Plan commission backs rezoning to allow Lennar to convert BriarLeaf golf course into 296-home subdivision

The La Porte Plan Commission voted unanimously on a favorable recommendation to the City Council for a rezoning that would let Lennar Homes convert the permanently closed BriarLeaf Golf Course into a subdivision of about 296 homes.

Attorney Bill Nelson and members of the Lennar team presented the petition as a response to long‑standing market and fiscal pressures. “Communities must grow or fail,” Bert Cook, executive director of the La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership, told the commission, summarizing housing studies that he said show a significant shortfall in the city’s housing stock. Nelson confirmed required notices and affidavits had been filed, and that IDEM had already identified existing wetlands on the site.

Todd Cleven, Lennar’s vice president of land, described two product lines: a core detached “townhome” product and larger “horizon” homes. Cleven said the plan would preserve over 40% of the site as open space, include walking paths, parks and four new retention basins, and is proposed at roughly 2.25 units per acre. He corrected the unit count presented earlier, saying…