Lake Wales development leader Bennett is leaving for job with Polk County

Mark Bennett, Lake Wales’ director for development services, is leaving at a time when the city faces an unprecedented load of project applications.

Bennett’s final day will be Feb. 10, he told city leaders in a letter of resignation. Lake Wales hired Bennett to the position in August 2020.

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Autumn Cochella, the assistant director for development services, will serve as interim director until a replacement is hired, City Clerk Jennifer Nanek said. Cochella has worked for Lake Wales since 2008.

Lake Wales, a city of nearly 18,000, is in the midst of a development surge, with dozens under review and some already approved. One project alone, approved for an area northwest of the city near the Lake Ashton subdivision, could potentially double the population.

In an email to The Ledger, Bennett cited health factors and said that he has accepted a job with Polk County as a senior planner in the Land Development Division. He said he began his career as an urban planner with Polk County.

Bennett said he was leaving Lake Wales "due to the stresses of being a leader and manager as a department director/senior leader in local government."

"It is a very rewarding and satisfying job, but is also challenging, demanding, and stressful," Bennett wrote. "My recent diagnosis by the Veterans Administration for health issues made me realize that I needed a change in direction."

Bennett wrote that he was proud of what Lake Wales has accomplished over the past 2½ years and called City Manager James Slaton the best the city has had in his 25 years as a resident.

Bennett received a salary of $96,167.

Slaton said the volume of new development applications has noticeably decreased in recent months.

"While Mark will be missed, we’ve increased staffing levels within the Development Services department over the past year and don’t expect our level of service to decline," he said by email. "Our Deputy Development Services Director, Autumn Cochella, is a capable leader who will step in on an interim basis to lead the department. Additionally, we have a library of professional planning firms on retainer that we can engage when necessary."

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Lake Wales leaders have said they want to take an aggressive approach toward “proactive annexation.” The approval of housing projects and other developments has prompted some residents to complain that the city is making too many accommodations for developers, and an anonymous group calling itself “We the Friends of Lake Wales” has called for a moratorium on land-use changes and the approval of projects that don’t meet the current code until the city develops a new long-range plan.

City leaders have hired a consulting firm to help develop a long-term master plan, named Lake Wales Envisioned, that “will shape and direct the form of future infill development, new neighborhoods, and conservation areas within Lake Wales’ incorporated city limits and in areas in unincorporated Polk County that lie within the City’s utility service area,” Communications Director Eric Marshall told The Ledger by email in December.

Lake Wales officials expect the consultant, Dover, Kohl & Partners, to complete the first two of the plan’s four phases within seven months.

Both Bennett and Slaton have said that Lake Wales is committed to “responsible” growth. Some of the planned development targets former citrus groves in and around the city.

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Lake Wales has approved a project, planned by the Winter Haven Corporation, that covers 1,841 acres across U.S. 27 from the Eagle Ridge Mall and could eventually hold more than 15,000 residents.

The city previously hired a different consulting firm to develop a set of land-use maps covering the Lake Wales service area. The color-coded maps showed an area stretching northeast to Lake Pierce, west to Peace Creek, south to Crooked Lake and east nearly to Saddlebag Lake, covering about 46,000 acres outside the city’s boundaries.

Lake Wales held a public meeting in October to release those maps, but city officials acknowledged that residents were frustrated by the lack of a presentation to provide context. They have pledged a “more thoughtful public engagement process” as the Lake Wales Envisioned plan is developed and shared with residents.

In recent months, City Commission meetings have sometimes grown contentious as residents raise objections to the pace and scope of development.

Cochella, a Lake Wales native, is the daughter of a retired city fire chief, and her brother, Andrew, is a sergeant with the Lake Wales Police Department, the Lake Wales News reported. She holds a degree in public administration from Polk State College.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lake Wales development leader Bennett to take job with Polk County