Residents of Plant City’s Walden Pointe subdivision could soon have new neighbors as the city commission Monday approved rezoning necessary to move forward the proposed Johnson Pointe subdivision.
The proposed 55-lot subdivision is located along Johnson Road, west of Sam Astin Road, in the south of the city and would butt up against the Walden Pointe subdivision, prompting initial concerns from nearby residents.
During a March commission meeting, Walden Pointe residents came out in force to oppose the density of the proposed subdivision, but not the subdivision itself. Developer Mike
Lawrence, who also developed Walden Pointe, first asked for the land to be rezoned with a Residential-6 designation, allowing for six dwelling units per acre. That designation would’ve given Lawrence a potential density of 92 homes within the nearly 15.5-acre plot. His original design, however asked for about 70 homes.
During the March meeting, commissioners agreed to forward the proposal to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity for review with the caveat that they would later decide whether it’d be best to scale back and approve an R-4 designation, which residents said they supported, instead of the R-6.
Commissioners, at the time, expressed concern over potential adverse effects of a development with an R-6 designation.
“It seems to be repetitive in nature within several of the projects that have come before us in the last number of months, all of which have favorable outlook,” Vice-Mayor Bill Dodson, who was absent during Monday’s meeting, said in March. “My fear is, lately, the drive is toward having more density where it’s contrary … to the value this community likes, which is a bit more open space.”
Responding to residents concerns, Lawrence said he decided to change his request to an R-4, reducing the density to 55 lots. The reduction and treatment he received from Walden Pointe residents, Lawrence told commissioners, also prompted him to remove a promised buffer between the properties, much to the dismay of Mayor Rick Lott.
Lott said he was surprised to see the buffer removed. It’s inclusion, he said, was a promise Lawrence gave to the community that was a large part of making citizens feel comfortable.
“I want to say, Mr. Lawrence, I am disappointed,” Lott said. “It seems like tonight you are backing out of your promise.”
Lawrence told commissioners that it was not his intention to deceive. Lawrence said he made a deal with Walden Pointe residents and they didn’t honor it. When he went from R-6 to R-4, Lawrence said he thought “all bets were off.”
“I don’t think it’s that big of a deal,” Lawrence said. “It was just a response to how I was treated.”
Only one resident came out to oppose the development in its current form. Diane Silliman said she opposed the lot size and layout of the proposal, wanting it to be more like the sizes and positioning of Walden Pointe.
“My concern is where the most dense unit will be placed,” she said.
However, the development’s engineer, Wayne Griffin, said the dimensions of the property wouldn’t allow for it to exactly match Walden Pointe. Commissioner Nate Kilton said laying developments can sometimes take more creativity than it seems and the city shouldn’t restrict design elements of a community or it risks making guidelines for new developments too strict to be economically viable.
“Laying out a development like this is, a lot of times, more art than science,” Kilton said. “We have to be able to find that balance between the existing home owners and land owners and those who want to continue to invest in Plant City with these kind of projects.”
According to the city manager’s office, the addition of the subdivision would not have adverse effects on utilities, traffic conditions or law enforcement requirements and falls in line with the city’s Imagine 2040: Plant City Comprehensive Plan.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said the subdivision would be west of Sam Allen Road, not Sam Astin Road.