by James Coulter
To better comply with its second Community Development District (CDD) in Winter Haven, Lak Ashton has petitioned the City of Lake Wales to amend its boundaries by removing 16.78 acres from its property.
During their regular meeting on Monday evening, Lake Wales City Commissioners voted unanimously to amend the boundaries of the Lake Ashton CDD (which is located in Lake Wales) by removing 16.78 acres from its property and transferring it to the Lake Ashton II CDD, which is located within the City of Winter Haven.
Currently, the Lake Ashton CDD covers approximately 472.15 acres of land. The 16.78-acre parcel being removed from this CDD and transferred to the CDD II, according to the city memo, “consists of golf courses that are owned and operated by the neighboring special district.”
According to the petition, as presented by Sarah R. Sandy, an authorized agent for the petitioner, both the Lake Ashton and Lake Ashton II CCDs, “acknowledged it to be in the best interests of both CDDs and the Community for the Boundary Amendment Parcels to be removed from the District and added into the boundaries of Lake Ashton II CDD.”
The proposed change of boundaries was reviewed by City Staff, which checked to ensure the proposal would remain consistent with the “Uniform Community Development Act of 1980”, Chapter 190, Florida Statutes, which dictates the standards and protocol for such changes within a CDD. Their review determined, according to the city memo, that the “proposed petition meets the requirements of Chapter 190.”
The City Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the ordinance 4-0 through a roll call vote. City Mayor Jack Hilligoss was absent that evening.
