In 2004, Landmark Ranch Estates opened in Southwest Ranches as a gated community of 44 homes on lots of about two acres, according to the Miami Herald. More than two decades later, the next proposed subdivision on Griffin Road comes with draft rezoning conditions that would forbid an entrance gate, a guardhouse, streetlights and sidewalks inside the development.
The project is called the Reserve at Southwest Ranches. It would put 24 homes on roughly 90 acres at 13900 Griffin Road, at the southeast corner of Griffin Road and Hancock Road, which is SW 142nd Avenue. The Town Council approved first reading of the land-use change and rezoning on October 22, 2026, Citizen Portal reported. The more consequential part sits in the conditions attached to that vote. They decide what any future homeowners association in this community can and cannot become.
Restrictions written to limit the HOA
In most new construction, the HOA declaration is how a developer locks in a look. It sets approved colors, limits trailers in driveways, restricts animals and keeps a gate staffed. The Reserve's draft ordinance aims those same tools the other way. Section 3 of the Town Council's October 22 agenda packet lists the petitioners' commitments, and two of them read:
"That neither the Petitioners, their successors and assigns, nor any future homeowners association may restrict the keeping of animals, parking or storage of vehicles or architectural styles, colors, or materials."
"That the following are prohibited: gates at the community entrance, guard houses, street lights, and sidewalks within the development."
The staff recommendation adds a qualifier to the first restriction. An HOA may not restrict those things "beyond those imposed by the ULDC," which is the Town's land development code. So the Town's code still applies. An association layered on top of it gets no extra authority over horses, trucks, trailers, roof tile or paint.
The Council found these commitments "essential to its rezoning of the Property." They are written to bind the petitioners' successors and assigns. Staff conditioned approval on an executed declaration of restrictive covenants, delivered before second reading and acceptable in form to the Town Attorney. Once that declaration is recorded, the rural rules go with the dirt. A future board that decides it wants a gatehouse would run into a recorded commitment tied to the zoning itself.
The neighbors behind the plan
The plan comes out of talks with the existing neighbors. Town staff wrote that the petitioners submitted their conceptual site plan "to document their commitments to the Sunshine Ranches Homeowners Association and incorporate those commitments into the proposed rezoning approval."
On its own website, Sunshine Ranches describes its area as 4.20 square miles bounded by Griffin and Sheridan Roads and by Volunteer and Flamingo Roads. The group offers $50 annual memberships that carry voting rights, and it promotes protecting the rural lifestyle and giving residents a voice before the Town Council.
The ban on streetlights has a history in town. A 2011 Broward MPO community report recorded that the Town fought a streetlight proposal because residents wanted to keep the view of the night sky. The Reserve's covenants put that preference in writing for one parcel, permanently.
According to Citizen Portal's account of the hearing, nearby residents and the Sunshine Ranches HOA supported the project while pressing on mature trees, wildlife habitat and drainage, including flooding concerns tied to past projects.
Three eras of new acreage on the same few roads
The Reserve makes more sense next to the two newer communities buyers most often compare it with.
| Community | Homes | Lot size | Entrance | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landmark Ranch Estates | 44 | About two acres | Gated | First opened 2004 |
| Circle S Estates by CC Homes | 42 | One-acre sites | Not established | Sales launched November 2020 |
| Reserve at Southwest Ranches | 24 proposed | At least 2.5 net acres | Gates prohibited | First reading October 22, 2026 |
The Real Deal reported that Circle S Estates replaced a 48-acre equestrian farm with 42 homes on one-acre sites. In density terms, the Reserve moves the other way, with fewer homes on more land and a lot minimum two and a half times the size of a Circle S site.
The lot count is also below what the land use would permit. The Rural Ranches land-use category allows one home per 2.5 gross acres, and staff ran its public-facilities analysis on a 35-home maximum. The Rural Ranches-A zoning district the petitioners requested measures the 2.5 acres net, and the conceptual plan shows 24 lots. On the application's figures of 89.74 gross acres and 83.37 net acres, those 24 lots work out to roughly 3.5 net acres of site per home before roads and trails are carved out.
For a buyer weighing these three, the gate is only the visible difference. The bigger one is who controls what happens on the lot after closing. In a gated, covenant-heavy community, that power sits with an association. At the Reserve, as drafted, it would sit with the Town's code and the owner.
Trails, an archaeological site and owls
The covenants also add public-facing features in place of gated-enclave features. The commitments call for a single entrance on Griffin Road and a multi-use trail system with signage and water stations. The trail would cross the canal at Hancock Road and run along the east property line to Holatee Trail. A further obligation runs with the property to build a segment connecting the east-west canal trail to Palomino Drive if the Town Council requires it later. A lot owner here would be buying into a community whose recorded obligations include trail construction that the Town can call for after homes are occupied.
The site has more history than a vacant field. The three parcels currently hold vacant land, a church and a school, and staff noted the property has no pre-existing residential development rights. Three natural and historic resources will shape where homes can go:
- An archaeological site about 300 feet east of the FDOT retention pond near Griffin Road. A prior owner agreed with Broward County to preserve it as private open space in perpetuity, with archaeological monitoring, protective barriers and county review of nearby grade changes.
- Isolated wetlands, where any disturbance requires a county environmental resource permit.
- Burrowing owl clusters, which the land-use application intends to relocate to artificial burrows under a future Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission permit.
On an estate lot, these constraints affect building envelopes, grading and fill. Those details belong in the plat and site plan review, and they are worth reading before choosing a lot.
What happens before anyone can build
The October 22 vote was a first reading. The ordinance's effective-date clause ties the rezoning to two later events, whichever comes last: the effective date of the Future Land Use Map amendment changing the property from Community Facilities to Rural Ranches, and the Town's recordation of the declaration of restrictive covenants at the petitioners' expense. The approvals run in this order:
- Executed covenants delivered before the rezoning's second reading.
- Transmittal of a matching amendment to the Broward County Planning Council, with state review alongside the county map amendment and later county recertification.
- Plat and site plan applications, which the Town requires before the site can be developed.
The owners and petitioners of record are C&D 40 Acre, LLC and Hancock 40AC, LLC, represented by Dwayne L. Dickerson of Miskel Backman, LLP. The Town's notice went out by legal advertisement in the Sun Sentinel, by posting on the property and by mail to owners within 1,500 feet.
Questions buyers ask about the Reserve
Will the Reserve have an HOA? The draft ordinance refers to "any future homeowners association," so it anticipates one could exist. It also limits what that association could regulate on animals, vehicles and architecture.
Is the Reserve an equestrian community? The covenants bar an HOA from restricting animal keeping and require a multi-use trail. The agenda materials set no separate equestrian facility requirement and no minimum home size.
How many homes could ultimately be built? The conceptual plan shows 24, and the recorded declaration would bind development to that plan. Staff's 35-home figure was a conservative ceiling used only to test public facilities.
This post is general information about a pending land-use proceeding, not legal advice. Anyone weighing a purchase subject to recorded covenants should have an attorney review the final declaration once it is recorded.
On estate land, the recorded restrictions can matter as much to value as the acreage, and the Reserve's covenants show how much they can change what an owner is allowed to do. If you own acreage near Griffin and Hancock Roads, or you are comparing gated and ungated lots in town, Tommy Crivello can walk you through how restrictions like these affect a defensible price. Request a Private Valuation.
