Polk planning board OKs Creek Ranch development, but Lake Hatchineha residents appeal

Lake Hatchineha Road residents appealed a narrow decision by the Polk County Planning Commission last week to approve a binding site plan for Creek Ranch, a 1,876 single-family home development in the county’s fast growing northeast region.

The large residential and commercial development on Lake Hatchineha Road west of Marigold Avenue barely won approval from a 4-3 majority of the commission members on Aug. 2.

The proposed Creek Ranch development sits next to the Deer Lake subdivision now under construction at Marigold and Lake Hatchineha Road. It's about two miles west of Port Hatchineha, a 1960s-era community at the end of Lake Hatchineha Road on the shores of the namesake lake. The 1,269 acres formerly known as the Asana Ranch is designated as agricultural residential and rural, and the developer is seeking a rural mixed-use planned development.

The developer will not need a zoning change because about 700 acres, more than half of the total acreage, has been set aside for conservation between the proposed homes and the Lake Hatchineha shoreline. As long as half of the land is conserved, a zoning change can be avoided on rural mixed-use developments.

The land is surrounded by conservation lands on multiple sides. The closest urbanized areas are north in Poinciana.

While shops are a long distance away, a 12.31-acre commercial strip is proposed as part of the Creek Ranch development.

Center State Development LLC, which lists Reggie Baxter at HRB Land Investments LLC of Winter Haven and RJA Land and Development LLC of Lakeland as managing members, wants three entrances on the rural collector road. And Center State has requested a density of 1.48 dwelling units per acre.

The proposed conservation land would be a mile wide and span from the residential portion of the project east to the Lake Hatchineha shoreline for a connection to the wildlife corridor and existing conservation areas, including the Catfish Creek Preserve.

It was standing room only at the planning commission meeting Aug. 2 as residents opposed to the Creek Ranch development filled the chamber at the Polk County Administration Building in Bartow.

Residents took turns at the dais to oppose the development, citing traffic, potential surface water flooding and a lack of a firm commitment from the Kissimmee-based TOHO Water Authority to provide utility services beyond the sprawling Poinciana development across the county border.

Many also shared other concerns including potential damage to wildlife habitat and a taking away of the multi-generational rural way of life they have become accustomed to living.

Danny Brantley of Lake Wales spoke about the proposed conservation easement the developer wanted to use to gain higher densities on the upland areas of the acreage for homes. He said, the proposed conservation set aside for Creek Ranch contained sovereign Lands, meaning the land belongs to the people of the state of Florida.

“All of this conservation area, 90% of it from the maps I have gotten from water management is underneath the 54-foot-high water mark (used to determine sovereign lands)," Brantley said. "They are trying to use that as a conservation easement .... This is not their land to use for mitigation for all these homes.

“Everything up to the 54-foot-high water mark belongs to the citizens of Florida, the United States, the world,” Brantley said. “They do not own that marsh.”

Tom Palmer, chairman of the Polk County-based Ancient Islands Group of the Sierra Club, questioned the soils and their ability to absorb stormwater, especially in light of flooding after Hurricane Ian in Poinciana. He said the conservation set aside for Creek Ranch is currently under review for the Florida Forever program.

He said traffic continues to be an issue while road improvements are still unfunded in the area. Wildlife could be impacted by household pets roaming onto the wildlife corridor. And, he said, there is a need to avoid light pollution within the existing dark sky area because it could disrupt the migration of birds, among other concerns.

Bryan Hunter of Hunter Engineering for Center State has said the project team has documents from TOHO saying it will provide water, wastewater and reclaimed water to Creek Ranch.

But in the appeal by residents, the opponents countered the engineer's statement that TOHO was committed to bringing service to Creek Ranch. Carl Thomas wrote in the appeal, “The data collected for this project was skewed and or incomplete.”

He added that TOHO has already denied service to development already existing in the area, including to structures along Mediterranean, Baltic and Wahneta courts, Sparrow Lane and Teal Drive.

“There is sufficient evidence to support that their infrastructure cannot supply the service to this project,” he said.

Others listed on the appeal were residents Jeremy Knowles, Thomas Gill, Debra Lawson, Robert Lamar Quinn and Glen Lawson. Their appeal also said that sand skinks were relocated to the property to make way for a Clermont car dealership.

But despite objections by residents, the county land development staff offered many reasons Creek Ranch should be allowed to proceed. It's report recommends “approval with conditions."

“This area is ripe with public infrastructure and services,” county planner Erik Peterson wrote. “There are even more to come in the near future.”

Polk County, the School Board and the Sheriff’s Office have monitored the amount of growth in the area, and they have projected future needs with the addition of a fire rescue facility within a mile of Creek Ranch and elementary and middle schools are in the works, Peterson wrote.

There is also Poinciana Community Park, a regional recreational facility, Peterson wrote. A sheriff’s command center and a new high school in the area are planned. Polk County also has road improvement plans, and the county is considering establishing a new regional utility service area to the west of Creek Ranch.

“This request comes with some environmental questions, but the application brings answers through the design of the site,” Peterson said. “The 1,269-acre site has substantial amounts of wetlands, floodplains, and potential endangered species habitat.”

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The report also shows, the Creek Ranch LLC entity has added a second ownership entity, Creek Ranch Mitigation Bank LLC, which was formed in April 2022.

The site plan shows development on the mostly upland non-floodplain areas at the higher elevations of the site while setting aside the more sensitive environmental areas for conservation, Peterson said.

There are at least 280 acres of forest land that has been undisturbed within the 651 acres that will be held in perpetuity for conservation, Peterson said.

“The portion to be developed directly abuts two more intensive residential development phases of Poinciana while the conservation set-aside forms a vital link in connecting the environmental conservation lands to the south to complementary ones on the north that are part of preserved habitat network for indigenous migrating species through the center of the state,” he wrote.

A hearing to challenge the now-approved site plan will be held before the Polk County Commission once a date has been set.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lake Hatchineha residents appeal Creek Ranch approval