WIND POINT — The Wind Point Village Board voted unanimously to approve a lease agreement that would allow developers to pursue a parking lot on village land just west of the Wind Point Lighthouse.
This is one step toward a larger proposal to redevelop the neighboring Shoop Park Golf Course, which is owned by the City of Racine. The project is being pursued by the Leipold Johnson Golf Group.
According to village trustees, the lease agreement would generate $50,000 annually for the village — more than enough to cover the estimated $30,000 it costs each year to maintain the Wind Point Lighthouse.
Not everyone is pleased with the decision. Cathi Higgins, a lighthouse volunteer and Caledonia resident, has been vocal in her opposition.
"That beacon is a light of hope for me. It's a place I can come and feel connected to my parents," Higgins said. "It's easy access, gorgeous grounds, the nature, just everything," Higgins said.
Higgins, who frequented the lighthouse's walking paths with her parents before they passed, said it's been challenging to follow the process as someone who doesn't live in the village.
"It's been hard, frustrating, and very sad," Higgins said.
She raised concerns about the scale of the proposed parking lot and what it would mean for the grounds surrounding the lighthouse.
"I mean, they can keep the walkway, fine, but where are they going to put 70 cars?" Higgins said.
As proposed, the parking lot will be permeable, and the lease has a condition to make sure a continuous-loop walking path will remain, according to village trustee Linda Johnson.
Mike Gasperi, also a lighthouse volunteer and a Wind Point resident whose home backs up to the eighth fairway of Shoop Park Golf Course, is among several residents who support the board's decision.
Gasperi pointed to the financial benefits the lease would bring to the village and the lighthouse.
"In addition to the parking lot, there'd be money that would come in," Gasperi said. "And it falls on the village to pay for the maintenance."
In regards to the current condition of Shoop Park Gold Course, he said "it desperately needs to be redone."
Several residents told TMJ4 they are optimistic about the plans as the development is backed by a family with a lengthy history and legacy in the Racine area.
"They've been very, very good to us," Gasperi said.
Tuesday's vote from the village board came after the village's Plan Commission voted 5-2 to not recommend the board approve the lease agreement.
Developers must now submit detailed plans to the Plan Commission for approval or denial. The City of Racine has yet to vote on the larger Shoop Park Golf Course redevelopment proposal.
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