The Menard County Board this week approved a special-use permit that will allow developers to proceed with plans to build an 18-hole golf course in East Bluff, a subdivision off Illinois 123 that overlooks Petersburg and the Sangamon River.
Developers Doug Treadwell and Dale and Pat VanEtten applied for the county permit after the Petersburg City Council last month rejected their request to annex to the city nearly 482 acres intended for the semiprivate Illinois National Golf Club and residential development. A portion of East Bluff already is in the city limits, having been annexed in 1999. One section of the subdivision, The Meadows, has been built, and more neighborhoods - to include cottages, duplexes and "estates" - are planned for that area.
Petersburg's planning commission recommended that the council approve annexation of the additional acreage, which would include the golf course. However, Ald. Joel Gain and others voted against the proposal, citing up-front costs the city might incur.
Steve Rozanski, Menard County zoning administrator and county coordinator, said Wednesday a public hearing was held regarding the developers' application for a special-use permit. He said there was no opposition from the county's five-member zoning board of appeals.
Commissioners unanimously approved the permit at their regular meeting Tuesday morning.
"The developers are free to move forward with construction of the golf course," said Rozanski, adding that building permits still would have to be issued before any structures could be erected at the site.
Treadwell, president of Ancient Oaks Properties and Treadwell Golf Association, will own and operate the new facility. His company has designed and built eight golf courses in Michigan.
Plans call for the carts-only course to have a driving range and eventually a clubhouse with a restaurant/banquet facility and pro shop. Annual memberships will be sold, but the course will be open for daily public play.
Approval of the special-use permit "does not require the county to take responsibility for any roads or other public infrastructure that they're not already responsible for," Rozanski said.
Should Treadwell and the VanEttens decide in the future to build homes on some of the ground adjacent to the golf course currently not in the city limits, they must undergo another procedure, as outlined in the county's subdivision ordinance, Rozanski added.
In the meantime, Dale VanEtten said he's glad this part of the process is finished. He projected that the golf course could be open by the summer of 2006.
"We're ready to move on," VanEtten said.
Source: The State Journal-Register (Springfield, Ill.)