LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The president of the West Louisville Urban Coalition is proposing that a golf course in a Fern Creek subdivision becomes a space for kids and the homeless from West Louisville to get away from violence and spend time outside.
Neal Robertson said he purchased this piece of land in Glenmary October 15.
“We don’t want to just be in West Louisville, gunshots, rapes, robberies. We just don’t want to be a part of that," Robertson said. "We want to come out here and be a part of this great neighborhood.”
But the Glenmary Homeowners Association is bringing a lawsuit against Robertson, saying the piece of land he bought isn’t even a recognized lot of land, and certainly can’t be used as a homeless encampment.
Robertson heard about the land from developer Chris Thieneman.
Thieneman bought a portion of the golf course, including the clubhouse and a few of the holes. He wants to turn it into an event space. But when he approached the HOA and asked if they would buy the rest of it, there was no agreement.
Thieneman believes the people who live on the property just want to use it freely, saying even though he has "no trespassing" signs up, people are still using it for recreation.
“They’re the ones trying to keep anyone and everybody from buying this property so they can get it for free at the courthouse," Thieneman said. "I don’t know any other reason they would be doing this unless they want it for free.”
A neighbor said that isn’t the case, and that some people might want the property, but getting an entire neighborhood to agree to purchase it and raise their dues is no easy feat.
Since the HOA wasn’t on board, Thieneman looked for other buyers, including Robertson.
Earlier this month, Robertson held what he called on Facebook, a homeless retreat.
That led to some concern in the neighborhood about the future of this piece of property. Thursday, Robertson described the event differently.
“We just came out here, me and some of my friends, we were just kind of checking out the land,” Robertson said. “[I] said, hey let’s just spend the night. And they talk about they were homeless, if I tell them what kind of jobs they had they could move out here.”
Robertson has posted about another event that is set to happen Halloween weekend. At first, he called it a homeless retreat. Then, three weeks later, he called it a trunk or treat event.
The Glenmary HOA is now seeking an injunction against Robertson and Thieneman. You can see the full lawsuit here.
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