Housing bust takes toll on city of retirees

by Dante Chinni | The Christian Science Monitor

CLERMONT, FLA. - A few decades ago, a short elevator ride to the top of the 226-foot-tall Citrus Tower revealed acres of fruit-bearing trees in this central Florida city.

Then, in the 1980s a string of freezes killed the trees. In their place came a lot of development mostly in the form of seniors' communities and golf courses.

In Clermont's roughly 10 square miles are eight 18-hole courses. Three of these are connected to the over-55 neighborhoods, Kings Ridge and Summit Green, which hold about one-third of the city's 22,000 people.

"Because of the retirement communities, we skew older," says Ray San Fratello, president of the South Lake County Chamber of Commerce. "We are the oldest county demographically in central Florida."

These communities have a lot of clout at the local ballot box because Clermont's city council is elected at large (not by districts), which means all the council members can come from one place or even one street. Their polling places are usually in well-traversed meeting places in the heart of the retirement communities.

"If they have someone from Kings Ridge or Summit Green running, forget it," says Ann Dupee, former publisher of the South Lake Press, a weekly newspaper in the area. "They vote in big numbers and they always vote for residents."

The result: Two of the three city council members here are from the two communities.

The seniors who have moved to Clermont aren't superwealthy. Many are living on fixed incomes, city officials say, and don't necessarily want large improvements to the community if it means raising taxes.

The schools here, meanwhile, are crowded and most people say they need expansion and construction. But getting such measures through approved by residents on the ballot isn't easy because a large portion of the voting population doesn't have children in school.

Then there are the snowbirds &ndash folks who come South for the winter months and aren't heavily invested in the community &ndash which represent about one-third of the population, according to city estimates.

The population changes have forced Clermont to figure out how it should move forward. Around the area, talk about "master plans" is frequent.

Less than an hour from Orlando, Clermont is a bedroom community &ndash the residential to retail outlet split here is about 80/20 respectively. Newer homes and the familiar mix of suburban America &ndash strip malls, chain restaurants, and hotels &ndash surround the old downtown, originally built in the first half of the 20th century.

At the same time, an antigrowth movement has sprung up. "It's become somewhat polarizing," says John Moore, CEO of South Lake Hospital. "You have many successful people in this community who have built their careers on development. You have others who want to shut the door." For all the development, there's still a bit of the hokey roadside tourist feel that Florida was known for in the years "Before Disney" (Disney World is 26 miles away in Orlando). The Citrus Tower, built in 1956, sits next to the President's Hall of Fame, built in 1960, which features wax replicas of former commanders in chief, portraits, and miniatures.

But the building projects, many of which turned citrus orchards into homes, also kept the economy going.

The recent slowdown in development has hit the area hard. Many foreclosures have followed. In fact, the biggest issue for Clermont in 2008 is probably the economy.

"There are a lot of people in this community who are out of work," says Suzy Gibson, an owner of Clermont Automotive and Tire Center. "It's not just real estate agents or construction. It's plumbers and electricians."

Other city businesses are feeling the effects. "Once the building stopped, people didn't have anywhere to go for jobs," says Gary Clarke, a financial adviser with Ameriprise in Clermont. "It used to be that if you went to Outback [Steakhouse] on a Saturday night you'd have an hour, hour-and-a-half wait. Now you just shoot right in."

Seniors are having financial troubles, too. Many retirees say they need to go back to work. Some look for jobs to alleviate boredom or to make ends meet. Becoming a real estate agent was a popular option &ndash until most of those jobs dried up in the housing bust. What's more, as the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to jump-start the economy, people on fixed incomes often suffer because their dividends can take a hit.

On the political front, there is less uncertainty: Lake County, where Clermont sits, is reliable Republican country. In 2004, the county gave 60 percent of its vote to President Bush.

But a more moderate conservatism may be taking root, perhaps because of the influx of northerners or because of the changes in the Republican Party and the low approval numbers of the Bush administration, some people say. A divide is growing between the hard-line and moderate conservatives.

"This has long been a Republican County," says Darren Gray, Clermont's assistant city manager. "But the dynamics are changing." It is not likely to be enough to throw the county into the Democratic column. The GOP is still quite strong here. Observers will be watching just how revved up the conservative base will be come November.