West Shore Golf Club presents scaled-back two-building plan; commission targets Dec. 1 for formal review

West Shore Golf and Country Club presented a revised pre-application site plan to the Coast East Seal Township Planning Commission on Nov. 1 that replaces a previously approved single large storage building with two smaller buildings and several site modifications intended to reduce impacts on a neighboring property.

Club architect Bob Howie said the new concept reduces the length of the north-side building from roughly 120 feet to about 68 feet, increases the buffer along the north property line to about 34–40 feet in places, and moves the cart charging area to be more than 88 feet from the adjacent lot. Howie said the plan also formalizes a bag-drop area, reorganizes parking to be clearer and easier to maintain, and adds a drainage swale and berm along the north property line.

"We've almost cut the building in half," Howie said, adding that materials and rooflines will match the existing clubhouse so the new structures "complement the existing facility."

Commissioners and staff praised the club for voluntarily revising the plan to address neighbor concerns. Staff said the key outstanding item is the calculation of overall floor-area expansion; that ratio determines whether the application will proceed as a site plan or require special land use review. Staff expected to have the exact numbers within a week and proposed bringing a formal application and required notices to the commission on the Dec. 1 meeting.

Art Wall, president of West Shore, said he had mailed a certified letter to the adjacent neighbor and received a signed receipt, but no subsequent communication; he said the club is seeking to engage neighbors in the process.

Commissioners recommended that the applicant provide full-size drawings and engineering materials, and several commissioners said they favor reviewing site plan and, if required, special land use on the same December night to avoid repeat hearings. The club said its board hopes to begin construction in spring and is aiming to have site plan approvals in time to put shovels in the ground by April.

No formal votes were taken at the Nov. 1 pre-application presentation. Staff and the applicant agreed to exchange additional materials and to seek to place the application on the commission agenda for Dec. 1.