The owner of the Mill Hall, Pa. club is interested in keeping its golf course open to the public, but also looking at market studies that would replace some holes with houses or townhouses. The development would require rezoning of the 50-acre property from open-space recreational to high-density residential.
Houses overlooking the Clinton Country Club golf course could be the future for the 50-acre property in Mill Hall, Pa., The Express of Lock Haven, Pa. reported.
The club’s owner, Williamsport Hospitality, LP, is interesting in keeping the golf course open to the public as it is now, according to company representative Michael Bolsar. At the same time, The Express reported, the company is looking at market studies with the idea of replacing the straight-away holes on the ridge top with houses or townhomes that would have a view of the course.
For the ridge top to be developed, The Express reported, it must be rezoned from open-space recreational to residential, and the company is asking for the designation of high-density residential.
The intent is to develop only the 25 acres of the property that are out of the floodway, according to Chris Stein of Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc., the company that is guiding the concept through the process of rezoning, The Express reported.
However, all 50 acres should be rezoned, Stein added, because a road would have to be built to the proposed houses.
Supervisors of Bald Eagle Township have asked the Clinton County Planning Commission to review the rezoning request, The Express reported, and the planners considered it during their meeting on January 16, asking a few questions of Bolsar and Stein.
County Planning Director Katie de Silva said a high-density residential zone would be appropriate at this spot, because the property is bordered by a commercial zone on the southeast, a low-density residential zone on the southwest, and recreational zoning everywhere else, The Express reported.
The concept would address the need for single-family housing, de Silva added, and the property is in an area designated for growth in the county’s comprehensive plan. The township and the Lock Haven Sewage Treatment Plant should be able to handle the additional wastewater such a development would generate, it was noted.
The change would mean the loss of 30 percent of the area currently zoned for recreation in the township, the planning board noted.
The board also talked about the state of the narrow Country Club Lane which leads to the club, remarking on the sharp curve at Millbrook Playhouse and the lane’s junction at Eagle Valley Road.
But the board recommended that the township supervisors approve the change anyway, The Express reported.
Williamsport Hospitality, LP does not have a timeline yet for deciding how the land would be developed, Bolsar said.
In addition, he said, there are no plans for how the golf course would change should the straight-away holes be eliminated. One possibility would be to enlarge some or all of the remaining greens and create greens with more than one hole.
The straight-away holes are not the most challenging, it was noted, and may not be greatly mourned by veteran golfers, particularly if golfers come to enjoy the new course.
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