With an increase in interest in single family homes, Plover Village Board approved two subdivision plats that would add 72 lots in the southern part of the village Wednesday, March 16.

“What we’ve been hearing is there’s not a lot of single family residential lots available for development (in Plover),” Village Administrator Dan Mahoney said. “Builders have been asking us for a while for new lots.”

The village’s request for single-family residential permits has jumped from six or seven on average to 30 last year alone, he said. The Village Board approved Village Wood Pointe and Lexington Place subdivisions during its March 16 meeting.

Village Wood Pointe is a 60-lot subdivision plat from developer William Bayba that would go into the 40 acres of land on the northeast corner of Pleasant Drive and County Highway R where the former Tree Acres Golf Course used to be.

Classic Development Corp. plans to add 12 lots to its existing Lexington Place subdivision south of St. Bronislava Catholic Church on the corner of Forest Drive and Cleveland Avenue.

“I like this location because it is prime for development and the price of the land makes it economically feasible for a much-needed single-family subdivision,” Bayba said about Village Wood Pointe. “It will have all the municipal services, have a country-type feel but yet be close to everything.”

Ranch-style homes will run a minimum of 1,600 square feet and two-story homes will run about 2,300 square feet, he said.

“There is a severe shortage of single-family lots in the area, and as a result, we have had considerable interest from builders and individuals,” Bayba said. “With the anticipated influx of people moving into the area for employment, we see this as an excellent opportunity for those who still want the American dream of owning their own home.”

Before development begins, Bayba will have to wait on a report from the Department of Natural Resources regarding the potential existence of the endangered Karner blue butterfly on the property. The property is located within two miles of existing blue lupine, a habitat and the primary food for the Karner blue butterfly’s caterpillar.

Federal law requires that if more than an acre of the property is being disturbed within that area – and putting in the streets will use more than an acre of land – there must be a study done to ensure the Karner blue butterfly habitat is not being destroyed, Mahoney said. Blue lupine blossoms in mid- to late-April.

“Given that this was a golf course, the possibility of it being there is pretty low, but it has laid (empty) for the last few years,” he said. “We’re catching it at the right time of year, so that’s good news, but the development will (have to) be delayed” until the report is completed, he said.

Bayba expects to be cleared for the Karner blue butterfly by mid-May with sewer, water and other utilities going in immediately after. Should the development go as planned, he said, the first phase could be completed in July.

The development is located in Tax Incremental District (TID) No. 5, which means with development the special assessments will be paid off, there will be an increase in property value and the life of the TID might be shortened, Mahoney said.

As part of the agreement, the village will be responsible for the extension of sewer and water on Pleasant Drive and the developer will be paid on a “pay-as-you-go” basis.