Sea Ranch Lakes is basically a gated-community surrounded by Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. That part of the community that is not gated is composed of a shopping mall and a private beach club for the village residents. However, all the land within the boundaries of the town is private land, none of it owned in common by the village itself. That means the Sea Ranch Lakes Police Department can deny anyone access to any portion of the village: it's all private land. This all came about during the incorporation process that was completed in 1959. In those days, it was simply about not being forcibly annexed into Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea or Pompano Beach. To own a home in Sea Ranch Lakes, one must be a dues-paying member of the Sea Ranch Lakes Beach Club. Those dues pay for capital improvements in the town and for salaries of the Beach Club employees.