By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities
Leaders of move to buy Club West golf course abandon their effort (AZ)
By Paul Maryniak, AFN Executive Editor Mar 7, 2017 (Ahwatukee Foothills News)
Save Club West has thrown in the towel.
Blaming apathy among Club West’s 2,550 households, the group’s leader told supporters in an email on Monday, March 6, that it has abandoned its effort to find homeowners who would invest between approximately $8,000 and $13,500 to buy the beleaguered course, restore it and operate it profitably.
“Although it is almost certain that the problem will get worse, the four of us are too disheartened to push on,” said Save Club West leader Jim Lindstrom, who has worked since July on a detailed plan for buying and operating the course. “For now, Save Club West is signing off.”
Read more:
http://www.ahwatukee.com/golf/article_26d10156-034c-11e7-9a77-a35f41263bb8.html
IAC: In order to purchase the golf course, Save Club West needed 330 owners to donate about $13,000 apiece, but only 110 donors materialized. When only 110 households out of 2,550 seem to care about saving the golf course, it is only a matter of time before the land is redeveloped.
Police called to restore order as Amherst golf cart path dispute gets nastier (NY)
By Stephen T. Watson
Published Wed, Mar 15, 2017
That dispute over a golf cart path in East Amherst is going from heated to down right nasty.
Amherst police were called Monday night to restore order during a meeting of the homeowners’ association.
Between 20 and 30 residents attended the board meeting, and the discourse between board members and some audience members grew testy.
Mary Ellen Sanfilippo and others fired off sharp questions, interrupted at times, and spoke beyond the five minutes they are allowed under the board’s rules, according to witnesses. Sanfilippo, in particular, drew the ire of Gene Zambarda, the board vice president, who repeatedly said she was out of order. When she refused to stop interrupting, he called the police to remove her from the room.
Source: Buffalo News
IAC: Ransom Oaks HOA is embroiled in a 4-year long legal battle with adjacent Glen Oaks golf course, over a golf cart path that runs along the back yards of some of its members. Some homeowners do not think the issue is worth spending more than $120,000 in legal fees.
Rio Bravo residents worried about country club closing (CA)
BY STEVEN MAYER smayer@bakersfield.com, March 23, 2017
When you buy a house on a golf course, the value of your property increases in proportion to your views of long sloping fairways, picturesque water features and well-manicured greens.
But what happens when the greens turn brown, the pond dries up and the fairways go to seed?
That’s a question that is worrying hundreds of residents surrounding Rio Bravo Country Club and golf course, which homeowners say will be closing down — going out of business — just when summer is about to start.
“If they quit watering June 1, that place will dry up very quickly. They’re not just shutting down a golf course, they’re shutting down a whole community,” said Joe Muller, a resident of the gated neighborhood and the president of one of nine homeowner associations in the northeast Bakersfield community.
Read more:
IAC: According to the report, Rio Bravo has not been maintained and membership has dropped over the past several years.
Killearn developer wins key approval from community (FL)
Jeffrey Schweers , Democrat staff writer 11:27 a.m. ET April 1, 2017
The nine-hole course at Killearn Country Club known as the Narrows has been a contentious strip of green for several years.
After all the lawsuits and negotiations, the battle over the course may be coming to an end. Killearn Country Club owner Barton Tuck won over the Killearn Homes Association on a plan to sell the Narrows and drive that money back into renovating the club and allow residential development to go forward.
In return, Tuck agreed that Killearn Country Club would continue to operate for the next 50 years.
Following a social media blitz targeting Killearn homeowners, the Killearn HOA approved the agreement Friday night.
Read more:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/04/01/developer-wins-key-approval-from-community/99904370/
IAC: After years of fighting, Killearn HOA has suddenly had a change of heart. They have agreed to allow Barton Tuck to sell holes 1 – 9 to a developer. But J.T. Burnette still has to convince the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Agency to change zoning to allow multifamily housing and a conservation area. Tuck promises to use at least $4M from the sale to improve what will remain of the golf course and country club. But most homeowners do not play golf, and wonder how this deal was made.
Debate rages in Waikoloa Village about homeowner subsidization of golf course (HI)
Published April 11, 2017 – 12:05am
By Max Dible, West Hawaii Today
WAIKOLOA — When Waikoloa Village was constructed by developer Boise Cascade in the 1970s, it was intended as a retirement community meant to revolve around a golf course. In recent months, however, some homeowners there have challenged the viability and necessity of that paradigm.
Amy Swan, president of the Waikoloa Village Homeowners Association Board of Directors, explained why she thinks the debate has gained so much traction after four decades of relative dormancy.
“I think this community is much more diverse than it used to be and they’re starting to get involved,” she said.
The course has come under fire from some members of the WVA who note it operates perennially at a financial loss, which led to an increase in association fees from $620 annually in 2016 to $795 in 2017.
Initially, the proposed increase put yearly fees at nearly $1,000. That number was scaled back after a vocal portion of the community decried such a steep hike, threatening lawsuits, stating their intention not to pay their dues and spurring discussions about dissolving the WVA.
Read more:
Debate rages in Waikoloa Village about homeowner subsidization of golf course
IAC: Although only 10% of association members use the golf course, all members pay hundreds every year to subsidize its financial loss. But change is difficult and costly for the Village.
Whitaker Bank Will Continue To Maintain Andover Golf And Country Club (KY)
Posted: Apr 23, 2017 9:42 PM EDT
Updated: Apr 24, 2017 2:30 PM EDT
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) – Following a bid of $2.95 million, a former golf and country club that went up for sale Monday will continue to be maintained by Whitaker Bank.
The Andover Golf and Country Club shut down earlier this year due to financial troubles.
Neighbors were concerned that there are more questions than answers when it comes to the fate of the property.
“What I’ve been told is that they are thinking about developing the country club as something other than a golf course,” said William Von Brandenburg, Vice President of the Brighton East Homeowners Association.
Homeowners were on edge before the auction.
“If it’s subdivided for more homes or apartments or something, it will have a negative impact on property values,” Von Brandenburg said.
Read more:
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/counties/fayette-county/article146360209.html
IAC: According to this report, the bankrupt Andover Golf Course is in a flood plain. For now, the bank will continue to operate the golf course. But homeowners worry that the land will eventually be redeveloped with new homes.
Siena Golf Club homeowners offered chance to save course (NV)
Las Vegas Review Journal
By Brian Hurlburt Special to the Review-Journal
April 26, 2017 – 9:12 am
Updated April 26, 2017 – 5:40 pm
More than 800 golf courses have been shuttered nationally in the past decade because of financial distress and other issues, according to data from BusinessInsider.com.
SilverStone and Badlands have closed in the Las Vegas Valley, and legal battles are in process. Homeowners have been left with declining home values and a lesser quality of life.
And last week, Dr. David Lee, one of three owners of Siena Golf Club, was quoted in an email to Siena homeowners as stating that he might look to sell the course because it is losing money. But unlike in the Badlands and SilverStone cases, Lee is offering homeowners the opportunity to save Siena by creating a partnership.
Read more:
IAC: Will homeowners be willing to pay $12.50 per month to the owners of the golf course, to prevent them from selling the land for redevelopment?
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