Who Runs Celebration, Florida? CDD vs CROA, County and Schools, Explained
For any given thing in Celebration — streetlights, lakes, pools, paint colours, trash, water, roads or schools — which body is actually responsible: the Celebration CDD, CROA and Town Hall, the Enterprise CDD, Osceola County, or the school district? A responsibility map with the contact route each body itself publishes.
7 minute read
Celebration is not run by a city, and it is not run by a single homeowners association. It is an unincorporated community in Osceola County where responsibility is split between a public development district, a private residential association, a separate utilities district, the county, and the county school district. That is why a streetlight, a lake, a pool and a paint colour can each belong to a different office.
This map gives the plain-English answer by topic: for each thing in Celebration, which body is responsible, and the contact route that body itself publishes. For the history and finances of each body, see the linked explainers. For day-to-day coverage, follow Celebration news and the Celebration hub, including the Celebration News category archive.
The short answer: public ground, private amenities, county services
The Celebration Community Development District — the CDD — states the dividing line on its own Questions page. The District is, in its words, a public and governmental entity responsible for the public common areas within the District. The Celebration Residential Owners Association — CROA — is a private entity responsible for residential properties and all private amenities and areas of the community.
Two additions complete the picture. Water and sewer utilities sit with a third body, the Enterprise Community Development District. County services in unincorporated areas, including waste collection and county-owned roads, remain county services in Celebration, and public schools are run by the School District of Osceola County. The Celebration villages explainer sets out how the areas fit together.
Streetlights, sidewalks, trails and alleys: the Celebration CDD
If it is public ground underfoot or overhead, start with the CDD. The District lists street lighting; sidewalks, boardwalks and trails; alleys; hardscape such as fences and signs; and common-area landscaping, including street trees in the District right-of-way, trimmed for safety purposes only. The governance page on celebration.fl.us adds street sweeping.
Route: Celebration CDD, 313 Campus Street, Celebration, FL 34747; 407-566-1935; [email protected]. Its elected board and budgets are covered in the CDD explainer.
Lakes, ponds, stormwater and mosquitoes: the CDD, with two exceptions
The CDD is responsible for the downtown lake and esplanade, including the shade structures and interactive fountain, for stormwater ponds and drainage structures, and for mosquito control and aquatic weed control. A pond, a blocked District drain or mosquitoes: the District Office, on the numbers above, is the first call.
Two exceptions: drainage attached to county-owned roads is maintained by the county Road and Bridge Office, below; and the CDD notes that conservation areas and jurisdictional wetlands sit under the Reedy Creek Improvement District and the South Florida Water Management District, not the CDD.
Pools, parks, recreation and resident ID cards: CROA and Town Hall
Pools and parks are the mirror image of lakes. CROA maintains all its active and passive private parks, which the CDD names as Lakeside Park, Founder’s Park, Heritage Park, North Village Park, East Village Park, and the Artisan Park and Club. Town Hall’s FAQ sets pool and park hours, states that a valid CROA ID card is required for pool access, and directs recreation enquiries to Parks and Recreation at 407-566-1200.
Route: Town Hall, 851 Celebration Avenue; 407-566-1200; [email protected]. Town Hall is the staffed front office for CROA. The CROA and Town Hall explainer covers CROA’s board, dues and governing documents in depth.
Your house exterior, paint and landscaping changes: CROA’s Architectural Review Committee
Any change to the exterior of a property requires prior approval from the Architectural Review Committee, or ARC. Town Hall’s FAQ gives the examples directly: painting the home, changing landscaping, replacing the mailbox, altering house numbers, and any change to fencing, including adding or removing it. It advises obtaining written approval even for very minor projects, rather than risk a covenant violation.
CROA’s primary role, as the CDD summarises it, is compliance with the rules and community-wide standards in the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. ARC applications can be dropped off at Town Hall or emailed to [email protected]; the committee’s scheduled meetings occur once a month. ARC approval does not replace any permit the work itself requires, and a permit does not replace ARC approval.
Trash, recycling and yard waste: Osceola County, through Waste Management
Curbside collection is neither the CDD nor CROA. Osceola County states that it partners with Waste Management to offer trash and recycling services, and that all residents of unincorporated Osceola County receive once-a-week garbage, recycling and yard waste collection, with bulk waste collected once a week on the regular garbage day.
Route: to start service, call the county Solid Waste Main Office at 407-742-7750. For collection requests, the county lists Waste Management at 407-605-3892, and a missed pickup can be reported through the county’s online form.
