Resources for Lake Morton neighbors

Owning a house in a historic district comes with a few extra rules and a lot of extra character. Here's what you need, in one place.

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Plans & Maps

Safety

City Services

Photo: Michael Maguire

Historic preservation and permits

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Lake Morton sits inside a City of Lakeland historic district, which means exterior work here follows an extra layer of review. It's less painful than it sounds, and it's the reason the neighborhood still looks like this.

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City of Lakeland Historic Preservation
Design guidelines for South and East Lake Morton
Brick streets information

LMNA isn't the permitting authority. For anything binding, talk to the City's Community Development office.

Usually, yes. Most exterior work in a historic district requires a building permit, including some things that wouldn't need one elsewhere, like fences. This applies whether or not your particular house is considered historically significant.
No, unless the work changes the exterior in some way. A building permit may still be required.
The City Commission established the Historic Preservation Board and the Design Review Committee in 1980 under Ordinance #2203, superseded in 1997 by Ordinance #3841. The City publishes design guidelines for the South and East Lake Morton neighborhoods to guide rehabilitation and maintenance.
The City's page is the authority, and it stays current.

Neighborhood plans and maps

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2019 Lake Morton Neighborhood Plan

The current plan, developed with the City to guide development in the district.

1988 South Lake Morton Neighborhood Plan

The original plan. Historical reference.

Neighborhood map

District boundaries and streets.

City of Lakeland

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The City keeps its own directory current.

Main line: (863) 834-6000

Emergencies: 911

Bulk trash pickup

Alley collection

Code enforcement • (863) 834-6251

Lakeland Police, non-emergency . (863) 834-6900

Home security basics

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Lakeland Police offer a free home security survey. Call the department's community policing line and ask for one. They'll walk your property and tell you what an actual burglar would notice. Here's the general guidance:

Report suspicious activity to Lakeland Police non-emergency at (863) 834-6900. See recent activity on the Lakeland crime map.

Lights

Cover as many sides of the house as you can. Put fixtures under the eaves where they can't be tampered with. A cheap timer or photocell handles dusk to dawn.

Locks

A knob lock is convenience, not security. Use a single-cylinder deadbolt with a one-inch throw and three-inch strike plate screws that reach the framing, not just the jamb.

Doors

Solid exterior doors, a wide-angle viewer, and framing that isn't cracked or rotted.

Landscaping

Trim tree canopies up to eight or ten feet and keep shrubs near doors and windows down to two or three. Visibility is what lets neighbors see something wrong.

Alarms

Worth it if you have valuables or a history of break-ins nearby. Shop around, and learn to use it.