A vote will be taken November 4th for the proposal by the new owner to build 400 homes on property that he has already been cited for causing a public nuisance on, by spreading chicken manure over the golf course.
On April 10th, C&RB reported that Stuck in the Rough LLC, which purchased the Escondido (Calif.) Country Club in 2012 with a view to building houses on it, had been cited for causing a public nuisance after spreading chicken manure over the course (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2014/04/10/defunct-escondido-calif-cc-cited-public-nuisance/)
At that time, Michael Schlesinger, owner of Stuck in the Rough, described the practice as “an industry standard landscaping program,”—a seemingly odd remark, given that the course hadn’t seen a drop of water in over a year and that Schlesinger clearly had no intention of maintaining it to a playable standard.
At the end of August, KFMB 11, San Diego’s CBS affiliate, ran a story highlighting a new campaign by residents demonstrating against redevelopment plans called Proposition H, or ‘Prop H,’ which would create a new housing development on the old golf course.
“The whole area is blighted,” said Escondido Country Club homeowner, Deanna McHose. “We used to have this lush beautiful green golf course.”
A vote to either proceed with Prop H, or scrap it, will be taken by the City Council on November 4th and the Escondido Country Club Homeowners Organization (ECCHO) has kicked off an aggressive campaign to try and prevent it from happening.
“It’s really a grassroots, gorilla campaign and it has to be boots on the ground,” said Escondido realtor Rick Elkin.
Schlesinger bought the 100-plus acres in 2012 and closed the country club and golf course to build about 400 homes and an Olympic-size pool on the land.
“It’s not realistic because of the traffic situation,” said McHose. “Schools, the general environment itself, they have to wrap up the roads.”
The Escondido City Council voted to make the land open space, but the issue is now stuck in court, KFMB reported. The owner filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, but in turn Schlesinger has been called a bully and accused of pulling shady tactics, such as dumping the chicken manure on the land, to get back at outspoken homeowners.
“This issue is about trust in my opinion,” said Elkin. “It’s not about a bunch of spoiled older golfers who have lost their golf course.”
McHose has lived across the street from what used to be the golf course for more than a decade. She used to enjoy walking her dogs in the neighborhood, but not anymore.
“It’s just not pleasant now,” she said. “That sounds selfish, but it used to be a very beautiful area.”
While many of these homeowners are in their golden years, said KFMB, they are not going to give up their open space easily. “I don’t think anyone in this community wants to go down without a fight, that’s for sure,” said Elkin.
Escondido City Council member and mayoral candidate Olga Diaz recently announced that she supports the initiative, KFMB reported.
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