The former golf course property is now being redeveloped by 13th Floor Homes as The Woodlands (Representational AI image)
More than 11 years later, that backyard has become the centre of a property boundary dispute involving a developer building a new residential community on the former golf course. When Donzelli and his family bought the house in 2015, the property included the pool, enclosed patio and a view of the Woodlands Country Club golf course. The former golf course property is now being redeveloped by 13th Floor Homes as The Woodlands, a gated residential community with 335 single-family homes. Tamarac Talk reported in July 2024 that 13th Floor Homes had completed its $14 million purchase of 270 acres at 4600 Woodlands Boulevard. The company said the property would be redeveloped into a community with 335 homes. As of the NBC 6 report, Donzelli said that survey had not yet taken place. NBC 6 Responds reviewed mapping information available through the Broward County Property Appraiser’s website While Donzelli was waiting for the survey. The Woodlands project is replacing the former country club property with a planned community of 335 homes. The development is planned to include more than 160 acres of preserved open space and lakes, a five-mile recreation trail, controlled-access gates, landscaping and infrastructure improvements, according to Tamarac Talk. The project was approved by Tamarac’s city commission in March 2024 in a 3-2 vote.
Because it offered what he and his family wanted, including a pool, an enclosed patio and a view of the former Woodlands Country Club golf course, joe Donzelli bought his Tamarac, Florida, home in February 2015. Because he wanted clarification about whether parts of his backyard were actually on the developer’s land, he said he contacted the developer. Because of the company’s identification of possible encroachments from neighbouring properties, the development brought Donzelli’s property boundary into question.
Donzelli said he received a letter from 13th Floor Homes last month saying the company had identified “potential encroachments in the vicinity of your property”, according to NBC 6. The developer said the structures could “conflict with the approved site plan limits” for the new development. An image attached to the letter showed a green line marking his property boundary and a red circle around parts of his enclosed patio and pool area, according to Donzelli. Donzelli said the initial response left him with little time to act. “They told me I had three days to remove my pool and anything that was in the company’s property or the construction company would do it for me,” he said. He later spoke to a company representative by phone, who told him that a surveyor would be sent to his home to check the property line. Donzelli said the three-day deadline was also waived, but he has not received another email or phone call about the survey. “We found this one, and just the stars aligned and we were able to make the deal happen,” Donzelli said. Donzelli said residents had previously been told that new construction would keep a buffer between the existing homes and the new development. “We were told that once the plans were agreed upon that new construction would be a minimum of 80 feet from existing property lines,” he said. 13th Floor Homes had said that its land development work had started and that a land survey had identified cases where items or structures from neighbouring properties extended onto The Woodlands property. The developer said these structures were in conflict with legal property boundaries and approved development plans. It said it was working with neighbouring residents individually and asking for the removal of items or structures that encroach on The Woodlands property. “Property boundaries are established through a certified survey prepared using the property’s deeded legal description and supporting title documentation, consistent with Broward County Property Appraiser records,” the developer said in its statement to NBC 6. The company also said it remained committed to working directly with Donzelli and offered to send a surveyor to his property. That mapping information adds another point to the dispute, although the developer said legal property boundaries are established through a certified survey based on the property’s legal description and title documents. He said he was also concerned about other residents in the neighbourhood who may have to deal with similar questions as construction continues. “There are a lot of folks who are still original owners from the early ’70s who live here,” Donzelli said.
The area has since changed significantly. Construction is now underway, with site preparation and earthwork taking place on the former golf course property. The online map appeared to show Donzelli’s enclosed patio within the boundaries of his property. For Donzelli, the issue was not only about his own backyard. “They may not understand how this process works. Who’s advocating for them? You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.