Good Intentions

Lake Wales is bound to grow, and in the minds of many, it needs to grow. Increasing demand for city services can easily outstrip revenue.

City commissioners have a tough job dealing with the pressures brought by development proposals, along with the vocal opposition some of those proposals have generated.

The commission’s decision Tuesday to deny a high-density development on a small parcel near Lake Alta pleased many residents of that neighborhood but drew complaints from some commissioners that their efforts to implement the Lake Wales Envisioned plan were being stymied.

The community-developed Envisioned plan calls for increased density in residential areas, particularly in town, and in-fill development that may relieve market pressure for sprawling “green-field” development of former agricultural lands in outlying areas.

The plan calls for “Traditional Neighborhood Design” as can be seen in areas of Lake Wales that were developed a century ago. Houses feature broad porches and front lawns instead of driveways, with garages typically relegated to the rear and accessed trough an alleyway. Street trees and sidewalks complete the attractive, and valued, neighborhoods.

Infill development using TND adds to the tax base without the need for major new investment in city services. It helps create housing within walking distance of services, reducing the need for auto trips. It reduces the cost of housing by providing a mix of types.

Accomplishing those stated goals will take serious effort.

Commissioner Keith Thompson has opined that there are some citizens who are opposed to all new developments. While that may be true, there have only been a small number of projects that have generated any significant degree of opposition, and many annexations and approvals have drawn none. Most citizens recognize the inevitability of growth and look to the Envisioned plan to direct it into acceptable forms.

The Lake Alta proposal would have allowed the construction of 24 “cottages” on narrow lots through the employment of a Planned Development Project rule empowered only through the sale of a small city park. It is that contortion of norms to maximize the density that raised serious objections.

It didn’t help that the development was proposed in an area of modest single-family homes on larger lots. Resident David Price pointed out that the resulting lots would be so small that there would be “zero” room for shade trees, or even a place to store a lawn mower for the resulting 400-square-foot front yards.

The small site could easily accommodate a lesser number of homes, but no visible effort was made to strike such a compromise. The developer told the commission at an earlier meeting that he could still profitably build on the site at a lesser density.

While interpretations of the elements of “traditional neighborhood design” will vary, the goal is worth pursuing. Commissioners should not be discouraged, but attempt to find the needed balance that will limit or silence opposition.

In the case of the Lake Alta proposal, it appears that it was simply “a bridge too far.”