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Neighbors push back against proposed development
FOX 13's Blake DeVine reports.
BARTOW, Fla. - A massive development plan that Bartow residents were fighting was unanimously rejected after a major vote by city commissioners Monday night.
The meeting at Bartow City Hall stretched late into the night after hours of public comment. Many longtime locals are voicing strong opposition to the proposal, which would bring 2,245 new housing units to hundreds of acres in the city’s northeast and nearby unincorporated areas.
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What they're saying:
Susan Prevatt, who lives on a 55-acre ranch off Highway 60, said her community has reached a tipping point.
"Bartow’s had enough," she said. "That’s why all these people are showing up."
Prevatt hopes to avoid seeing her city overwhelmed by new subdivisions.
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"I don’t want to see Bartow get overrun by subdivisions, which is in the process of happening right now," she said.
Pam Luce, another Bartow homeowner, urged local leaders to take a different approach.
"Just because everyone else is approving massive developments doesn’t mean the City of Bartow has to look like everybody else," she said.
Dig deeper:
The developer, CBD Real Estate Investment, had to secure five land-use changes to move forward. Those requests include annexing the property into city limits, changing its future land use, rezoning it and approving planned developments for the project’s east and west sections.
The vote on Monday night denied all of those requests tied to the development.
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Neighbors did question whether Bartow has enough water capacity to support the growth. Others are raising concerns about first responders, road infrastructure and overcrowded schools.
The other side:
Bart Allen, the developer’s attorney, said the project reflected intentional growth within the city.
"While we commonly refer to them as Emilie East and Emelie West, it’s really important that this is Emelie of Bartow," he said.
Allen said the development aligned with where Bartow expects to expand.
"It’s an indication of where the city of Bartow intends to grow," he said. "If you look at the boundaries of the city."
What's next:
After the vote, the project can't move forward as proposed, but the developer could revise and resubmit in the future. For now, though, the project is rejected.
The Source: Information for this story came from statements from the Bartow City Commission and CBD Real Estate, along with interviews with Bartow residents and reporting from previous coverage on FOX 13 News.