Kohler Co. Golf Course Plan Moves To Sheboygan Common Council

A controversial golf course proposal for Sheboygan County moved ahead Tuesday evening as the Sheboygan Plan Commission recommended part of the town where the course would be located be annexed into the city of Sheboygan.

It’s the latest chapter in Kohler Co.’s plan to build a high-end public course on 247 acres of mostly undeveloped forest land owned by Kohler along Lake Michigan, south of Sheboygan. The property is in the Town of Wilson and includes a few acres of Kohler-Andrae State Park.

After three years of discussions with town officials, the company recently asked Sheboygan to annex the land.

At the plan commission meeting Tuesday, Kohler executive Steve Cassady said the 18-hole golf course would boost Sheboygan’s tax base. Kohler would initially invest $25 million in the course, which would include a clubhouse, restaurant, and views of the dunes, Lake Michigan and forest, according to a Sheboygan Plan Commission document.

“It has major economic benefits. It minimizes and mitigates environmental impacts. It opens up private land to public use,” Cassady said.

A Sheboygan Plan Commission document states the proposed golf course would create 227 new full-time jobs and have a $20.6 million annual impact in the county.

A few local economic development advocates endorsed Kohler’s plan. But about 20 people spoke against the proposal, with one calling it an “end-run” around the town. But without debate, commission members voted unanimously to endorse the proposed annexation.

The vote disappointed Roger Miller, chairman of the Town of Wilson Planning Commission. When asked if Sheboygan’s process is rushed, Miller laughed and said yes.

“That’s an understatement. It first appeared as a city item just a few weeks ago,” Miller said “It hasn’t gone through any of the infrastructure planning process. It completely violates and bypassed their comprehensive planning process.”

Kohler’s annexation request now goes to the Sheboygan Common Council.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are still reviewing permit applications for the golf course.

The golf course would be Kohler Co.’s fifth golf course, and the first in Sheboygan, according to Sheboygan Plan Commission documents.

Kohler hopes to start construction in 2018 and open in 2020, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.