BARTOW, Fla. — Nearly four months after Bartow city commissioners unanimously rejected a controversial proposal to build 2,245 homes along Highway 60, the fight is entering a new phase.
Commissioners are scheduled to meet in a closed attorney-client session Monday afternoon to discuss the city's ongoing legal battle with the developers behind the proposed Emilie at Bartow community.
The meeting is closed to the public under a Florida law that allows government officials to privately discuss pending litigation with their attorneys.
The proposed Emilie at Bartow development called for 2,245 homes to be built in four phases between 2027 and 2035 on land east of downtown Bartow.
Developers said the project would include road improvements, roughly 800 acres of conservation land, wildlife corridors, and an estimated $54 million in impact fees for the city.
But after months of public hearings, city commissioners voted 5-0 in March to reject the proposal.
Community members who opposed the development raised concerns about traffic, flooding, growth, and the potential strain on city services.
"I'm not against development; I'm against reckless development," Bartow native Katheryn Eldridge told commissioners before the vote.
Commissioner Trish Pfeiffer also voiced concerns during the meeting. She called the proposal a "city within a city" and said growth should match infrastructure and fiscal realities.
The developers have since asked a judge to overturn the city's decision.
In court filings, CBD Land Investors, LLC argues that the city unlawfully denied applications it says complied with Bartow's planning requirements and that the applications should have been approved. It also contends that commissioners relied on neighborhood opposition rather than the city's own development standards.
Commissioner Pfeiffer told Tampa Bay 28 the city has already participated in one mediation session with the developer and that mediation is ongoing.
She said Monday's attorney-client session is simply an update for commissioners as the legal process continues.
She added that no decision has been made and said she continues to stand by the commission's unanimous vote to reject the project.
One nearby homeowner who opposed the development hopes that doesn't change.
"I think you should hear everybody out that wants to do a project, but if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit," said Erin Blair, who has lived near the site for more than 40 years. "By them taking this to a judge, they're really, really creating bad neighbors."
Monday's attorney-client session is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at Bartow City Hall. Under Florida law, the meeting will not be open to the public.
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