Bloomingdale tells Indian Lakes to keep up golf course landscaping
As Bloomingdale and the owner of Indian Lakes Resort argue in court about plans to redevelop a former golf course, village officials insist the land must be properly maintained.
Village Manager Pietro Scalera last month notified First ILR LLC, which owns the 223-acre Indian Lakes property along Schick Road, that it must do regular lawn and landscape maintenance of the shuttered 27-hole golf course and a neighboring 34.4 acres owned by the village.
On Monday, Scalera said he has yet to receive a response to his April 23 letter.
"I'm very disappointed," he said. "They say they're looking out for the best interest of the community, but yet they won't maintain their property, which affects the community."
First ILR spokesman Patrick Skarr said Monday company officials didn't become aware of the village's letter until last Friday.
"This was a simple issue of miscommunication between the property and the village's inspector," Skarr said. "We will honor our agreement to maintain the village-owned land, as well as the vacant land on the former course."
First ILR permanently closed the roughly 190-acre golf course and a conference center in late 2016 as part of a plan to save and improve the hotel. But a proposal to rezone the former golf course and transform it into a neighborhood with hundreds of houses for empty nesters has yet to be reviewed by the village.
Frustrated by the delay, First ILR in March joined with developer K. Hovnanian T & C Homes to sue the village. They are asking a DuPage County judge to order Bloomingdale to review the project's preliminary plan.
Because of the rezoning request, the village insists it can't review the project until after final engineering is submitted. It's trying to get the lawsuit dismissed.
Scalera said the legal fight doesn't change the fact that the resort is required by village code to maintain the closed golf course.
"They have to keep the grass cut," he said. "They can't just let it grow wild."
The village notified First ILR because the grass wasn't cut on a regular basis last year, according to Scalera. If the grass isn't cut this year, the village could issue citations.
Meanwhile, First ILR could violate the terms of a 2007 agreement if it doesn't maintain the village-owned land between Meadowlark Road and Cardinal Drive.
The village spent $4.9 million to buy the land from Indian Lakes to protect it from development. As part of the deal, the resort is responsible for maintenance of the site until the village alters it or until October 2027, whichever comes first.
Bloomingdale is planning to transform the site into a passive park with a trail, landscaping, parking lot and several ponds to help alleviate flooding.
But lingering questions about Indian Lakes have forced village officials to delay the stormwater project.
If the resort refuses to maintain the open space, the village said it will take "appropriate measures," including hiring an outside vendor to do the work and reeking reimbursement from First ILR.
"I haven't gotten to that step yet," Scalera said. "I'm hoping it won't come to that."