Winter Haven Planning Board Approves New Downtown Drinking Establishment, Sage Cocktail Lounge

The Winter Haven Planning Board granted special use approval for the Sage Cocktail Lounge, a large-scale drinking establishment, in the commercial downtown C1 zoning district. Located on Third Street Northwest, this approval aligns with the city’s long-term goals to enhance its social and business core. Additionally, the board discussed future collaborations with the city commission to address strategic planning.

08:16The most notable development discussed at the Winter Haven Planning Board meeting was the approval of the Sage Cocktail Lounge. The proposed establishment will occupy approximately 2,200 square feet and feature a variety of seating arrangements, including a bar seating 25. The lounge will operate Monday through Saturday from noon to 2:00 a.m. and on Sundays from noon to midnight. The establishment’s security plan received approval from the chief of police, and the location is expected to have minimal off-site impacts. Despite needing 31 parking spaces, the location in the downtown C1 zoning district requires no on-site parking, leveraging the approximately 700 public parking spaces nearby.

09:05In other discussions, the board touched on a recent item that had been transmitted to the state for review, involving annex property near Old Bartow Lake Wales Road and McClean Road. The Florida Department of Commerce is currently reviewing it, and the matter will return for city commission adoption once the state process concludes.

Note: This meeting summary was generated by AI, which can occasionally misspell names, misattribute actions, and state inaccuracies. This summary is intended to be a starting point and you should review the meeting record linked above before acting on anything you read. If we got something wrong, let us know. We’re working every day to improve our process in pursuit of universal local government transparency.

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