The survival plan of an American golf course

Sterling Hills is located in Camarillo – a small city, less than an hour from downtown Los Angeles. Golf owner John Zaruka thinks the new homes will finance the golf service. As a result, he recently applied to change the 8 hectare use of Sterling Hills from rural residential land to a small to medium commercial residential area.

If the local government gives permission, he can build 79 houses for sale. Nearby Camarillo Springs is also applying for real estate development, but with the option of reducing it from 18 holes to 12 holes. And Zaruka intends to change the number of standard holes, but will reduce the length, change the direction of attack to add more land to build houses.

With the need to adjust the master plan, the new Zaruka is at the beginning of the process of finding a cure for Sterling Hills, which has been a dismal business for the past few years. Because before officially applying, he has to wait for a preliminary examination by the authorities and possibly many public due diligence sessions.

Zaruka says the new homes will mobilize the capital needed to settle the maturing debt first and then renovate the yard and operate it for years to come. “We want the course to have a long and stable financial source. The course is old, so it needs a big investment. And moreover, we want to make the course more beautiful and maintain the local golf movement,” said the owner of the course. solution.

But existing residents in Sterling Hills disagree because they believe that when they have bought a house with high prices, they believe the golf course will not add real estate projects. And if you add a house, their view is no longer beautiful, the living environment will be cramped and degraded. Furthermore, it will set precedent.

“The project, if it goes ahead, will raise problems. Immediately, and most simply, adding 80 units will add 160 cars. We’re on the edge of the city, a maximum of eight kilometers from the center of Camarillo. I don’t have to build a lot of houses and add a burden to the neighborhood, “said protestant Jerry Schrum, who was part of the protest group.

Buying a house in Sterling Hills from the beginning, Alan Wharton said he had to pay an additional $ 200,000 to get a place in isolation. “Back then, I thought this place was perfect for my retirement life. Now having a new project will definitely impact my interests,” Wharton said.

Wharton and Schrum both believe Zaruka’s plan will fail, as the Sterling Hills license from the 1990s stipulates that golf land is only used for related purposes during the operation.

But on the contrary, Zaruka had her own reason. “Opponents and I have the same goal to create a beautiful golf course and keep the space open. We agree like that. Now the problem is how to do it,” he explained. Golfweek.

Zaruka bought Sterling Hills in 2017 and first announced his intention to build more houses for sale at the end of 2018. A year later, he proposed to hand over the yard to Camarillo’s park and entertainment management unit, if the government allows he sold six hectares of his local land to a real estate company. But this move was deadlocked. In that scheme, Zaruka wanted to prove he did not break the original contract with the residents.

And right in the new plan, this businessman attached a commitment not to use land for golf for 50 years. But before proceeding with the proceedings, Zaruka had to wait until the end of this month, when the Camarillo government was finalizing the agenda for the project.

Quoc Huy (according to the Golfweek)