Second course in Detroit suburb slated for development

Developers are teeing up plans to turn another Lyon Township golf course into a subdivision of single-family homes.

A conceptual plan to put 182 single-family homes on the 160-acre Cattails Golf Club site was presented to the Lyon Township Board during its first meeting of 2023.

The golf course at 57737 West 9 Mile Road has been a fixture in the community for more than 30 years. Mario Moscone acquired the property in 1989 and opened Cattails two years later, operating it with brothers Frank and Tony.

Now, with the deaths of both his brothers in the past 14 months, Tony Moscone told the board he is the only one left.

“I’m looking at Cattails moving into the next phase,” Moscone said. “I want to continue with the original plan — to make the property attractive to a variety of folks … Cattails Preserve, or Cove, I’m not sure on the name, will go from golf and recreation to a one-of-a-kind development that will benefit Lyon Township for many years to come.”

Moscone noted the property, which is located on the south side of 9 Mile Road, east of Griswold, is gorgeous. It is also directly across from the Woodlands of Lyon, a planned 103-home development on 120 acres.

Planner Brian Keesey said township officials had expected changes to the Cattails property for at least 10 years, citing the 2012 master plan.

This is not the first housing development proposed to replace an existing golf course in Lyon Township. Last year, developers proposed a 310-home development on the 201-acre Coyote Golf Club property on the east side of Milford Road, north of 12 Mile Road. This was a reduction from a 2019 proposal of a 477-unit development at that location.

“With the anticipation of golf courses getting redeveloped into single-family properties, it’s not a surprise for the township, but what is proposed is 182 single-family homes with lots of 55 and 65 feet,” Keesey said of the Cattails plan.

While more than half of the land would be preserved as open space in the conceptual plan, the proposed density is more than double what is allowed by ordinance.

“The big question is whether the proposed density is something the township can accommodate,” Keesey said, noting the planning commission has already voiced their objections on this point. “81 units is allowed on density, and 182 homes are proposed.”

Another…