{"id":249653,"date":"2026-04-28T14:14:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/249653\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T14:14:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:14:22","slug":"lake-board-delay-density-bonus-for-cedar-creek-subdivision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/249653\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake board delay density bonus for Cedar Creek subdivision"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Discussions of a density bonus for a proposed rural conservation subdivision near Howey-in-the-Hills have been pushed back by the Lake County Board of County Commissioners, who are seeking clarity on an annexation agreement and intersection improvements for the project.<\/p>\n<p>Located north of Number Two Road and west of the Mission Inn Resort, Orlando-based developer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pibland.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">PIB Land<\/a> is looking to develop the Cedar Creek subdivision on 119.4 acres in the unincorporated Yalaha area.<\/p>\n<p>Developers are allowed up to 86 units based on the acreage of the project, according to Lake County Planning Director Mike Fitzgerald. Project applicant Alex Stringfellow of Stringfellow Planning &amp; Design is requesting a density bonus of 11 units to bring the allowed units up to 97, broken down into 91 65-foot lots and seven 75-foot lots.<\/p>\n<p>The land for the project, currently zoned agricultural with a future land use designation of Rural Transition, allows for the development of a conservation subdivision without the need for rezoning or changing the FLU.<\/p>\n<p>Initially, the proposed subdivision was designed with all 65-foot lots and at least 50% open space \u2014 in line with the conservation subdivision concept \u2014 and a 100-foot perimeter buffer for privacy, creating a gradual transition between the homes and surrounding areas.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"The proposed 97-unit Cedar Creek subdivision is planned along Number Two Road, just west of Howey-in-the-Hills, by Orlando-based developer PIB Land. (Stringfellow Planning &amp; Design)\" width=\"2664\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TGS-L-Cedar-Creek-area-01.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"108103\" \/>The proposed 97-unit Cedar Creek subdivision is planned along Number Two Road, just west of Howey-in-the-Hills, by Orlando-based developer PIB Land. (Stringfellow Planning &amp; Design)<\/p>\n<p>The revised plan adds 10 more acres of open space, protecting 63% of the developable land and qualifying the project for a density bonus of up to 20 units, or a total of 106 homes. According to Stringfellow, developers are only proposing the additional 11 units for a total of 97 homes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe really tried to shrink the envelope to where it made sense,\u201d Stringfellow said. \u201cThe intent of the rural conservation subdivision is to cluster development in the areas that have the least amount of impact, so that was the outcome of our design process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the developer has already signed an annexation and utility service agreement with Howey-in-the-Hills, commissioners shared concerns about adding utilities to a project with an increased density and requested Stringfellow rescind the agreement with Howey for a better chance at approval by the board.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom my standpoint, it would have to be no annexation because it would create a domino effect,\u201d Commission Chair Leslie Campione said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to protect the area.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Campione also said she likes the idea of requiring developers to construct a roundabout that would reduce truck traffic on Number Two Road.<\/p>\n<p>Commissioner Kirby Smith was clear about his opposition to the project, arguing that the increase in open space is not worth adding 11 extra homes to the project.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to stick to our rules. If it\u2019s Rural Transition, then we should stick to Rural Transition,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s 50% open space, let\u2019s build to that and be done with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In order to give the developer and applicant time to adjust their plans, commissioners agreed to table discussion of Cedar Creek until May 5.<\/p>\n<p>Headed west about two miles up Number Two Road,  Orlando-based <a href=\"https:\/\/americanland.info\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">American Land Development<\/a> recently received <a href=\"https:\/\/www.growthspotter.com\/2026\/03\/24\/leesburg-approves-second-phase-of-lake-margaretta-development-despite-bocc-opposition\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">approval for Phase 2 development<\/a> of Lake Margaretta Estates.<\/p>\n<p>Plans for Lake Margaretta Estates Phase 2, approved last month by the Leesburg City Commission, include up to 75 detached single-family homes on 25 acres.<\/p>\n<p>Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.growthspotter.com\/2026\/04\/22\/lake-board-delay-cedar-creek-subdivision-density-bonus-to-reconsider-in-may\/mailto:jwilkins@orlandosentinel.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">jwilkins@orlandosentinel.com<\/a> or 407-754-4980. Follow GrowthSpotter on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/growthspotter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a> and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/9384061\/admin\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Discussions of a density bonus for a proposed rural conservation subdivision near Howey-in-the-Hills have been pushed back by&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[558,28,109352,2174,11476,114,139,141,140,480,11478,11479],"class_list":["post-249653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-business","tag-florida","tag-howey-in-the-hills","tag-lake-county","tag-lake-county-developments","tag-latest-headlines","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-real-estate","tag-residential-developments","tag-single-family-residential"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}