Commentary: Critters, theaters and golf courses, oh my!

Commentary by Doug Spoon, Editor

The Good News: There are no burrowing owls hunkered down on the site of the “coming soon” Krikorian Theater and entertainment complex in the Menifee Town Center on Newport Road.

Either the owls got tired of waiting for the theater – like the rest of us – and found suitable housing elsewhere, or they were never there in the first place. All we know for sure is that the state-mandated burrowing owl study is completed, and authorities found no owls that had to be relocated.

The Bad News: There are gophers everywhere on the Cherry Hills Golf Course and the closed North Golf Course, adding yet another twist to the uncertain status of that property in the Sun City retirement community in Menifee.

So while the golf course grounds crew battles the gophers like Bill Murray in the movie “Caddyshack” and the owls hide from the next commercial project, the residents of Menifee continue to seek answers from the humans involved in these two major projects:

-- When will they actually start building the theater?

-- What is going to happen to the North Golf Course property?

Trying to get specifics about the theater project out of city officials is like trying to cross Salt Creek on Bradley Road during a rainstorm. It appears that’s because city staff knows they have done virtually everything on their end, and they don’t want to say anything negative about George Krikorian and his plans for the entertainment complex.

Multiple sources at the City of Menifee have indicated that the only remaining tasks to be completed are the responsibility of Krikorian. These are described as compliance with “outside agencies” – sign-offs by utility companies and other entities on Krikorian’s final plans.

Quietly, city officials suggest that groundbreaking for the project should begin in about a month. If Krikorian waits too long, he has to pay for another study of potential impact on burrowing owls, nesting birds and other creatures. Those things move around, you know. But don’t hold your breath.

Krikorian did not respond to an interview request from Menifee 24/7. He has been having weekly conference calls with city officials, however, and sources say every minor detail is being discussed in trying to move this along.

Why doesn’t Krikorian just sell to someone else who wants to build a theater now, you ask? Because he’s sitting on a gold mine. Just like all the other developers in town, he owns the land and he will build when he's good and ready. In other words, when it makes the most financial sense for him.

For Krikorian, that time is arriving soon, now that he has invested in so many steps to approach the finish line. Shovels will be in the ground before the fall. Really. Well, maybe.

Now to the golf course.

Residents of the Sun City community have complained about the condition of the North Golf Course ever since it was closed more than two years ago by Korean-based Golf and Art LLC, which claimed it was no longer profitable. That didn’t sit well with seniors who live adjacent to the course in houses whose property value they claim is dropping.

Granted, it has taken the issuing of multiple code violations by the City of Menifee to force the ownership to turn the water back on, trim trees, cut weeds and generally maintain the closed property. Meanwhile, the ownership group is trying to maintain the adjacent Cherry Hills Golf Course as well.

Last we talked to local management of the golf course, discussions were taking place about some form of re-development of the North Course property that would be more profitable and still comply with county regulations of the area as a water flood channel. Charlie Kong, who had recently taken over as course manager, talked about the positive environment he was creating in discussions with local residents.

Now we learn that Kong left the company at the end of April. And according to multiple sources, at least one real estate investor has had serious discussions about buying the property. For what purpose, we don’t know.
City Manager Armando Villa would not comment on the rumors of a sale, saying he could only address issues of code enforcement. Meanwhile, new course manager Mike Matheny said the course “has been for sale for two years.”

Hmm. That’s not how Kong characterized the company’s commitment to revitalize the area under its current ownership. Matheny said he has also heard rumors in the community that a buyer is lined up, but “I haven’t heard it from the people around here.”

Ownership has never made public details about a proposed re-development, other than posing the idea of limited residential space and perhaps a golf school on the North Course property.

“I’ve seen the plans about the proposed re-development,” Matheny said. “They’re pretty aggressive. But I don’t know where the money would come from for that.”

As far as an ownership change, stay tuned. That appears to be on the theater-like “fast track”.

Then there are those pesky gophers.

Charlene Albert lives across the street from a vacant North Course fairway on Northwood Drive. She has submitted photos of the maze of gopher holes on the course and claims the infestation has spread to her property and neighboring homes.

“We are trying our best to control the gopher situation that has spilled into the surrounding area,” Albert wrote in a letter to Menifee 24/7. “Unless the golf course management does their share on the property, we will never get the gophers under control. Every single exterminator we’ve talked to says the same thing.

“After eight months, our first exterminator threw his hands in the air and gave up. We have now hired Gopher Wars.”

Sounds ominous. Meanwhile, Matheny acknowledges the gopher infestation and said the ground crew is catching as many of the creatures as it can with wire traps that kill them.

“It’s always been a problem here,” Matheny said. “I played this course 10 years ago and they had gophers then. I don’t know if it’s worse because the land is undisturbed and there’s less grass or what. I have received complaints and have answered letters and emails about this.”

In a letter to golf course management, Albert described how the gopher problems are becoming personal.

“Gophers, besides being destructive, are a health and safety problem,” she wrote. “Gophers are rodents and carry disease, just like rats do. Our yards and the North Course are riddled with gopher holes and tunnels. A broken leg, ankle or hip followed by a lawsuit is not unlikely.

“This has been an ongoing issue for homeowners since the North Course was closed and everything was allowed to die.”

So there you have the latest – at least what people are saying on the record and tidbits we have received from reliable sources. Perhaps by next summer, you will be able to watch the latest action flick on the big screen at Krikorian’s theater. Maybe you’ll even be able to bowl a few games. But get your golf in now, because who knows what will happen over there in gopher land.