Golf course makes annexation, zoning request
The owners of St. Andrews Golf and Country Club are asking the city of West Chicago to annex about 250 acres of their land and rezone it - even though there are no immediate plans to develop the property.
A public hearing hosted by the plan commission will be held 7 p.m. today, Sept. 16, at Wheaton Academy, 900 Prince Crossing Road, in West Chicago.
"They are looking to annex the last remaining unincorporated piece of the golf course within city limits," said Jeff Harris, West Chicago's city planner. "They started the process back in the '90s, and over the years annexed several pieces in."
St. Andrews has requested to have 210 acres zoned for houses. The remaining 40 acres, which is located along Route 59, would be zoned for commercial use, officials said.
Even if the zoning request is approved, the land will continue to be part of the golf course for now, Harris said.
"They're not planning to do any redevelopment," he said.
Last year, St. Andrews had about 200 acres of farm land it owns annexed into West Chicago. About 65 acres of its course was brought into the city in the 1990s.
St. Andrews' plan is consistent with the city's comprehensive plan, which has the golf course listed as residential.
"In the big picture, it allows the city to control the development of this land so that when it is redeveloped, it's developed according to the city's standards," Harris said.
If the plan commission approves the annexation and zoning requests, everything then will need to be approved by the city.