Bartow expands Wind Meadows development district
The Bartow City Commission has approved an ordinance that adds 114 acres to the Wind Meadows South Community Development District.
The ordinance to amend the district’s geographical boundaries did not change the original terms and conditions of the district that was originally established by the City Commission on June 2, 2021 and was the first such district within Bartow city limits when first adopted.
With the added acreage, the district will now encompass 273.39 acres, mark the beginning of Phase 2 of the Wind Meadows subdivision and bring another 400-plus single-family homes off EF Griffin Road.
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A public hearing on the matter was held on Jan. 3 during the regularly scheduled meeting of the city commission. Attorney Lauren Gentry with Tallahassee-based KE Law Group, spoke on behalf of the district.
“What this would accomplish is it would bring the additional land in the boundaries of the district so the district can serve as that public funding mechanism to allow tax-exempt bonds to finance that public infrastructure and allow the district to serve as the maintenance and governance entity for that public infrastructure,” she said.
Any bonds issued for infrastructure would be paid by homeowners within the district and are typically added to annual property tax bills, Gentry said.
The ordinance was adopted by a 5-0 vote.
The Wind Meadows South development is being developed by Center State Development, LLC. The existing subdivision already is being built out to the north by Lennar and D.R. Horton home builders. The two phases are expected to contain 836 homes.
Prior to Tuesday’s approval, the district’s Board of Supervisors submitted a petition on Sept. 22 to expand the boundaries.
City staff reviewed the petition and found the land was “sufficiently contiguous” to be developed and function as a community, the ordinance said. Staff found that the larger boundaries would also help deliver development services and facilities to the district.
The owner of the land comprising the expansion parcels had consented to amending the boundary of the district. Winter Haven-based Center State Development recently purchased the land.
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Center State's managing member Bob Adams of Lakeland said via phone Friday that the land for Phase 2 was purchased from the Rogers family who have a history of running a citrus operation in Polk County. The acreage was not part of the original deal for capital preservation reasons, he said.
The district borders EF Griffin Road to the east and Yarborough Lane to the west. To the north, an existing Wind Meadows subdivision lies with an entrance at Golden Meadow Way. To the south, there is Phyllis Lake and Phyllis Branch.
Unlike the existing district, there are currently no existing sewer and water distribution systems serving the expansion parcels. Unlike the original phase, the second phase will get its electricity from Lakeland Electric. Otherwise, all the other utilities in both phases will be provided by Bartow.
A development district is a separate entity and differs from a homeowner's association, which typically enforces deed restrictions only, in instances where a development district overlays the subdivision such as it does for Wind Meadows. The district will maintain entrance ways, retention ponds among others, while the HOA will oversee such requests for modifications to homes or garages, or the installation of a shed, among other issues.
Donnie True, director of Bartow’s building department, said about 300 new houses were built in the city in 2022. In the Meadow Winds subdivision about 230 building permits were issued last year. He said the number of permits has been declining as nearly 45 to 50 were issued each month but more recently in December 16 building permits were issued.
Building permits show the homes' selling price at between $350,000 to $400,000, True said, adding recent sales prices have been less than that.
Statewide, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2022 population estimates released in December show, Florida now is the nation’s fastest-growing state for the first time since 1957. Florida's population increased by 1.9% to 22,244,823 between 2021 and 2022, surpassing Idaho, the previous year’s fastest-growing state.
Paul Nutcher can be reached at pnutcher@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Bartow expands Wind Meadows development district
