will require verification in the final signed agreement and accompanying exhibits.