Water, sewer and reclaimed water: the Enterprise CDD
The body most new residents have never heard of runs the taps. The Enterprise Community Development District is a separate special-purpose governmental entity, and the Celebration governance page states that it is responsible for potable water, reclaimed water, and sewer utilities.
Route: Enterprise CDD, 407-566-4132; [email protected]. Like the Celebration CDD, it has authority to levy assessments on properties within its boundaries and is governed by a five-member Board of Supervisors.
Roads: county-owned roads to the county, alleys to the CDD
Ownership decides. The county Road and Bridge Office maintains county-owned roads, rights-of-way and drainage in unincorporated areas, including pothole repairs. For a non-emergency problem on a county road, the county publishes a Report a Road Problem route; a hazard needing immediate attention is 407-742-7500.
Inside Celebration, alleys are on the CDD’s maintenance list, and streetlights remain the CDD even where the road surface is a county matter. The useful question is a specific one: who owns this road. Neither body’s published material assigns Celebration’s internal road surfaces to the CDD, so this map does not either.
Schools: the School District of Osceola County
No Celebration body runs a school. The CDD lists Osceola County Schools — the K-8 school, the high school and the Island Village elementary school — among the other entities in Celebration. Those schools sit in the School District of Osceola County (817 Bill Beck Blvd., Kissimmee, FL 34744; 407-870-4600). Celebration K-8 School publishes its own contact as 510 Campus Street, Kissimmee, FL 34747, and 407-566-2300. Enrolment, zoning and buses are district matters.
The money: three separate charges, three separate bodies
The bills follow the same split. CDD costs are borne by property owners through a non-ad valorem assessment with two parts, debt service and maintenance. The District states that these assessments are not taxes as such, but they appear as a line item on the annual Osceola County real estate property tax bill, are sent by the county tax collector in November, and are collected in the same manner as property taxes.
CROA is funded separately: all residential owners are members, and annual dues fund the operations in the annual CROA budget, payable through the routes Town Hall’s FAQ lists, including the GrandManors owner portal and Town Hall itself. The Enterprise CDD holds its own assessment authority. County property taxes, and the bill that carries the CDD line, remain county functions.
Safety and security: a supplement, not a police force
The CDD states that it also supplements security services by hiring off-duty deputies. That is a supplement to law enforcement, not a Celebration police department, and neither body presents itself as one. Emergencies are 911.
Who do I call for X: the quick list
Streetlight out, sidewalk or trail damage, alley problem, lake or pond problem, stormwater pond, mosquitoes: Celebration CDD, 407-566-1935, [email protected]. Pool, private park, recreation programme, resident ID card, covenant question: Town Hall for CROA, 407-566-1200, [email protected]. Painting, fencing, mailbox, house numbers or landscaping change: ARC application to Town Hall, same contacts, before work starts. Missed trash or recycling pickup, new curbside service: Osceola County Solid Waste, 407-742-7750, or Waste Management, 407-605-3892. Drinking water, sewer or reclaimed water: Enterprise CDD, 407-566-4132, [email protected]. Pothole or drainage problem on a county-owned road: Osceola County Road and Bridge, 407-742-7500. School enrolment, zoning or transport: School District of Osceola County, 407-870-4600.
One catch-all remains: Celebration’s FAQ says a maintenance request submitted through the My Celebration FL app is directed to the appropriate department, with status updates until the issue is resolved.
Sources & notes: Celebration CDD, Questions page and district contact material at celebrationcdd.org; Celebration Town Hall / CROA, Community Governance, FAQ and Design Guidelines & ARC Applications pages at celebration.fl.us; Osceola County, Curbside Collection Services and Road and Bridge Office pages at osceola.org; School District of Osceola County and Celebration K-8 School at osceolaschools.net. Contacts and hours are as published by each body and can change. Internal road-surface ownership in Celebration is not assigned in the published material consulted, and is noted as unresolved in the text rather than attributed.
Photo credit: Celebration Town Hall on Celebration Avenue, photographed by Mx. Granger, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0). Town Hall is CROA’s staffed front office.
Orlando Citizen by email
The weekly edition, in your inbox
One email, every Saturday: the week’s edition of Orlando Citizen — the week’s stories, rankings and winners, gathered in one place. Free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Related Stories
Celebration NewsOsceola County Growth: What It Means for Celebration, Florida
Celebration NewsCelebration, Florida: How to Get In and Out — US-192, World Drive, I-4 Exit 62 and Celebration BoulevardCelebration NewsCelebration, Florida: How to Get In and Out — US-192, World Drive, I-4 Exit 62 and Celebration BoulevardEditor’s Picks
Spotted an error? Tell us — corrections · How we rank
