Deerfield residents want to pause development of former golf course

Concerns continue to be raised about possible plans to turn a former golf course into a mixed use development.

About 30 residents attended Tuesday’s Deerfield Twp. trustees meeting to ask more questions and to urge more community discussion about future uses for the 110-acre property along Interstate 71.

Township residents are upset the former Kingswood golf course, which now offers open greenspace, will be lost after an extension of Innovation Way and possible future development.

RELATED: Residents, leaders at odds over development

There are 25 developers who have expressed interest in the future development, according to trustee President Chris Romano. After March 1, trustees will narrow the number of developers who will be invited to submit proposals for the project.

But leaving the property as it is, with the exception of road project, has not been taken off the table, according to Romano, who added this is the fourth time the township has sought to develop the property.

“We’re still at the beginning of the process,” he said. “We intend to factor in a lot of these concerns.”

MORE: Deerfield Twp. wants 110 acres of mixed use on former golf course

While residents concede there is no stopping the road project, some say there needs to be a thorough environmental impact study and more communication from officials.

“There has not been a lot of community input,” said resident Ryan Stout, who asked trustees to show more transparency and to talk more with the community about their plans.

Another resident, Lelle Lutts, told trustees that residents want more time to discuss the matter.

“It’s (the process) backward to us,” she said. “We don’t want this on the back-end. People want you to pause before picking a master developer. We don’t see any benefit to having more retail and mixed use development.”

Trustee Dan Corey said the township has been trying to communicate its plans to residents for nearly four years through various websites for the Western Row Road and Fields Ertel Road projects.

“It comes down to a matter of trust,” resident David Meyer said. “Residents don’t believe what the board is saying … They don’t trust you. You’ve been asked to pause. Let’s talk about this before bringing in a master developer.”

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