Winter Garden has officially sent its long-range vision for the next three decades to state regulators, kicking off a review process that will determine how the city handles a population expected to swell to as many as 66,306 residents by 2050. The Winter Garden City Commission unanimously approved an ordinance addressing state statute changes to the comprehensive plan on Aug. 13, with commissioners Iliana Ramos and Lisa Bennett absent from the meeting.
East Winter Garden, the city’s historic Black neighborhood, gets specific attention in the new plan, which adds new land-use categories and policies aimed at that area. The neighborhood’s revitalization traces back to a 2018 blueprint that town planning firm Dover, Kohl & Partners designed after running multi-day community charrettes with more than 170 residents in 2017, according to the firm. Under a 2019 city commission directive and a 10-year extension approved with Orange County in 2022, Winter Garden’s Community Redevelopment Agency commits 75% of its Tax Increment Financing revenues — estimated at $20 million to $30 million over the agency’s lifespan — specifically to East Winter Garden, the West Orange Times & Observer reported in 2024.