Planning Commission · Feb. 4, 2026
Meeting date: Feb. 4, 2026Summarized 2026-09-01 17:18
## Polk County Planning Commission — February 4, 2026 (Regular Planning Meeting)
**Format:** 8:50 a.m. workshop (no official action taken) followed by a 9:00 a.m. public hearing. Chair Merle Bishop presided. Adam Bass was excused.
**Overall outcome:** All seven agenda items were approved, plus the minutes and the agenda-reordering item. Every recorded vote was unanimous with the same seven "AYE" members listed (Hickman, Beltran, Bishop, Agnini, Jantomaso, Sims, and Jackson). No item was withdrawn, deferred, or continued. **No dollar amounts, contracts, or purchases appear anywhere in the record** — this is a land-use/zoning hearing agenda only.
### Items and movers
| Item | Action | Mover / Seconder |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 7, 2026 minutes | Approved | Beltran / Sims |
| Reordering of agenda | Approved | Sims / Beltran |
| 1. LDWA-2025-51 (Gabriel Road Easement) | Approved | Hickman / Beltran |
| 2. LDCPAS-2025-35 (Recker Hwy BPC CPA) | Approved | Hickman / Beltran |
| 3. LDCD-2025-11 (Recker Hwy BPC-2 Sub-District) | Approved | Hickman / Beltran |
| 4. LDCPAS-2025-32 (Kathleen & Duff NAC) | Approved | Hickman / Beltran |
| 5. LDCT-2025-25 (Communication Towers text amendment) | Approved | Hickman / Sims |
| 6. LDCT-2025-26 (Car Washes text amendment) | Approved | Sims / Beltran |
| 7. LDCT-2025-27 (Drive-Thru Facilities text amendment) | Approved | Sims / Beltran |
| Comprehensive Plan update / Adjournment block | Recommendation of Approval | Beltran / Hickman |
### The only contested item
**LDWA-2025-51 (Gabriel Road Easement)** — Applicant Tom Wodrich, owner 734 LMC Groves LLC, sought approval for up to 8 single-family lots accessed via an easement exceeding 0.25 miles on 43.46± acres in an Agriculture/Residential Rural district near Lake Buffum, east of Fort Meade. Staff (Kyle Rogus) reported 19 mailers, two posted signs, legal ad in the Polk Sun, and **one phone call in opposition**. Three members of the public spoke, all in opposition or with concerns:
- "Gill P." — opposed, concerned about wildlife and impact on the community.
- Barbara Nelson — opposed; asked where the easement would be, said approval "would set a president [sic] for the 200+ acres close by," and stated the property was not being maintained and had a snail infestation at one point.
- "Emmett S." — questioned the easement location relative to his property.
Staff stated the remaining acreage would be designated as an agricultural easement. Approved unanimously despite the opposition testimony.
### Other items of note
- **Items 2 and 3 are linked:** a small-scale Future Land Use amendment on 12.91± acres from Residential Suburban to Business Park Center on Recker Highway south of Auburndale, paired with a sub-district change from BPC to BPC-2. Owner is Computerized Auto Recycling Service, Inc.; a commissioner (Julie) asked whether the salvage yard would continue. No public comment.
- **Item 4 (Kathleen & Duff NAC):** 1.13± acres from Residential Suburban to Neighborhood Activity Center, plus a Development Area change from Suburban Development Area to Urban Growth Area, northwest of Lakeland. The minutes note "Expedited. M- Beltran 2nd- Cyndi J." separately from the recorded approval motion (Hickman/Beltran). No public comment.
- **Items 5–7** are Land Development Code text amendments (communication towers, car washes, drive-thru facilities). Notably, the tower amendment **lowers the level of review** for communication towers in non-residential and higher-density residential districts, including within the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern. All three drew no public response.
### Record-keeping inconsistencies
The narrative attendance paragraph and the formal roll call do not match. The narrative lists Julie Jackson, Hickman, Sims, Jantomaso, Agnini, Beltran, plus "Linda Schultz and Kevin Updike Planning Commission alternate," while the first roll call lists Hickman, **Mike Schmidt**, Beltran, Bishop, Updike, Agnini, Jantomaso, and Sims — Schmidt appears in the roll call but nowhere else, and Jackson appears in every vote tally but not in either roll call. The second roll call drops Schmidt. The identical attendance paragraph is reproduced for both the 8:50 workshop and the 9:00 hearing, both described as "the workshop."