The Wellness Way Area Plan, located in the southern portion of Lake County, and bordered on the west by Orange County's Horizon West, has been recognized for many years as an area that has significant potential for economic development.
Wellness Way will enable Lake County to diversify its economy, protect natural resources and strengthen its connectivity with other economic hubs in the region.
The county is seeking input into how Wellness Way should look. Design standards will help developers know what their structures, signage and landscaping needs to look like. Whether you like Mission style, old Florida, industrial/high-tech, Neoclassical or some other architectural style, you can have input into how the area will look.
See something you like? Review previously submitted design ideas, and vote on the ones you would like to see in Wellness Way.
The intent of the Wellness Way Area Plan is to create a long-term master plan for the South Lake region which promotes significant economic development while encouraging fiscally-efficient and well-balanced development patterns that minimize environmental impacts and leverage existing resources.
To provide predictability within the area, there are five future land use categories.
Through the Wellness Way Area Plan, Lake County will develop a comprehensive economic development and branding strategy that achieves a target jobs-to-housing ratio. The anticipated build-out of 16,531 units will generate over 26,839 jobs based on the requirements of each land use. This will result in an overall jobs-to-housing ratio of just over 1.6 for the entire Wellness Way Area Plan.
Master Planned Unit Developments will be used in Wellness Way. They must contain at least 1,000 acres, although the Board of County Commissioners can approve less in certain circumstances, and they must address the same issues as the master plan, although in greater detail. If you want to stay involved in the future development plans for Wellness Way, here are the steps that each project has to go through:
A meeting is held between the developer and Lake County's Agency for Economic Prosperity.
The developer submits their concept plan to the county, which outlines the composition of the development.
The developer holds a public workshop/community meeting where residents and business leaders can give their input into the concept plan. [Sign up now to receive notices of public meetings.]
Lake County's Agency for Economic Prosperity completes its review of the plan, and determines a recommendation.
The developer presents its plan at a public hearing of the Planning & Zoning Board. The public is welcome to speak at the hearing. The P&Z Board makes a recommendation to approve or deny the Lake County Board of County Commissioners. [To see upcoming projects being requested, view upcoming Planning and Zoning agendas]
A public hearing is held, and the public can give input at the meeting. The board will then vote on the plan.