Owners of the Brassie Golf Club as early as next month could have Chesterton’s Advisory Plan Commission start the review of its residential development proposal.

The plan commission’s legal process — which starts with a concept review — would end with a recommendation and the Town Council making the final decision. It could be months before the council would vote.

This proposal follows a different path than past residential developments in Chesterton.

PMM Chesterton, which does business as Diamond Peak Homes, previously made a presentation in March to the Advisory Plan Commission on its idea for a 632-unit housing development spread over the 163 acres of the former golf course off Pearson Road.

The golf club owners had discussions for months beforehand with Rebecca Parker, the town’s economic development director. Councilwoman Jennifer Fisher, R-5th, has noted the town wants to take a less adversarial approach with developers.

On April 3 and again Tuesday, PMM Chesterton held sessions at Chesterton High School where they met with anyone who had questions. There were 40 who attended on April 3 and about a dozen Tuesday.

Michael Herbers, the managing partner for PMM Chesterton, said company officials plan to soon meet with the town’s economic development officials. He said they will take comments from residents and town officials into consideration and possibly make changes before the formal Advisory Plan Commission process starts.

“We can make changes to satisfy as much as we can with the project,” Herbers said.

The Brassie Golf Club property, at 163 acres, is one of the largest undeveloped areas left in Chesterton. PMM Chesterton would have to seek the annexation of 71 acres now in Liberty Township, bringing the land into Chesterton.

David Uran of Game Plan Solutions, who is helping PMM Chesterton, at the Tuesday gathering noted that no prior developers of housing projects in Chesterton had asked the opinions of residents before the formal process started.

During the Tuesday session, Herbers fielded questions from the dozen or so potential neighbors gathered around him in a semicircle in the Chesterton High School cafeteria.

One resident said if there are two vehicles per household, that will mean over 1,200 more vehicles in the neighborhood when the subdivision is fully built out.

Herbers promised that if the project goes forward, his company would be obligated to have a traffic study done.

Another resident raised the question about the impact on the schools.

Herbers noted that the Duneland School Corporation has lent its support for the project.

School Board President Brandon Kroft said in a statement that the school district’s enrollment has remained relatively flat due to a shortage of available housing. Kroft’s letter of support lauded the town’s “proactive approach” with this proposal.

Herbers said that regarding the schools and the roads, the impact would be gradual because he believes it will take four to seven years for the project to be fully developed. Construction would likely start closest to the present clubhouse off Pearson Road.

The Brassie development has a range of housing — 214 single-family homes, 250 paired villas (duplexes) and 168 townhomes. Herbers said that the housing prices haven’t been set for the development.

One issue that is sure to surface is that 87 of the single-family homes would have 75-foot-wide lots and the remaining 127 houses would be on 50-foot-wide lots.

Chesterton’s town code, changed in 2022, stipulated that new single-family homes had to be on 100-foot-wide lots.

Herbers said the town code’s lot width requirement is for new houses built in an R-1 residential zone. He said the Planned Unit Development agreement that would set rules for the development allows for more flexibility.

The Brassie development would have 70.5 acres of open space, which is 35.2% of the 163-acre property.

Park space and trails would also be developed inside the complex, and there would be a connecting trail to the nearby Prairie-Duneland Trail.

The housing density for the proposed project is also likely to be an issue for the Advisory Plan Commission.

Lennar Homes in November 2022 got a chilly reception from the Advisory Plan Commission to its proposal for a residential development with 394 single-family homes. As a result, Lennar Homes decided against buying the property from PMM Chesterton.

Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.