The Polk County Planning Commission voted 4-3 Wednesday to approve a city-sized residential-commercial development in a flood-prone rural area east of Poinciana on Hatchineha Road.
The majority sided with applicant’s contention that they could use a section of the county’s development regulations intended to preserve farm land to turn a ranch into a subdivision to be built at urban density, that the engineering plan could solve chronic flooding problems and that the traffic impacts would somehow be magically taken care of with conceptual road-improvement projects that are mostly unbudgeted.
They also deferred to the county staff’s expertise. But is is worth mentioning that the planner who promoted this project was the same person who assured us that the BS Ranch project was the best thing since sliced bread, which did not turn out well.
The minority questioned the project’s compatibility with surrounding uses, many of which are private and public conservation preserves and whether the developers could realistically reduce historic flooding on the property.
The county regulations require that developers do not fix the flooding problems, but simply do not make them worse. That is cold comfort for property owners downstream from the rooftops, sidewalks and other impervious surfaces that will increase the volume and velocity of the floodwaters someday as climate change takes effect.
Opponents are expected to appeal Wednesday’s vote to the County Commission.