by James Coulter
To help reflect the changing character of Thornhill Road, especially due to the construction of the Polk Parkway, county commissioners approved a Future Land Use subdistrict change of a 178-acre property.
At their regular meeting on Tues. Aug. 19, the Polk County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) voted 3-2 to approve changing the future land use subdistrict of a 178-acre property from Residential-Low-1 (RL-1) to Residential-Low-4 (RL-4).
The subject property is located south of Thornhill Road, east of Lake Hancock, and north of the City of Bartow. The Central Polk Parkway, a proposed extension from State Road 570B to US 17, is expected to cut through the site with a bridge crossing over Thornhill Road.
The subdistrict change was requested by the property owners, who claimed “the retaining walls used for the Central Polk Parkway’s proposed bridge over Thornhill Road will affect the ability to develop the property,” according to the county staff report.
“Although the type of bridge should not be the determining factor in deciding the appropriateness of a land use, staff acknowledges the applicant’s statement that the proposed bridge over Thornhill Road will change the character of the area,” the staff report explained.
Commissioner Bill Braswell compared the proposed bridge to a “mountain” that would divide the property almost into “two different communities” where it would almost be impossible to “see the other side.”
Many residents took to the podium during public comments to voice their concerns about the property change, especially with the construction of the proposed bridge.
One resident, Mike Harrison, expressed concerns about potential traffic issues. He mentioned how traveling along Thornhill Road to State Road 40 took at least 27 minutes in the morning due to congestion.
Another resident, Daniel Dentz, worried that the number of accidents could potentially increase along the road. Having lived there for nearly 30 years, he claims to hear ambulances routinely racing down the road due to accidents along it.
“Our way of life is being sold out,” he said. “The more you let them develop that area and more units, the more density and the worse it will be. If I wanted to live in Tampa, I would move there, and I don’t want to live there. If you all had to live out there, you would not vote for this.”
