Principles of Good Planning

In this space last week I proposed that successful growth management requires active citizen participation. This is particularly true in Lake Wales, a special place that needs citizen involvement to ensure that the town can maintain its unique character through periods of intense development and expansion.

Whispering Ridge, a newly developing subdivision on 11th Street south of SR 60, is a good example of this concept. Six years ago a developer came forward with a plan that was a perfect grid of north-south and east-west streets, with 550 lots, all 50 feet wide. On Grove Avenue, which at that time was little more than a driveway from Minnesota to 10th Street, the developer proposed a 7-acre park that had no access other than the lots that backed up to it.

When Margaret Swanson arrived to take the position of City Planning Director, she came with a knowledge of the planning principles espoused by Frederick Law Olmsted – the designer of Central Park in New York City, the White House gardens, and the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. (His sons designed the grounds at Historic Bok Sanctuary and prepared a landscaping plan for Lake Wales.) His principles include:

1. Have the best land reserved for public open space


2. Have natural-looking and irregular groupings of trees rather than orderly lines of trees


3. Have a “spine road” that takes you through an area, with side roads leading to neighborhoods


4. Have parks and open space throughout the development


5. Have interesting, curvilinear streets rather than straight line streets in a grid pattern


6. Have pedestrian walkways through interesting landscapes

These principles are the opposite of what had been presented in the first plan for the property. After many discussions and numerous draft drawings, a plan prepared by local landscape architect Marshall Whidden using Olmsted principles was endorsed by City staff and taken to the Planning and Zoning Board for approval.

This plan featured:

1. A spine road curving through the development from 11th Street to 9th Street. Along the road is an 8-foot concrete pedestrian/bike path in a landscaped corridor with the historic black pole, acorn lens light fixtures. The Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Commission has endorsed a plan to extend the path to both the east and west as surrounding properties develop in the area.


2. There are no driveways coming out on the spine road, and no houses facing it. Side roads lead to intimate neighborhood settings, each with its own green space.


3. There are sidewalks throughout the development. A mulched path leads from the spine road to Grove Ave., connecting to new sidewalks built by the developer on Grove and Marietta.


4. Besides the landscaped bikeway corridor, there are numerous small parks and green areas. Pine trees have been saved throughout the development, and natural vegetation has provided a base for plantings along Grove Ave.


5. The final development plan was reduced from 550 – 50-foot lots to 350 lots with varying lot widths.


6. Despite the new housing market decline, 50 lots have been sold and 23 are now under construction.


7. In addition to these features, the developer will be extending Grove Avenue from Minnesota Street to 11th Street. The developer is also constructing a sidewalk on Marietta Street, from Grove Avenue to SR60.

Good land planning is essential to maintain what has made Lake Wales special. Citizens are cordially invited to attend the Planning and Zoning meetings, which are held the last Tuesday of each month.