Developers of the former Wedgewood Golf Course are back at Lakeland City Hall asking for revisions to increase the density and number of future homes to be constructed.
Neighboring residents aren’t keen on the third revision, calling out the developers’ failure to maintain the golf course in recent years.
Mulberry-based SJD Development has requested a small-scale map amendment and major modification of the Planned Unit Development for the former golf course to add a section of land and increase the number of units to 978 — 24 more than first approved in December 2022.
“There’s an increase in units,” said Todd Vargo, a senior planner for Lakeland. “Generally, single family homes and townhomes are being increased, there’s a decrease in multi-family units.”
Silvana Knight, a member of the city’s Planning and Zoning board, called out the developer on the number of changes without any construction in sight. This is the third time SJD Development has asked for modifications pre-construction.
“In the previous iterations of your plans, you are just following the market so you can just follow the market,” Knight said.” I’m wondering why you have changed your plans so many times and how do we know you will not change your plans again?”
Developer’s new proposal for Wedgewood
The developer has asked a piece of land, previously labeled Tract 9A and 9B, near the northwest corner of the site between Wedgewood Estates Boulevard and Carpenters Way, be given zoning to accommodate homes. Previously, Vargo said the area was left unzoned and merely marked “for future development.”
Several Lakeland residents were under the impression SJD Development intended to leave the land as parkland.
The developer has proposed the area be used to build 48 single-family attached homes, commonly called townhouses. These would be in arrangements of four or six units per building. Given the number, Vargo said the proposed plan would have a density of 5.2 dwelling units per acre, compatible with zoning for residential medium density.
These townhomes, if constructed, would be adjacent to the existing single-family homes on the north side of Staffordshire Drive. Existing townhome communities of Sandwedge Villas and Cambridge on the Tee sit just to the east and west, respectively.
The developer has also asked to add a piece of land to the east off Carpenters Way to the Planned Unit Development for the former golf course as Tract 12. The request is for the area, once designated for a future assisted living facility, to be transformed into an amenity center for use by residents of the future multi-family apartment complex.
The developer’s proposal also outlines several other smaller changes to the proposed construction plans.
The latest proposal calls for an increase from 14 to 17 single-family homes along the south side of Heatherpoint Drive, north of Audobon Oaks. It calls for more multi-family apartment on Tract 2, south of Audubon Oaks, up from 230 to 240 units.
The developer would reduce the height of the apartment building on Tract 3, at the southeast corner of the property adjacent to I-4, from four stories to three stories and reduce the number of units from 154 to 60.
The largest number of changes are on Tracts 4, 10 and 11 which runs nearly the full length Carpenters Way on the east side, and were originally planned for for 450 multi-family units. Now, the developer proposes to build 58 townhomes on Tract 10 at the north end. Tract 4 at the southern edge where Carpenters Way curves is proposed to have 210 multi-family units in seven, three-story buildings. The middle section of the golf course, Tract 11, is proposed for another 240 apartments in eight, three-story buildings. That’s a new total of 450 multi-family units and 58 townhomes.
A southern section along the planned Lakeland Park Center Drive connection would be reduced from 12 to five single-family homes and stormwater retention ponds. The southwest corner of the former golf course, Tract 7, would see the number of single-family homes increased from 20 to 29.
There are no proposed changes for Tract 8, at the far east of the former golf course, which is still tentatively slated for 60 single-family homes.
31 Code Enforcement cases over ground maintenance
More than a dozen residents and neighboring property owners stepped forward at the Sept. 16 Planning and Zoning Board hearing to speak against SJD Development’s failure to adequately maintain the former golf course.
Wes Steger, a Derby Drive resident, said during the past three years he’s contacted the City of Lakeland countless times to complain about the grass not getting mowed, sidewalks in disrepair and encampments of homeless individuals that have taken root on the former course.
“The idea of landscaping looks really pretty,” he said. “It’s not what we’ve over the past three years.”
Brian Rewis, Lakeland’s director of community and economic development, said the city’s code enforcement has opened 31 cases against SJD Development largely for maintenance issues. Of these, 24 were because of complaints from local residents.
The litany of violations include grass over 24 inches tall, debris and others. Currently, only one code violation case remains active for a severely rotten tree at 420 Carpenters Way, according to Rewis, which is tentatively scheduled for a noncompliance hearing on Nov. 6.
Ashley Haynie, a homeowner along Carpenters Way, wrote an email to the city stating that one of the existing culvert drains on the property is blocked because of SJD Development’s failure to maintain the golf course and drainage infrastructure.
“These concerns raise significant questions about the risk of flooding and property damage for existing homeowners,” she wrote.
An ongoing point of contention remains the amount of traffic the proposed development will bring to Carpenters Way, a two-lane roadway with one travel lane in each direction. The latest proposal appears to eliminate a roundabout, once proposed to bring together Wedgewood Estates Boulevard, Carpenters Way and Heatherpoint Drive.
Chuck Barmby, Lakeland’s transportation and development review planner, said the roundabout is still up for negotiation as city staff is simultaneously working on a developer’s agreement with SJD Development. The agreement, once drafted, will have to be presented to the City Commission for public comments and review before possible approval.
What’s next?
Jeri Thom, chair of the Planning and Zoning Board, directed SJD Development to have specific details on how the city-approved Community Development District would function with fewer single-family homes and a plan for ongoing maintenance until redevelopment of the future golf course is completed.
“These people deserve at least that,” Thom said.
SJD Development’s application will be reviewed for a possible decision at the Oct. 15 Planning and Zoning Board meeting. The developer could request a continuance to allow for more time to come back with the information requested.
If the new plans are approved by the Planning and Zoning Board, they would move to the City Commission for their vote.
