Developer solicits community input on closed golf course site

Hundreds of residents packed a conference room to hear from developer Ambient Communities. (Staff photo)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

A crowd of about 250 residents of the Sun City community packed a conference room at the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Menifee Friday, expressing their concerns about the closure and sale of the Cherry Hills Golf Course.

Question cards were submitted, hands were raised and angry accusations were shouted from the back of the room regarding an issue that has become a major topic in Menifee’s over-55 community. Friday’s event was the first in a series of community meetings planned by Ambient Communities, designed to gather resident input on the future of the 300-acre site.

Many of the questions also included the comment “We want our golf course back.” It seems unlikely that the Cherry Hills and North Course facilities would remain as part of a new project, considering the state of disrepair of both courses, said Ambient representative Wade Hall. At the same time, Hall repeated several times that he was at the meeting to listen to all suggestions, and that no preconceived ideas are being pushed forward at this stage.

“We have no pre-planned conspiracy with the city,” Hall said. “We have no set plan, no undercover deals. We made a promise to your mayor that we wouldn’t do anything until we brought it to you first.”

Hall acknowledged challenges in maintaining the property while its future is being considered. Residents on Friday expressed concern about grass bordering their property that is two feet high; water leaks; rodents; and more. Still, most preferred a restored golf course to any project that would bring more housing to the area – something that would require a zoning change.

“Almost everything on the golf course is broken,” Hall said. “There’s tons of code violations that we’re spending hundreds of thousands on, fixing things. We’re looking at what it would take to re-do the value of the course. I don’t think it’s going to work, but we want you to know we’ve brought in the right people on this.”

Hall said Ambient has consulted with golf course professionals about specifics of the course, but that the challenge of maintaining such a project these days often is prohibitive.

“Golf is a tough business,” he said. “This is not the first course that has failed. The question now is, what do we want to put there? We think we can create value and upgrade the community.”

Once again, Hall declined to give examples of possible solutions. While saying Ambient “has zero interest in grading 300 acres and putting thousands of houses in there,” he acknowledged that some sort of senior housing could be a component, although much open space would remain.

“We’re not talking about a bunch of apartments,” he said. “It’s not even labeled as that.”

At the same time, Hall admitted to considering the possibility of some residential buildings, perhaps with two stories – a comment that was met with murmuring throughout the audience. He received a better reception when saying there is no plan to build any kind of road along the backs of houses along the existing fairways.

Hall said a website has been created to document residents’ ideas and questions. It can be accessed here. Future community meetings will be announced soon.

“The former Cherry Hills Golf Course is now closed,” the website states. “Golf operations at Cherry Hills are financially unsustainable. As with the North Course, Cherry Hills has been losing a significant amount of money every year. Since we’ve taken ownership, our immediate priorities are cleaning up the properties, addressing deferred maintenance, and discussing the future with the community.”