Last-ditch effort to preserve green space on golf course?

Flood drainage ditches are an issue in re-development of the North Golf Course. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon

There appears to be little hope of re-opening the North Golf Course in the Sun City community in Menifee, but drainage ditches that run through the closed course might at least preserve some of the green space.

Peter Son, owner of the Korea-based company that owns the property, told Menifee 24/7 he and his developers have a meeting scheduled with City of Menifee officials today. Preliminary plans for re-development of the property will be discussed, he said, but he wouldn’t provide details.

Son did admit, however, that it would be virtually impossible to pave over all the grass areas – mostly now turned brown because of lack of watering – in any kind of commercial or residential development planned for the area. That’s because a County flood control system, which has been in place for decades, runs through part of the land and is necessary to maintain flood control standards.

“There are restrictions for development because of the flood channel,” said Son on behalf of Golf and Art LLC, which owns both the Cherry Hills Golf Course and the North Golf Course property, which it closed in 2017. “Our team is trying to figure out the best way to work with those restrictions.

“It’s hard for us to touch certain parts of the property. We may have to leave some of it as is and maybe convert it to a public park. We haven’t made a definite decision, but the City is cooperating with us.”

The City has also issued multiple citations to the owners for dead grass, overgrown weeds and trees and other factors. Then in March, the city attorney sent a letter to the owners threatening legal action if they don’t come forward with some sort of plan for the property.

In the 17 months since the North Golf Course was closed, residents who live adjacent to the course have complained about the poor condition of the course and have claimed their property values are dropping dramatically. Many bought their homes at higher prices because of their proximity to the new golf course in the 1960s, when Del Webb’s retirement community was just beginning.

Menifee 24/7 does not have specifics on home values in the area, but Son acknowledged the concerns of residents.

“Once we develop the project, I believe those values will go up again,” he said.

City Engineer Jonathan Smith said there are immediate concerns regarding the flood control ditches as well as the long-term concerns about how development could be built around them.

“Basically, drainage runs through the beginning, north of Chambers Avenue,” said Smith, referring to a long, curving flood control channel that runs southwest from Bradley Road through a residential community and dumps into the north part of the golf course property after running under Chambers Avenue.

“There are additional flows entering the course from the ‘Sun City Channels’ (other flood control channels running east-west into the course). The flow runs south and enters a flood facility south of the course at Ridgemoor before entering Salt Creek.

“There are concerns that due to the dead vegetation, silt will build up in the flood facility.”

Son emphasized that although his group has preliminary ideas about development going into the meeting with city officials, he has not committed to whether that development would be commercial, residential or some of both.

When the golf course was closed in April 2017, Son said continuing to operate the property purchased from the golf club members who owned it was not feasible, even though the purchase had been made just three months earlier.

"We tried to keep it open, but it didn't work out," Son said at the time. "It's still not generating enough revenue. There are different factors involved, but basically there weren't enough annual pass sales.

"There used to be more than 100 members. Now, since we bought the course in January, we only have about 30 who rejoined with the annual membership. We think most of them will transfer their membership to Cherry Hills."

After Son received a second letter from the City regarding the condition of the course, he hired a consultant to study the options for development. One of developer Grant Becklund’s biggest challenges was studying decades-old plans and trying to figure out the impact of the flood draining areas.

“All this was done in the ‘60s,” Becklund said in a July 15 interview with Menifee 24/7. “Researching some of those old records has been a challenge. We need to find out how Sun City approved the property.

“It has R1 zoning that would allow apartments in different pieces of the property. One plot plan shows some green space, but there is underlying residential zoning shown.”