Just two weeks after approving the new Dunstan Village Residential Zoning District, the town has received a request to change the zoning on a piece of land abutting Highland Road and Chamberlain Road from R2 to DVR.
The request comes from Shirley McLaughlin, who owns the approximately 50-acre parcel where the Pleasant Hill Golf Course is now located and a seven-acre lot across Chamberlain Road.
According to James Vear, who is assisting McLaughlin with the request, the family would like to build condominium duplexes with a total of 48 to 60 units on the southern end of the golf course property.
Some of the units would remain under ownership of the McLaughlin family, who would rent them. But most would be sold. The units will not be exclusively marketed to seniors, but will all be handicapped accessible to attract that group.
If the family wanted to develop the southern end of the lot as well as the lot on Chamberlain Road using traditional subdivision methods, they could build a total of 34 single-family homes, Vear said.
In exchange for the zone change, McLaughlin would be willing to establish permanent open space of the seven-acre parcel on Chamberlain Road, Vear said.
What exactly will be done with the other portion of the golf course property is not known, Vear said, adding that it may remain as a golf practice area or could be open space. However, the McLaughlin family would like to keep all of their options open, Vear said.
The golf course will remain open this summer.
Town Manager Ron Owens said it is not surprising that there is a request for a change to the new zone and thinks it will be a popular alternative for developers because it allows for denser development and lot size flexibility.
The Town Council will discuss the issue at its meeting on Wednesday, June 15, and will then send it to the Planning Board for a public hearing. After the issue will return back to the council for its public hearing and action.
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