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Special use permit for Reddeman Farms tabled by township planning commission

Reddeman-Farm-Golf-Banquets-logoBy Lisa Carolin

More than two dozen people attended the Monday, March 28, Lima Township Planning Commission meeting, mostly to talk about the subject of the evening’s public hearing — the application for a special use permit by Vargo Golf Company, the new owner of Reddeman Farms, with regard to the number of events that can be held there as well as the number of people who can attend those events.

“I defy anyone to come up with a dirt road in the township that has more high speed, concentrated traffic than South Dancer during golf season,” Dancer Road resident John Leatham told Planning Commission members.

“The kind of country atmosphere we want to maintain has been hard because of traffic,” said his wife, Linda Leatham.

“This is an agricultural area,” said Dancer Road resident John Eisley.

Patty McCarthy, former owner of Reddeman Farms also spoke.

“Why do people want to limit what Reddeman Farms can offer the community?” she asked. “How many rehearsal dinners, class reunions, birthday parties, memorials, and graduation parties have we done for Chelsea residents? What do we tell people, that we’re over our limit? The community is going to lose out on this beautiful place.”

Dancer Road resident Pat Conlin was sympathetic to McCarthy.

“None of us knows what it takes to run this business,” said Conlin. “Most of you bought your homes knowing there was a golf course there. I disagree that hosting these events is a surprise to any of us. We are in a position where we can say to our neighbors, ‘We want you to thrive.'”

Following the public hearing, the planning commission took up its own discussion of the special use permit for the golf course, and allowed owner Rob Vargo to speak.

“I own several golf clubs in rural townships,” Vargo said. “I am a good neighbor. We’re here because it’s America-the land of the free, not the land of the limitation. Please don’t limit me. It’s going to hurt the business, which is going to hurt the community.”

Marlene Consiglio, chairman of the Planning Commission, reviewed conditions that her subcommittee has come up with for the special use permit.

“Proposed conditions include no outdoor activities except for seasonal ones like skiing,” she said. “Wedding ceremonies can be outdoors but with no amplified music, no events shall have more than 150 people, no more than 10 events with more than 50 people, and no more than two of those per month.”

Other conditions include that the owner take responsibility for trash removal, the owner providing signage and materials about driving slowly, and a commitment from the Planning Commission to revisit the special use permit and check on the applicant’s compliance annually.

The Planning Commission voted unanimously to table a decision on the special use permit application until its April 25 meeting and to have a subcommittee meeting prior to that time to fine tune the permit.

Also at the March 28 meeting, site plan approval for a DTE Energy Sub Station on the south side of Dexter-Chelsea Road was given unanimously by the Planning Commission.

The reason for the one transformer substation was described as a power quality issue in the area. DTE representatives said that it should be up and running later this year and will help out the entire area.

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