Preliminary Approval Given to Annexation of 193 Acres of Land West of Lake Wales
by James Coulter
Amid a wave of commercial, industrial, and residential annexations along State Road 60, Lake Wales commissioners gave preliminary approval to several ordinances involving 193 acres of land west of the city.
At their recent meeting on Tues. Aug. 18, 2026, city commissioners unanimously approved four ordinances involving the annexation, future land use, and zoning of 193 acres, as well as specific conditions governing development of the property.
According to Autumn Cochella, Growth Management Director, the site is located “on the western edge of town, south of State Road 60, and west of the Stoneridge MDP and Industrial, and of the Lake Wales Municipal Airport. The Florida Midland Railroad extends along the southeast portion of the site.”
The ordinances would annex the property into the city limits, change its future land use and zoning designation to Industrial, and apply special conditions specific to that parcel and its future development.
“The special conditions applied to the site will ensure that, at such time development plans are submitted to the City, additional regulations in conjunction with the underlying zoning standards will be required,” Cochella wrote. “Particular consideration is given to the existing residential to the west within unincorporated Polk County along the CSX Railroad and accessed by West Lake Wales Alturas Road.”
These standards will require industrial structures to be at least 200 feet from adjacent residential parcels east of Lake Wales Road and establish 20-foot-wide buffers comprising a mix of trees, shrubs, and fencing along the southwestern boundary and State Road 60.
Sheldon Rice, representing the applicant, said the special conditions intend to keep the property consistent with the surrounding area while providing flexibility for future development.
Rice said similar buffering measures are used in projects throughout the county and described them as both a “tool in the city’s toolbox” and a “guinea pig” for the annexation. He said the measures could help facilitate compatible economic growth and development.
“We have tried to maintain as much flexibility for this project as we could while also committing to certain things above and beyond the code standard that would make sure this is compatible with the surrounding uses no matter what ultimately is developed,” he said. “That is really the overarching concept of this project.”
Rice noted that the property is adjacent to several major developments, including Lake Wales Commons to the north and the Stoneridge community to the east and south. He said the proposed annexation and land-use changes would make the site compatible with the surrounding mix of industrial, commercial, and residential development.
“So, this is kind of along the corridor of Highway 60 where the city has recently approved other projects encouraging economic growth and development,” he said. “From a future land use perspective, this is right in line with everything around it…So we feel this fits well in the area and is compatible.”
