Owners of the Brassie Golf Club land returned with a revamped plan for a housing development, but received a similar skeptical reaction from Chesterton’s Advisory Plan Commission members on Thursday.
It had been nine months since PMM Chesterton, which does business as Diamond Peak Homes, had approached the Advisory Plan Commission.
Michael Herbers, the managing partner for PMM Chesterton, said they had reconfigured the proposal, reducing the number of housing units to 501 from 600. The 200-acre property is west of Pearson Road on what had been a golf course that has been closed since April 2021.
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There would be 198 single-family houses, but the lot width would vary in size from 60 feet to 90 feet. Portions of the property would have 144 paired villas — like duplexes — and 159 townhouses. The lowest priced property would be in the high $300 thousands, Herbers said.
Herbers also touted how much time and money were spent on upgrading the drainage for the proposed subdivision, with more retention ponds added. He noted that 44% of the development would be open space, with two parks and a connection to the Prairie Duneland Trail.
“I know previous planning commission meetings did not go well, so I am hoping we can have a constructive conversation to see what you like and don’t like,” Herbers said.
Commission members didn’t seem impressed, noting that the proposed housing density was still too high.
“I don’t see where things are significantly different from a year ago,” said Councilman Dane Lafata, D-3rd, who also serves on the plan commission.
Commission member Thomas Kopko said the proposal has too many townhouses and paired villas, something Chesterton already has in abundance.
“We already turned down 400 (housing units). It would behoove you to get a lot closer to 400,” Kopko said, referring to when the commission gave an unfavorable review to Lennar Homes, which in November 2022 presented its proposal for 394 housing units.
Councilwoman Sharon Darnell, D-4th, was particularly pointed in her criticisms of the plan. She questioned whether Herbers was accurately calculating the project’s cost.
“Your costs are nowhere near bearing anything to reality,” Darnell said.
Darnell also hit on the density issue.
“You were told it would be really great to stay under 500 (housing units). Well you didn’t,” Darnell said. “Nothing, nothing on this conceptual thought, whatever it is, follows at all under any standard that this town has to build. Make the effort if you want to see any progress. Make the effort.”
Herbers countered by saying that the new plan was made after discussions with town officials. He said that density is needed for the possibility of having houses be affordable.
“People and climates change, so we serve our constituents. We don’t live for the developers. We are supposed to take care of the people in this town,” Darnell said.
Commission member James Kowalski was a bit subdued in his comments. He apologized again for his remarks from the May meeting, when at one point he used a vulgarity for bovine waste in describing an aspect of the Brassie proposal.
Kowalski said he would like to see something done with the property, which has been vacant since the Brassie Golf Club ceased operations.
“You’ve got to come back with something that’s a little more conservative,” Kowalski said.
Residents who spoke also expressed their misgivings about the proposal.
Jenny Hansen, who lives in neighboring Dogwood Estates, said the golf course is one of the last open spaces in Chesterton available for development.
“This concept is simply too dense for the area, with no open green space or buffers,” Hansen said.
Joe Vargas, a Brassie Avenue resident, said if the developers had followed through with their original plan years ago to develop houses around the golf course, they wouldn’t be here.
Vargas noted that the owners in 2024 were ready to sell the property to a Texas developer, who wanted to build a data center.
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“I don’t think the owner of this property really cares about the town or the residents,” Vargas said.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.