The Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission on Nov. 19 recommended approval, by a 10–6 vote, of a rezoning request from Sterling 27 LLC that would permit a 309‑lot single‑family subdivision on roughly 66 acres of the former Elks Country Club.

Staff told the commission it was recommending denial of the rezone and of a petitioner commitment tied to lots adjacent to Capilano Highlands, citing primary concerns about access through the Indian Creek floodplain and the environmental sensitivity of the site. "The main thrust here is the floodplain and access through it," a staff presenter said during the hearing.

Petitioner attorney Ryan Mundo (RTS Law) told the commission the Day family—current owners—had operated the golf course beyond a covenant requirement and had marketed the property since August 2024. Mundo said the owners have spent millions on upkeep, are offering commitments to develop lots adjoining Capilano to R‑1 standards, and have engaged engineers and surveyors to address drainage. "If we cannot address the drainage problem, there will be no subdivision," Mundo said, adding FEMA and county drainage approvals would be required before building lots.

Multiple nearby residents urged the commission to deny the rezoning. Ken Buchanan, who lives beside the golf course, described recurring drainage changes that he said had placed neighboring homes in the floodplain and said traffic on County Road 300 West is already congested. "You cannot get out of the Meijer and Menards parking lot," Buchanan said. Several other residents recounted repeated flooding in Capilano and adjacent properties, cited ponding and clogged retention ponds, and warned that large additional impervious surface would worsen local flooding.

Neighbors also raised safety and infrastructure concerns, including school capacity at Klondike Elementary and hazardous intersections along Taft and Klondike roads. "Putting approximately 300 homes in this area ... is a major concern not only for flooding but for travel and school impacts," said resident Kyle Cray, who referenced past emergency gravel roads used to access Capilano during floods.

Developer representatives said they had held neighborhood meetings, shared drainage studies and simulations, and were prepared to provide an emergency access concept and additional buffering where the development meets Capilano. Tim Ballen (Seaford TeeBird Design), the petitioner’s engineer, said a certificate floodplain and elevation points at the US‑52 entrance could allow one primary entrance outside the floodplain and that detention standards for this site would be higher than much of the county.

The APC divided its votes: commissioners recorded 15 votes in favor of approving the petitioner’s commitment to R‑1 standards, 1 against; on the rezoning request itself the recommendation tally was 10 in favor and 6 opposed. The case will be forwarded to the Tippecanoe County Commissioners for final action; the board is scheduled to hear the matter Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. in the same room.

The commission’s staff advised that planned development zoning (PD) could be an alternative path because PDs allow negotiation of standards designed to address environmental sensitivity and transitions to low‑density neighbors. The petitioner maintained the rezoning step follows the county’s prescribed sequence and said all downstream approvals—drainage board, FEMA certification and subdivision review—would constrain construction if drainage could not be resolved.

Next steps: the recommendation will go to the county commissioners for a final decision at their first meeting in December.