LIBERTY TOWNSHIP — The largest crowd to ever attend a trustees' meeting arrived Mondayevening after a surprise announcement of a condominium development to be built on a site originally designated to be parkland.

        More than 80 residents of the Brittany Hills and Oaks of Wood Creek communities packed into the Liberty Township Board of Trustees meeting. Many complained angrily they were misled into moving into the Butler County communities because they believed a park was going to be created at the end of Wilhelmina Drive, east of Yankee Road.

        Residents said a sign, which stood for years at the dead end of Wilhelmina Drive promising dozens of acres of parkland, had prompted many to buy homes along the street.

        But the sign disappeared in 1998, and instead of parkland, Wilhelmina Drive was extended.

        Residents were surprised to learn that a 356-unit condominium development would soon be built on 44 acres. The new housing development could add an esti mated 700 more cars traveling along Wilhelmina daily.

        While many residents blamed Liberty trustees for allowing a multifamily development next to them, trustees contend they were also caught unaware.

        “It's the first we've heard of it,” said Liberty Township Trustee David Kern.

        Trustees told the standing-room-only audience that they only recently learned of a 1991 Butler County judge's consent decree regarding a zoning change from the early 1970s. It allows for multifamily units in the neighborhood.

        Mr. Kern told residents, “We have not had enough time to inspect this document ... we need to sit down with our attorney.” The other trustees also agreed to study the township's options.

        Developer Glenn Brehm, vice president of land acquisitions and disposition for Hills Communities, told residents, “It's a complicated issue and it's all the result of the 1991 court decree.”

        Mr. Brehm told residents during the meeting that his development will meet all the stipulations of that decree, and that the condominium development will actually have fewer units per acre than allowed under the court order. He also said the condominiums are estimated to start at $105,000, but insisted that the multiunit complex would “have no negative impact” on the higher priced single -family homes ($170,000 and up) already on the street.

        But long-time Wilhelmina Drive resident Daniel Lally disagreed and told trustees that the prospect of living next to a park — not a sprawling condominium complex — had motivated his family, and many others, to buy a home in the community.

        Mr. Lally and other residents criticized trustees and urged them to act quickly to examine whether there are legal grounds for township officials to halt the condominium development. Work is scheduled to begin early next year; the units will be built over a five-year period.

        “It is the responsibility of the trustees to consult with the neighborhood ... before any plans are put through. To hold the community hostage to a decision about a bean field 20 years ago is irresponsible government,” said Mr. Lally.

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