Westfield council votes against Wood Wind housing plan

The Westfield City Council on Monday night scuttled a controversial proposal from Pulte Homes to build a massive housing development that would surround Wood Wind Golf Club.

“The City Council’s decision came after a lengthy community conversation that involved the developer, residents and city officials,” said City Council President Jim Ake in a media release.“Due to the overwhelming feedback from our community, many of us on the Council felt that moving forward with this development would not be representative of what our constituents want.”

In August, Pulte introduced its plans for a 780-acre neighborhood that would stretch from 146th Street to 166th Streets along both sides of Towne Road, but residents and city officials voiced concerns about density, traffic, possible uses and home designs.

The Westfield Plan Commission split 4-4 in February on whether to send the proposal to the Westfield City Council with a positive or negative recommendation.

At Pulte’s request, the City Council agreed to send the proposal back to the Plan Commission. Significant changes then were made to the plan.

The overall size of the development was reduced from 1,105 single-family houses to 856, and nearly 75 acres were removed so that it covered 706 acres. Multifamily housing and commercial components were dropped.

The amount of open space increased from 255 acres to 290 acres, meaning more than 40 percent of the development would be open.

In April, members of the plan commission voted 7-3 to send a positive recommendation to the council.

However, on Monday night, councilors voted 5-2 against the development.

Council members Ake, Joe Edwards, Mark Keen, Chuck Lehman and Cindy Spoljaric voted against the development. Council members Steve Hoover and Robert Horkay voted in support of the proposal. 

Pulte Vice President David Compton declined to comment on the council's decision.