The City of Effingham Plan Commission Approved the rezoning of an area off Route 40 for a large residential development. The proposed subdivision is wedged in between Country Club Road and County Club View Road, just north of the Effingham Country Club. Site plans for the subdivision, which is being developed by Prairie Ace Estates LLC, indicates that there will be 40 lots, two entrances, as well as a drainage pond.
The petition to rezone the area from non-urban to residential was submitted by Mike Vonderheide, of Redwood Properties, LLC. The rezoning would allow developers to build single family homes on the property as well as some multi-family dwellings.
According to one of the developers who spoke in favor of the rezoning petition, Scott Conant, the multi-family homes would be condos that would each house two families. Terry Youngblood, of RE/MAX Key Advantage, who is representing both the owner of the property in question as well as the buyer also spoke on behalf of the petition. According to him, the project will provide a “greatly needed area of development and growth for the city.” Youngblood also commented on a lack of available property in the area for developers.
Two neighboring property owners also testified in support of the petition. Both Mark Mayhood and Clayton Hinton expressed agreement that the proposed subdivision would serve to raise property values.
Testimony was also given Greg Koester, the Engineering Technician for the City of Effingham. He said that while the development does not conform with the City’s current comprehensive plan, which designates the area for agriculture and rural single family dwellings, there are are factors present that would justify a divergence from the plan. “There’s amenities close to the subject property, the golf course, that could benefit from a little bit higher density development than the one unit per two acres.”
During testimony, a Golf Course View Road resident also asked Koester about drainage in the area. City Attorney Tracy Willenborg responded that while the developers had no legal obligation to improve drainage on the road, the project may have that effect.
The Plan Commission voted unanimously to make the zoning change. The Commission also approved plats and site plans for the proposed subdivision.