County Line Road To Be Central To Lakeland-Plant City Growth

By BILLY TOWNSEND The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jan 4, 2007

Much of development planned for southwest Lakeland abuts County Line Road, which as its name implies, marks the border between Hillsborough and Polk counties, as well as Lakeland and Plant City.

In June, planning staff members from Lakeland, Plant City and Hillsborough County held what they called the first County Line Road intergovernmental planning-coordination meeting. Polk County officials had a scheduling conflict but plan to attend future gatherings, according to meeting minutes.

They talked about a variety of arcane planning subjects, none of which produced any formal policy recommendations to be considered by elected officials.

Eastern Plant City is feeling some of the same growth pressures as southwestern Lakeland. That growth should be channeled toward commercial, job-creating projects rather than continued housing developments, staff members agreed.

The future of County Line Road was also a major topic of the meeting, said Rob Anders, Plant City's planning director.

His prime concern about Lakeland's growth spurt is its potential to increase traffic on the road, which technically is in Polk County, but also serves as an eastern gateway to Plant City.

A multigovernment County Line Road master plan was suggested at June's meeting. It would govern land-use rules on both sides of the road.

Those at the meeting talked of following up on a quarterly basis. Scheduling conflicts have kept that from happening, Anders said.