Windermere Country Club

wants to turn the 155-acre golfing property into a new housing development. Orange County commissioners say they will fight that plan.

Orange County commissioners have decided to stand their ground in a fight with the owner of the shuttered Windermere Country Club, who wants to turn the 155acre golfing property into a new housing development.

Commissioners agreed this week to stick with decisions made in October 2016 and January 2017 when they refused to give back the development rights for the golf course.

The county received those rights for the golf course in 1986 as a condition for the layout of a surrounding subdivision that required a common open space. Transfer of those rights to the county was unusual but not unheard of, a planning expert said.

Bryan DeCunha, who purchased the 18-hole course and clubhouse in 2011 for $2.1 million, closed it in April 2016, citing mounting losses. His plan to build 95 homes on the property was immediately met with opposition from neighbors — including some who had been members of the golf club. He has since taken to Facebook and the courts so far in an as-yet unsuccessful effort to reverse the commission’s decisions.

Law required the county to offer a settlement to resolve the court dispute with DeCunha, who almost certainly will reject it. He can then file for compensation in court, which the county will fight.

The commission’s offer, approved unanimously Tuesday without discussion, again rebuffs homebuilding or other development on the land, saying allowable uses are a golf course or other permissible open space.

DeCunha’s attorneys have argued that the county’s stand “inordinately burdened” the property and has reduced its value by $19 million. They contend the property would be worth millions more than what he paid for it if he could build and sell homes.

He included an appraiser’s opinion to support his view.

Located between the Dr. Phillips area and Winter Garden, a new subdivision on the site would be close to downtown Orlando, Disney and the airport.

Nearby subdivisions include Casabella, which has homes priced at more than $1 million, and Estancia at Windermere, with homes starting in the $700,000s, according to the appraiser’s documents.

DeCunha did not respond to a call for comment.

Neighbors in three adja-

cent subdivisions — Estates of Windermere, Lake Buynak Estates and Waterford Point near Lake Roberts — have linked arms against DeCunha’s proposal to transform the golf course into a subdivision.

Some fear more houses will lower their property values, while others insist the deal with the county was “for perpetuity.”

“He keeps doing everything he can to keep this idea going and wear people out,” said Louise Hawthorne, whose home in Lake Buynak Estates abuts the golf course. “But we’re in this for the long haul, too.”

She said neighbors frequently call county authorities to force DeCunha to maintain the former fairways and greens, which are overgrown with weeds and a few dead trees.

Some neighbors say coyotes have taken up residence on the former championship course.

But Orange County code enforcement says the property is in compliance.