Chester Golf to go up for auction

CHESTER — Chester Golf, a development that has languished in the planning stages for well over a decade, will go up for auction on Sept. 3 unless its developer can come up with the money to save it.

The land belongs to TD Bank, which has a $4 million personal judgment against developer Steve Sherman.

In the spring of 2012, Sherman racked up many state, federal, and local violations when he started to clear-cut the 397-acre property in an effort to raise money through the sale of logs. The violations include failing to submit a tree cutting plan and disturbing wetlands without a permit, among others. It took a court order to get the logging to desist. The exasperated town planning board refused to have Sherman appear before them again until he cleared up the violations.

Sherman was at that point getting close to obtaining final approval for his plan to build 227 houses at the site on Bull Mill Road in Chester (the golf course originally planned for the development was abandoned years ago). He accused the town of stonewalling him to the point of financial ruin.

The Chester town attorney plans to meet with the utilities commission and bank next week to discuss taking over the water district that would have supplied Chester Golf, and that currently supplies the long-established Kings Tract subdivision. The water district's rickety pump station exploded in October, which left Kings Tract residents temporarily without water. Sherman resisted efforts takeover efforts and fixed the problem himself.

Residents have long wanted the county health department or town to take over the water district, but Sherman held onto it in the hope he could develop the surrounding property.

Check online and next week for updates to the story.