The city of Kohler, Wisconsin, could vote Tuesday afternoon on a conditional use permit for Kohler to build its new golf course at the Kohler-Andrae State Park.
If approved by the city’s Planning Commission today, the conditional use permit would allow Kohler Company to construct a new golf course on Kohler Company property north of Kohler-Andrae State Park between Black River and Lake Michigan. Kohler already runs Blackwolf Run® and Whistling Straits, two immensely popular golf destinations that makeup four of the top 10 golf courses in Wisconsin you can play, according to Golfweek.
Upward of 20 public comments are expected to be given at the meeting. The majority of them are expected to be in opposition, but some like the Professional Golfers Association submitted letters in support of Kohler.
Wisconsin PGA/WPGA Junior Foundation Executive Director Joe Stadler said he won’t be able to attend the meeting, but called Kohler a “great asset” to Wisconsin’s golf community.
In a nine-page letter, environmental engineer Roger Miller is asking the Plan Commission not to approve the permit. His letter claims the permit is incomplete, and that environmental impacts haven’t been evaluated properly, including changes in lake levels.
Miller suggests further assessments be done to determine how much environmental impact there would be from proposed actions like filling wetlands and cutting down woodlands to create the course.
A letter attached to the permit application said aspects of the project have been challenged in six different lawsuits. It goes on to say Kohler is committed to “resolving the lawsuits and developing the course.”
The letter says Kohler is asking for a conditional use permit now to avoid any further time delays so construction can begin once all the lawsuits are resolved.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the plan commission can approve the permit with various conditions, hold the permit or deny it. An OK from the commission is the final approval for the conditional use permits. No additional approval from the Common Council is needed.
The Friends of the Black River Forest have been in a legal battle with Kohler and the state over the development of the course for over two-and-a-half years.
The Friends were elated in September when the Court of Appeals reinstated their challenge to a land swap agreement with the Department of Natural Resources. In the agreement, Kohler would get just shy of 6.5 acres of parkland in exchange for 10 acres just west of the park.
Originally, the Friends challenged the land swap saying it violates rules against selling or disposing of state park property. Kohler said the Friends didn’t have sufficient standing to challenge.
The September decision reinstated the Friends’ cases against the land swap.
In February, Kohler had a big win when the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the city of Sheboygan could annex 250 acres in the town of Wilson that includes the site where Kohler hopes the course will sit.
Reach AnnMarie Hilton at ahilton@gannett.com or (920) 242-3032. Follow her on Twitter at @hilton_annmarie.
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