Major changes are coming to the Twin Oaks Golf Complex in Eudora after the County Commission approved a site plan for renovations during its meeting Wednesday night.
However, the proposal generated about 20 minutes of public comment first from supporters and opponents of the proposal.
The site plan for the complex at 1326 E. 1900 Road includes the demolition of the existing 2,716-square-foot clubhouse and outbuildings, and the construction of a new 13,619-square-foot clubhouse. The new building will have an indoor tee box and a restaurant. The tee box will allow patrons to use the facility in any weather conditions, city county planner Mary Miller said during the meeting.
The approval of the site plan was part of the consent items but was pulled by Commissioner Gene Dorsey for additional conversation. Dorsey said he passes the course many times a day and wanted to know more about the project.
There will also be an access drive to the clubhouse extended to the parking area on the south providing additional parking and a drop off/turn around at the clubhouse. A new parking area will also be added to the west side of the property.
Renovations to the facility have been underway for a while, and the property was rezoned a couple of years ago, Miller said. The process of expansion was discussed under its prior ownership, as well, but the dream has always been to expand it to make it more useful, she said.
The applicant sent a letter of map revision from FEMA to the county showing the removal of the area from the floodplain, Miller said.
The commission previously approved a site plan for exterior lighting and safety netting for the facility in September 2024. The property was rezoned to a rural tourism district in 2021 to allow recreational use without the need for a conditional use permit. The golf course and driving range, as well as the restaurant, are allowed under this classification with approval of a site plan.
Brandon Yates, the owner and developer of the project, said the plan is to take a place with great bones and make it into something special. Renovations have been done to the whole golf course and the driving range has been done, so the next step is tearing down the dilapidated buildings to create one bigger multipurpose one, he said.
“I think the intent is just to have a really great – I would consider a Class A facility – for the community to use, and I know that the schools are dying to get back in and practice and be able to use the facility, so we’re trying to get it done as soon as possible,” he said.
Many members of the public spoke during the public comment section of the item. Jeff Burey, the former owner of the course, said he supported the project and said it will be a gem of a facility to eastern Douglas County when it’s completed.
Burey also said, during his 30 years owning the course, he witnessed a lot of heavy rain and flooding of the river, and although there had been standing water at times, it was never anything of crisis.
Matthew Vogt of Eudora also spoke about his support for the project and said it’s been a longtime coming. Many schools will continue to use the program and look forward to it being back up and running.
Vogt is also happy to see the commerce stay in Douglas County, allowing people to golf year round in Eudora without traveling to Overland Park or Topeka.
However, several expressed concern about the site plan due to the location’s change to not being in the Wakarusa River floodplain, pesticides being used on the green space and concerns about flooding in the area with the area being removed from the floodplain.
Melinda Ball, with Save the Wakarusa River Valley, said she had concerns about the project’s encroachment into the floodplain. Ball said there are many examples of other states experiencing large amounts of flooding and said it is not a good idea to encroach on floodplains.
“So flooding is a big concern, and rivers need space to expand,” she said.
Ball said the map revision is a concern, and having additional protections for the river is important. She also said she knows golf courses tend to use a large amount of chemicals to create green spaces, which could be a concern.
Adam Lang also spoke against the approval of the site plan and shared concerns about the developers rezoning with FEMA for the space to not be considered in the floodplain.
“These changes to existing areas and improvements to existing structures may sound innocuous in nature, but it is always these small changes and improvements that lead to further degradation of the land that has already suffered greatly at the hands of development,” he said.
A large percentage of fertilizer will also likely be used on the land, he said.
Michael Almon from the Save the Wakarusa River Valley group also spoke in opposition of the site plan.
“What began as a simple golf driving range some 35 years ago has experienced development creep, and currently is what it is, but it’s time to halt its escalation. Although a golf facility may be appropriate for locating in a river bottom, according to code, by an ecological accounting, it’s the wrong land use in the wrong location,” he said.
Almon also brought up concerns about the pesticides, herbicides and intensive chemical use for the putting greens.
Ellen Johnson said she also had concerns about the pesticide use and its long-term effects. She said she hopes a study could be done to see any potential risks.
Yates responded to concerns by saying nothing with respect to the golf course is changing.
“The application is simply about expanding the parking lot, and we’re again tearing down three dilapidated buildings and building one new one, which would be essentially the same square footage. So, as far as the golf course and all the other things that have been mentioned, that stuff is going to be the same as it has been for 35 years,” Yates said.
Yates said they had a study done to prove the location was out of the floodplain and said nothing about the course itself would be changing with the new site plan.
A letter was provided by FEMA and was sent to county planning with the information about the approved map changing the floodplain, Miller said.
Commission Chairman Patrick Kelly asked if there was any evidence that the new map provided by FEMA was incorrect.
County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said they had code staff members certified in these areas who would have flagged it if they had concerns.
Kelly said it could be a tricky situation with FEMA if the county had no evidence it was wrong.
Plinsky said that a conditional use permit for this purpose was already approved and said tonight’s action was about the minor changes to the site plan.
Commissioner Karen Willey said she is not always a fan of rezoning that FEMA is willing to do, but this project remaining a golf course does not have the same level of concern as a residential-type place.
Willey said pesticides and herbicides are regulated by the state so it can be tricky to micromanage things like that. She said she encouraged conversations like the ones Wednesday tonight to continue to take place.
Kelly said he appreciates the public’s engagement on these issues and conversations about the floodplain.
“I think we need community members doing that, and I hope you’ll continue, and I’m sure you will continue to be engaged. I think it’s a little tricky for us in the seat we’re in, if we have a revised floodplain map, to say – and we have staff at zoning and codes who have essentially reviewed it – to say that we think they’re wrong,” he said.
Kelly also said he wants to caution people against thinking that development in this area means a lot more projects will come to this area.
Commissioners followed discussion by voting unanimously in favor of the site plan.
