What were the most significant items on the Lake Wales Planning and Zoning Board agenda for October 2025?

Meeting Reading

Lake Wales Planning and Zoning Board

October 28, 2025

5 items on the agenda

**Mark Bennett's NAY on Taco Riendo is the cycle's second Lake Wales dissent — and the cycle's first single-member dissent (after the Sep 23 4-2 split on Hunt Brothers).** Where Rio and Blackburn voted together to deny on Masterpiece Road and Hunt Brothers, Bennett dissents alone on Taco Riendo. The dissent pattern in Lake Wales is **multi-axial** — Rio/Blackburn protect rural-residential character (Masterpiece) and oppose agricultural-to-industrial conversion (Hunt Brothers); Bennett opposes commercial-accessory food-truck SEUPs. Three dissent positions, three different cases. **No structural denial bloc has consolidated yet.**
**Fire Station 3 FLUM+Zoning amendment goes to I-1 Industrial — civic facility on industrial land.** The action is city-initiated annexation + IND/I-1 designation for a fire station. Compare to Lake County where fire-station expansion typically uses Public Institutional zoning. Lake Wales' choice of Industrial for a city facility carries jurisdictional implication: I-1 zoning is expansion-permissive in ways Public Institutional is not. **The city is choosing a more flexible regulatory baseline for its own facility.**
**The Peddlers Pond Medical phase-two reverter is procedurally novel.** The board's approval included an explicit condition requiring the applicant to return to the board *before phase two* if the cross-connection road is not approved. This is a phased entitlement structure with a board re-review trigger — analogous to Haines City's 2-year construction-commencement reverter but applied at the inter-phase boundary rather than the construction-start line. **The procedural toolkit Lake Wales is building is more granular than the standard PUD framework allows.**

On October 28, 2025, City of Lake Wales's Planning and Zoning Board considered 5 agenda items. **Mark Bennett's NAY on Taco Riendo is the cycle's second Lake Wales dissent — and the cycle's first single-member dissent (after the Sep 23 4-2 split on Hunt Brothers).** Where Rio and Blackburn voted together to deny on Masterpiece Road and Hunt Brothers, Bennett dissents alone on Taco Riendo. The dissent pattern in Lake Wales is **multi-axial** — Rio/Blackburn protect rural-residential character (Masterpiece) and oppose agricultural-to-industrial conversion (Hunt Brothers); Bennett opposes commercial-accessory food-truck SEUPs. Three dissent positions, three different cases. **No structural denial bloc has consolidated yet.** **Fire Station 3 FLUM+Zoning amendment goes to I-1 Industrial — civic facility on industrial land.** The action is city-initiated annexation + IND/I-1 designation for a fire station. Compare to Lake County where fire-station expansion typically uses Public Institutional zoning. Lake Wales' choice of Industrial for a city facility carries jurisdictional implication: I-1 zoning is expansion-permissive in ways Public Institutional is not. **The city is choosing a more flexible regulatory baseline for its own facility.** **The Peddlers Pond Medical phase-two reverter is procedurally novel.** The board's approval included an explicit condition requiring the applicant to return to the board *before phase two* if the cross-connection road is not approved. This is a phased entitlement structure with a board re-review trigger — analogous to Haines City's 2-year construction-commencement reverter but applied at the inter-phase boundary rather than the construction-start line. **The procedural toolkit Lake Wales is building is more granular than the standard PUD framework allows.**

CHANGE LENS

THE READINGmeeting record

City of Lake Wales Planning and Zoning Board — October 28, 2025

Meeting Overview

Type: Regular Meeting Quorum: Yes (6 of 7; McKibben absent — secretary informed prior to meeting) Duration: 94 minutes (5:30 PM – 7:04 PM)

Attendance

Present: Chair Kyra Love, Vice Chair Bud Colburn, Roy Wilkinson, Eric Rio, Scott Blackburn, Mark Bennett
Absent: Casey McKibben
Staff Present: Autumn Cochella (Growth Management Director); Shannon Hancock (Recording Secretary)

Agenda Items

Item 6: Candle Road Acreage — Future Land Use Map Amendment & Zoning Map Amendment — CONTINUED

Type: FLUM + Zoning Map Amendment
Action: Continued (not heard substantively)
Notable Discussion: Cochella explained the project was advertised but will be continued

Item 7: Taco Riendo — Outdoor Display and Sales Special Exception Use Permit

Type: SEUP for outdoor display/sales (food truck)
Applicant: Jessica Cordova (Taco Riendo food truck owner) on behalf of Lake Wales Arts Council (property owner)
Request: SEUP for permanent outdoor seating + signage at food truck location on Lake Wales Arts Council property
Staff Recommendation: Approve with conditions
Action: Recommend approval to City Commission
Vote: 5-1 (Love yes, Colburn yes, Wilkinson yes, Rio yes, Blackburn yes; Bennett NAY)
Notable Discussion: Tommy Frank, Executive Director of Lake Wales Arts Council, spoke about food truck aesthetics. Cochella + Cordova + Frank held extensive discussion on signage and seating location. Colburn's motion added: "tables and canopy space will not exceed six standard parking spaces."

