by James Coulter
More than 10 acres of land will soon be annexed into the Lake Wales city limits, with changes to its zoning and future land use designation following the city commissioners’ preliminary approval.
At their regular meeting on Tues. Nov. 4, 2025, Lake Wales city commissioners voted unanimously on the first reading of three ordinances on 10.76 acres of land south of Grove Avenue East and west of Hamlin Street.
The first ordinance would annex the land into the Lake Wales city limits, while the other two ordinances would change the property’s land use and zoning designation from County RL to City MDR and City R-1D.
The subject properties are located at the southwest corner of Grove Avenue East and Hamlin Street and are surrounded by single-family homes to the north of Grove Avenue and by Groves at Hunt Club to the west, south, and east.
A request for annexation, land use, and zoning change had previously been presented to the Planning and Zoning Board in June 2025; however, that request was deferred “as the applicant had requested waivers from the new PDP Guidelines, which the Board found were not justified,” wrote Autumn Cochella, Director of Growth Management.
“The City received an amended petition for map amendments…[and] The Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously to recommend the map amendments to City Commission,” Cochella further elaborated.
The second reading of the three ordinances will be held at a future city commission meeting.
