by James Coulter
More than 76 acres near Hunt Brothers Road and US Highway 27 have been prepared for future development now that the City of Lake Wales has approved the annexation of 29 acres and the rezoning and redesignation of 47 acres.
At their regular meeting on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, Lake Wales city commissioners voted unanimously to approve the second reading of three ordinances pertaining to preparing 76 acres of land for future development.
The first ordinance will annex more than 29 acres of land into the city limits. The second and third ordinances, respectively, would reassign the future land use and zoning from Business Park to Industrial.
The subject properties, according to the city agenda memo, are located “south of Hunt Brothers Road, west of Scenic Highway South, and east of US Highway 27.” While no development plans have been submitted, city staff expects these changes to help accommodate future development of these properties and potentially raise their property value.
As the city agenda memo states: “After coordinating closely with the Lake Wales Economic Development Council, it was determined that an Industrial zoning designation may be more attractive to potential manufacturing businesses and large employers.”
Lake Wales city commissioners gave preliminary approval of these three ordinances during their first reading at the regular meeting on Sep. 17, 2024. The Planning and Zoning Board had recommended and approved these ordinances on Aug. 27, 2024.
