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The Town of Windermere gained 51 homes and expanded its town limits Tuesday with its referendum on the annexation of the Chaine du Lac community. The subdivision is a 102-acre gated community just south of Lake Butler Boulevard with three- to seven-bedroom custom homes that average $3.7 million.
“I’m very pleased with the positive results of the Chaine du Lac annexation vote,” Windermere Mayor Jim O’Brien told VoxPopuli in a text message Thursday. “The Chaine du Lac neighborhood is complimentary to our small Town (sic) in both size and character. I’d like to welcome our new Town of Windermere residents as we celebrate our Town’s Centennial Celebration year.”
The referendum was conducted by mail ballot through the Orange County Supervisor of Elections and limited to the 113 registered voters in Chaine du Lac. A total of 68 ballots were cast — a turnout of about 60 percent. There were 51 ballots — 75 percent — in favor of joining Windermere with 17 against the annexation
Windermere greenlit the annexation in a 4-1 vote at its Dec. 10, 2024, town council meeting.
The annexation still needs to be formalized as an agreement and the town’s comprehensive plan and zoning map updated, estimated to take about 60 to 90 days. But by Feb. 14, Chaine du Lac residents will be under the jurisdiction of Windermere Police. Town officials told VoxPopuli they are still working out trash and recycling details. Windermere’s newest residents will also have access to the town’s coveted boat ramps and tennis courts, and they’ll be eligible for the town’s many volunteer boards and committees that advise the town council. Plus, they can vote in the upcoming March 11 municipal election. And in 12 months, residents will be eligible to run for office themselves.
Windermere was not required to open the referendum to its residents, though there were residents, like Sarah Lopez, who said in a Sept. 24, 2023, public workshop that the town was “always thinking about everybody else but not our town residents … and that is somewhat obvious by us not being able to have the voice for a vote.”
Council Member Tom Stroup, currently running for re-election, told VoxPopuli in an interview that he had also wanted Windermere residents to be able to vote.
“I wanted the town to vote on it, and I made that very clear, very clear,” he told VoxPopuli in an interview. “I feel like all annexations should go to referendum, and that's just a general philosophy of mine when it comes to the people having an opinion about certain issues.”
The referendum exposed something of a fissure in the town between those concerned about maintaining the “core” of original Windermere as the town annexes in subdivisions, like The Manors, The Willows and Marina Bay, on “the outskirts.”
Resident Karen Fay expressed concern during last September's workshop that newly annexed Chaine du Lac residents would vote on town matters, “diluting the voter base.”
Council Member Brandi Haines raised the “dilution of the residents” theme once again at a May 28, 2024, meeting stating that bringing more people into the town could alter the “ratio” of voters in a manner that could disproportionately impact downtown residents.
“Everything that happens in central downtown impacts the lives of the people who live on the dirt streets just a little bit more if it’s a big event than it does on the outskirts," Haines said in the meeting. "The people who live in Chaine du Lac, they’re not going to be disturbed by people parking on their roads … I’ve had quite a few people concerned with what you’d call a ratio because the more people we bring in, then those people have the chance to say, Yeah, we want a pavilion because it’s not in my backyard. It’s NIMBY. It’s not in their backyard. It’s part of their town. But it’s not going to impact them the same as about half of our residents who are downtown.”
That prompted a furious response from Council Member Tony Davit, who lives in one of the outlying neighborhoods and is currently running for his third term. Davit, who said he'd had to "bite his lip" while Haines was speaking, said he was “appalled” at the suggestion that he couldn’t represent residents living on dirt roads because he did not. “That is completely, completely false. The implication that I can’t vote on something based on where I live is completely insane.”
He said that he and other council members who live in outlying neighborhoods represent Windermere as residents first. He said he represents the entire populace fairly and listens to residents regardless of where they live.
O’Brien emphasized in response that Windermere is “one town.”
