Lake Placid reviews regional plan and $40 million sewer grant; workshop set to settle priorities

Town attorney Bert Harris summarized the Lake Placid Regional Plan and the town’s role as the regional utility on May 7, telling the Lake Placid Regional Planning and Utility Board that the $40 million grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) was intended to serve existing residents and protect the lakes, not to subsidize new large-scale development.

Harris said the regional plan, adopted by both the town council and the county and incorporated into county code, sets density, signage, waterfront park and build-height standards for the Lake Placid planning area and was designed so county and town would apply the same development rules. “We got the 40,000,000,” Harris said, describing an amended DEP scope that funds the study work, the new advanced wastewater treatment plant and lines to consolidate and close older plants.

The attorney outlined operational details of the town’s utility consolidation: the town bought several small systems, plans to close older plants such as the County Road 29 and Tomoka facilities, and to treat wastewater at the new advanced plant. He said the grant originally envisioned serving 1,600 homes but cost…