Developers of the proposed Thornburgh destination resort west of Redmond could know by April whether they can build homes and golf courses on the 1,300-acre property, or whether they’ll have to start a yearslong process from scratch.

An attorney representing the Thornburgh property owner argued before a Deschutes County hearings officer this week that developers had pumped nearly $7 million into the project and should be allowed to continue with a final master plan.

County hearings officer Karen Green said a decision could come by April 2.

The issue centers on the two-year period a land use permit can sit in Deschutes County without any development before the permit is voided. A developer has to show an effort has been made to build on a piece of land where a project has been proposed within the time frame or seek an extension.

Kameron DeLashmutt first proposed Thornburgh in 2005, filing an initial master plan with Deschutes County for 950 homes, 475 overnight lodging units and three golf courses on the property roughly eight miles west of Redmond. The county gave the resort plan preliminary approval, but opponents of the project appealed it all the way to the state Supreme Court.

Thornburgh went into bankruptcy in 2011, when Terrence Larsen, a Philadelphia banker, bought it for $2 million. Larsen sought a two-year extension of the original master plan, which the county granted.

But a resident who lives near the proposed resort appealed to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, which reversed the county’s decision, saying more than two years had lapsed without any significant construction.

Larsen’s development group, Loyal Land, withdrew its application in July, but last month requested the hearings officer rehear the case.

None of the homes or overnight lodge units has been built.

David Petersen, an attorney with Tonkon Torp, representing Larsen’s group, said this week that developers have paid $1.1 million to build an access road between the resort site and a nearby Bureau of Land Management property, $1.4 million toward preassembling a community center off-site and about $4 million on a host of other projects since 2005, such as site preparation for one of the planned golf courses.

“That work is in furtherance of the resort,” Petersen told Green, the hearings officer. “We can establish that represents significant construction. I think anyone would be hard-pressed to argue that almost $7 million in preconstruction is not a good-faith effort.”

If Green sides with Loyal Land, the county would submit additional information to the state land use appeals board demonstrating why it feels the developers have met the requirements to move forward. The appeals board has to sign off before the county can issue building permits for the resort.

If the county rules against Loyal Land, the group would have to resubmit all of its initial master plan paperwork and start at the beginning of a lengthy approval process for destination resorts.

It’s uncertain whether the developers have a desired timeline for the project. Petersen, reached Thursday, referred comments to DeLashmutt, who is part of Larsen’s development group.

DeLashmutt didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment Thursday.

— Reporter: 541-617-7820, eglucklich@bendbulletin.com