The Kildeer, Ill., property is suing the village and homebuilder Taylor Morrison over recently approved plans for a luxury home development that includes some of the golf course’s property. The club has filed a request for a temporary restraining order against the homebuilder to halt development, and argues that the plans would hurt the value of the golf course.
Kemper Lakes Golf Club has sued the village of Kildeer, Ill., and Taylor Morrison over recently approved plans for a luxury home development within its boundaries, the Chicago Tribune reported.
At a meeting on February 16, the village approved plans for an upscale, 31-home housing development on 23 acres of land on the north side of the golf course. The homes would be built by Taylor Morrison, an Arizona-based firm that is one of the nation’s largest home builders, the Tribune reported.
Saying that it would hurt the character and value of the golf course, Kemper Lakes filed a request for a temporary restraining order with the circuit court of Lake County, seeking to prevent Taylor Morrison from moving forward with its plans, the Tribune reported.
Part of the lawsuit takes umbrage with the board’s perceived failure to follow its code when approving plans that were “not characteristic of the existing environment, which consists of a densely wooded parcel.”
Taylor Morrison’s attorney, Chuck Byrum, said that his client disagreed and planned to oppose the temporary restraining order in a hearing March 7, though he did not want to discuss the details of the case, the Tribune reported.
“We are sort of watching what happens,” said Mike Talbett, chief village officer for Kildeer.
Kemper Lakes’ attorney, Robert Masini, said his client felt village ordinances “were not properly evaluated.”
At the board’s meeting, Kemper Lakes owner Steve Jouzapaitis said that he didn’t think the plans included enough of a natural buffer between the homes and the golf course, the Tribune reported.
He noted that landscaping plans included some golf course property that Taylor Morrison did not have the right to develop and was owned by Kemper Lakes. He said that the golf course only granted access to utilities in that area, the Tribune reported.
Jouzapaitis said that the plans would also disconnect water to the restrooms on the 13th hole and restrict part of the golf course’s connection to sewer services, the Tribune reported.
Also at the meeting, General Manager John Hosteland suggested that Taylor Morrison did not incorporate “adequate safety zones.” Current plans show a 50-foot rear yard setback, but Hosteland has said that the neighboring Sanctuary Club residential development’s 90-foot setback was often problematic for residents that often found golf balls stray into their yards, the Tribune reported.
“People who live near a golf course are fans of living near a golf course until they have issues with it,” Hosteland said.
But making the setbacks larger than 50-feet would mean smaller homes, making it a harder sell for the developer, the Tribune reported.
“If you force the houses to be smaller, you are not going to get” the right price point, said Rick Zirk, director of land acquisition for Taylor Morrison. The development, called the Preserves of Kildeer, would offer homes selling for an average of $800,000 to $900,000, the Tribune reported.
Zirk said the “right” plans for Jouzapaitis have been a moving target since the developer began the preliminary review process with the village last year. First it was the trees, then it was the easement and setback size. “It’s just been one thing after another,” Zirk said.
Zirk said Taylor Morrison had planned to start work on the development during the summer, though the lawsuit could slow down that process. The initial hope was to build the homes in the spring, have the models open by the fall, and have all the homes sold in three years, Zirk said.
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