Polk commissioners deny business‑park rezoning for Alderman/Swindell site after residents, staff raise flood and compatibility concerns

Polk County commissioners on a voice vote denied a requested comprehensive‑plan amendment and associated land‑development text change that would have added a Business Park Center (BPC) designation to roughly 65–75 acres north of Interstate 4 at Alderman Road and Swindell Road.

The applicant proposed concentrating industrial/warehouse buildings on the parcel’s western portion near Alderman while leaving wetlands, stormwater ponds and open space on the north and east. The applicant’s team told the board they reduced the project’s footprint and agreed to added buffering, berming, limits on building height and square footage, and truck‑queuing to reduce traffic impacts. "We are volunteering to commit to doing the enhanced standards," planner Diane Chadwick said, describing negotiated limits on building height (45 feet), maximum building size (no single industrial building larger than 250,000 square feet) and expanded landscaping and berming.

But county staff and multiple residents urged denial. Staff had recommended denial and the county planning commission voted 5‑2 to deny the application. Residents who live along Alderman, Swindell and adjacent rural roads described repeated flooding in the Itchapakasassa Creek watershed, cited historical Army Corps and regional watershed studies, and said the parcel’s location and drainage make intensive development inappropriate. "It doesn't fit," said resident Edward Leonard, summarizing the neighborhood view that the site is not compatible with large‑scale industrial intensification. Several speakers also said the same drainage and floodplain issues would make dense residential development problematic.

Applicant representatives said they had modified their proposal after the planning commission hearing — shrinking the BPC boundary, adding…