Polk County Land Use Hearing Officer · Feb. 26, 2026
Meeting date: Feb. 26, 2026Summarized 2026-09-01 17:19
## Summary — Polk County Land Use Hearing Officer, February 26, 2026
**Nature of meeting:** Routine land use hearing on five cases (one special exception, four variances). Called to order 1:30 p.m.; adjourned 2:04 p.m. No budget items, contracts, or expenditures appear anywhere in the record, and no dollar amounts are stated. Because this is a single hearing-officer proceeding rather than a board, there are no motions, seconds, or recorded votes.
**Notable procedural point:** The minutes as written do not record the Hearing Officer's final ruling on any of the five cases. For each item, the minutes stop after "The LUHO closed the public hearing." Staff recommended approval in all five cases; whether each was granted is not documented in this text.
### Cases heard
1. **LDLSE-2025-15 (Heatherwood Blvd SE)** — Armando Garza, applicant; Armando and Isabel Garza, owners. Special exception for commercial vehicle parking on an Agricultural/Residential Rural-X (A/RRX) district, 104 Heatherwood Boulevard near Lake Wales. Staff (Kyle Rogus) recommended approval. Notice: 20 mailers, no response; 1 board posted; legal ad published 2/11/2026. Owners agreed with staff recommendations. No support or opposition in the audience.
2. **LDLVAR-2025-73 (Lakeview Drive Variance)** — Andrew Pierce, owner. Variance for north and south primary structure setback reduction, single-family home in Residential Low-1 (RL-1), 3472 3rd Avenue near Bartow. Staff (Ian Nance) recommended approval. Notice: 23 mailers, no response; 2 boards posted. Owner "stated that he needed more storage for his boats." No support or opposition.
3. **LDLVAR-2025-74 (Doerr Variance)** — Quinton Joseph Doerr and Marie Gayle Kelly, owners. Variance to construct an accessory structure taller than the primary residence in Residential Low-2 (RL-2), 5908 Lunn Road near Lakeland. Staff (Andrew Grohowski) recommended approval. Notice: 19 mailers, no response; 1 board posted. Owner "stated that he needed the space for additional car storage." No support or opposition.
4. **LDLVAR-2025-76 (Via Monte Napoleone Dr Variance)** — Donny Daugherty, applicant; Jan William Gripp and Ulrika Sahlgren Gripp, owners. Rear primary setback reduction from 10 feet to 5 feet for a new screen room with solid roof, in Poinciana Pre-DRI #1 / PUD 98-12, Solivita Phase 5E-W, 3685 Via Monte Napoleone Drive. Staff (Aleya Inglima) recommended approval. Notice: 21 mailers, **with 2 letters received in support** — the only written public response in any of the five cases. No support or opposition in the audience.
5. **LDLVAR-2025-79 (Eastlake Drive)** — Leroy and Carol Lefeber, owners. Rear yard setback reduction from 10 feet to 5 feet for a covered porch in Residential Suburban (RS), 530 Eastlake Drive near Haines City. Notice: 39 mailers, no response; 1 board posted 2/10/2026. In this case Erik Peterson of Land Development both presented the notice report and delivered the presentation and recommendation of approval, rather than a separate case planner. No support or opposition.
### Minor discrepancies in the record
- Item 1 states mailers were sent "on 2/9/2025" and the board posted "on 2/2/2025," while all other items and the legal ad reference 2026 dates — apparently a typographical year error.
- Item 5's board was posted 2/10/2026, later than the 2/2–2/6 posting dates in the other cases.
**Bottom line:** An entirely routine 34-minute docket of small residential setback and accessory-structure variances plus one commercial vehicle parking special exception, all with staff recommendations of approval, no public opposition, and no financial component. The only item worth flagging for accountability purposes is that the minutes omit the Hearing Officer's disposition of all five cases.