By Lisa Carolin
The number of events to be held at Reddeman Farms and the number of people attending those events will be the subject of a public hearing at the Lima Township Planning Commission’s March 28 meeting.
Members of the Planning Commission voted at its Feb. 22 meeting to table any decision about Reddeman Farms’ special use permit until the March meeting.
In the interim, several representatives from Reddeman Farms will be meeting with neighbors of the golf course, which is located at 555 Dancer Road, on March 9 to discuss traffic issues.
Ed Maliejewski, a representative from Reddeman Farms, spoke to the Planning Commission at the Feb. 22 meeting.
“Our goal is to grow the business,” said Maliejewski. “We need more revenue than golf. We want to have some weddings there.”
Maliejewski was questioning the restrictions drawn up by members of a Planning Commission subcommittee, which say no outdoor activities, no more than 10 activities a year or two per month, and a limit of 125 people per activity.
“Does that mean no outdoor ceremonies?” asked Maliejewski. “We don’t plan on having receptions and loud music outdoors, but we have this beautiful scenery to get married on.”
He also said that the fire marshal allows up to 180 people on the premises and asked about increasing the limit to 150.
“We need to be talking about a real number that is enforceable,” said Elizabeth Sensoli, a member of the Planning Commission. “You bought a golf course. It’s not our responsibility to make it profitable for you.”
“We don’t want a lot of noise and disruption for the residents,” said Marlene Consiglio, chairman of the Planning Commission. “If you bring that much traffic and if it happened every weekend plus the golfers, that’s a lot of people coming down the road. I don’t want to compound the problem.”
Patty McCarthy, a former owner of Reddeman Farms, also spoke at the meeting.
“I don’t think some of the limitations are fair to the community,” said McCarthy. “It is a wonderful piece of property. Does that mean we can’t have a Mother’s Day buffet?”
Ed Greenleaf, vice chairman of the Planning Commission, explained that the restaurant part of Reddeman Farms is separate from the special events, so restrictions would not apply to such holiday celebrations in the restaurant as Easter and Mother’s Day.
Maliejewski also expressed concerns about the cost of improving the road to Reddeman Farms.
“We should have some input as far as paying for the road and maybe cap the amount we’re responsible for,” he said.
Sensoli responded, “The price of the gravel is a business risk.”
Consiglio reminded everyone, “The original special use permit said no activities that aren’t golf-related. That was not adhered to. We are not making it an events center. We need to put some restrictions on until we see that you’re going to be good neighbors.”