Item 8: Fire Station 3 — Future Land Use Map Amendment & Zoning Map Amendment

Type: FLUM + Zoning Map Amendment (city-initiated)
Applicant: City Planning Staff on behalf of City of Lake Wales
Request: FLUM IND (Industrial) + I-1 zoning, contingent on annexation ordinance adoption + approval of public facility
Staff Recommendation: Approve
Action: Recommend approval to City Commission contingent on annexation
Vote: Unanimous 6-0 (all yes; McKibben absent)

Item 9: Peddlers Pond Medical — Major Site Plan

Type: Major Site Plan
Applicant: Anthony Frogameni on behalf of Twenty Seven Investments
Request: Approve major site plan
Public Hearing: Robert Connors spoke advocating for required road connection. Dave Holden, Landmark Engineering (representing owner), explained agency-coordination steps for cross-road connection over ditch to reach traffic light.
Action: Approve with conditions including phase-two return requirement if cross-connection not approved
Vote: Unanimous 6-0 (motion: Wilkinson; second: Rio)

Procedural Discussion: Attendance Policy

Cochella spoke about the attendance policy and what is already in Chapter 2 of the Code of Ordinances. The board discussed attendance and alternatives with Cochella. The board will review the current attendance policy within Chapter 2 and let staff know if they have any concerns.

Note: November P&Z Board meeting will be held as a SPECIAL MEETING on November 20; no December P&Z Board meeting.

Public Hearings Summary

Number of speakers: 1 on Peddlers Pond Medical (Robert Connors); 1 on Taco Riendo (Tommy Frank, supportive applicant-side)
General sentiment: Procedural; supportive on Taco Riendo; advocacy for road connection on Peddlers Pond Medical

Key Signals

Mark Bennett's NAY on Taco Riendo is the cycle's second Lake Wales dissent — and the cycle's first single-member dissent (after the Sep 23 4-2 split on Hunt Brothers). Where Rio and Blackburn voted together to deny on Masterpiece Road and Hunt Brothers, Bennett dissents alone on Taco Riendo. The dissent pattern in Lake Wales is multi-axial — Rio/Blackburn protect rural-residential character (Masterpiece) and oppose agricultural-to-industrial conversion (Hunt Brothers); Bennett opposes commercial-accessory food-truck SEUPs. Three dissent positions, three different cases. No structural denial bloc has consolidated yet.
Fire Station 3 FLUM+Zoning amendment goes to I-1 Industrial — civic facility on industrial land. The action is city-initiated annexation + IND/I-1 designation for a fire station. Compare to Lake County where fire-station expansion typically uses Public Institutional zoning. Lake Wales' choice of Industrial for a city facility carries jurisdictional implication: I-1 zoning is expansion-permissive in ways Public Institutional is not. The city is choosing a more flexible regulatory baseline for its own facility.
The Peddlers Pond Medical phase-two reverter is procedurally novel. The board's approval included an explicit condition requiring the applicant to return to the board before phase two if the cross-connection road is not approved. This is a phased entitlement structure with a board re-review trigger — analogous to Haines City's 2-year construction-commencement reverter but applied at the inter-phase boundary rather than the construction-start line. The procedural toolkit Lake Wales is building is more granular than the standard PUD framework allows.
The Lake Wales Arts Council host site for Taco Riendo is a noteworthy entity. A nonprofit arts council is hosting a food truck via SEUP — using the SEUP mechanism to formalize a permanent commercial-accessory use on cultural-institution land. The model crosses the institution / commercial-vendor boundary in a way the corridor's other cities have not surfaced. Lake Wales is showing the most diverse single-meeting docket texture across the Polk three.
The cycle's attendance-policy discussion at the dais matches the Haines City + Davenport pattern. All three Polk cities are conducting board-level conversations about attendance-and-quorum management. The cross-city pattern: Polk cluster boards collectively struggle with full attendance; structural correction is in progress at all three.
No December meeting; November converted to special meeting. The cycle's procedural rhythm is being adjusted — the board absorbed the consolidating-and-special-meeting cadence at the September 23 special meeting precedent and is now committing it as standard.

Raw Notes

The Bennett Form 8B (conflict-of-interest disclosure) attached to September 23, 2025 minutes — Bennett disclosed at September that he had a conflict on a then-current matter. The cycle's institutional procedural compliance is intact.

The Taco Riendo SEUP at the Arts Council site has the same regulatory category as the Citgo Taco Truck SEUP from September 23 — both are outdoor display/sales SEUPs for food-truck operators. Lake Wales is building a Polk-side SEUP food-truck regime parallel to Clermont's Highway 50 CUP cadence. Two SEUPs in two months at the same regulatory category, both seeking to convert mobile-vendor operations into permanent placement.