LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Six residents of Hurstbourne filed a lawsuit Monday over Topgolf’s plans for Oxmoor Center, a move that may foreshadow other legal challenges.
The suit, filed in Jefferson Circuit Court, says the proposed golf-and-entertainment center’s lighting runs afoul of Metro Louisville rules and alleges that “non-existent or dissolved” entities applied for the project.
Neighbors want a judge to nullify the city planning commission’s approval last month of Topgolf’s lighting package, which they claim violates city land-use rules. Among other things, commissioners signed off on lights that are not fully shielded and brighter than normally allowed.
Steve Porter, an attorney representing the neighbors, said the planning commission didn’t verify Topgolf’s lighting experts’ work and therefore acted “arbitrarily and capriciously.”
“The crucial issue here is the lighting and the problems it will cause for these three couples and others down the street,” Porter told reporters at a press conference Monday.
But supporters of Topgolf pushed back, with Greater Louisville Inc. president and CEO Kent Oyler calling the lawsuit an effort to try to stop or delay the project. GLI, the region’s chamber of commerce, supports Topgolf building at Oxmoor.
“We can no longer let a small group of people hold meaningful, quality development hostage,” Oyler said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing Topgolf pass the full Metro Council this month, with construction to begin soon.”
Topgolf attorney Cliff Ashburner said in a statement that the company’s lighting plan will cut one million lumens of output, add lower light standards than those now at the mall and plant trees as an extra barrier between neighbors and the project.
“Filing a lawsuit to preserve a worse lighting environment is an obvious delay tactic employed by three couples who refuse to accept the facts surrounding the Topgolf at Oxmoor Center plan,” Ashburner said.
The lawsuit may be the first of more legal action to come. The lighting approvals can be challenged because the planning commission’s Oct. 18 approval is considered a final action and doesn’t need Metro Council approval.
But the council has yet to take action on Topgolf’s application to rezone land, get a permit for a driving range and other requests.
In an unusual move, the neighbors argue that the Louisville Metro Planning Commission should not have considered requests from companies whose legal status is unclear, according to state records.
“The two applicant companies, as far as we can tell, don’t exist,” Porter said.
The six plaintiffs claim that several entities listed in planning commission records, such as GGP Inc., the former owner of Oxmoor, are no longer legally recognized in Kentucky. Brookfield Properties Retail acquired GGP in August and now owns the mall.
The suit claims GGP was dissolved in 2001 and is listed as "inactive" and not in good standing with the Kentucky Secretary of State's office, which oversees business filings.
A "non-existent" company, Topgolf USA Louisville LLC, is listed in applications for the project but is not registered with the Kentucky Secretary of State's office, according to the suit.
Topgolf attorney Ashburner said those allegations amount to a “red herring.”
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of residents Peggy L. and Bryan C. Barber; Gerald J. and Helen M. Nicolas; and Sheila M. and David J. McLaughlin. They are among the closest Hurstbourne neighbors to Christian Way across from Oxmoor.
Porter said the neighbors are paying for legal costs, although “other people will be involved too, other residents of Hurstbourne and nearby neighborhoods.”
Topgolf announced in February plans to build its first Kentucky facility at Oxmoor. Since then, some Hurstbourne residents and other opponents have pushed back, saying the complex would create traffic, light and noise concerns.
Studies done by Topgolf consultants found those worries to be largely unfounded, but neighbors have sought to discredit the work as biased.
Despite opposition from the suburban cities of Hurstbourne and Bellemeade, Topgolf’s requests to rezone land and get other approvals have moved along easily.
Following two public hearings and nearly 11 hours of testimony, the planning commission voted 9-0 on Oct. 18 to recommend that the Metro Council approve the Topgolf plan. The company is asking for a zoning change, a permit for a driving range, lights that aren’t fully shielded and net poles of 175 feet -- or 25 feet taller than what is typically allowed.
The council’s planning committee voted 6-1 last Tuesday to send the recommendation to the full council, which meets next on November 29.
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