Homeowners surrounding the Upland, Calif., property have backed a plan that would shorten two of the 18-hole golf course’s greens to build 68 detached condominiums on 8.4 acres. The sale of the land to Diversified Pacific Development would allow the course owners to pay off the $5.8 million they still owe on the 2005 purchase of the property.
Homeowners at Upland Hills Country Club in Upland, Calif., have backed a plan to build condos surrounding the golf course, the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported.
The 18-hole public course and surrounding land now has 544 units. Sale of the property to Rancho Cucamonga-based Diversified Pacific would allow the course owners to pay off the $5.8 million they still owe on their 2005 purchase and better maintain the pitch, the Daily Bulletin reported.
The proposal by the developer will shorten two of the greens to build 68 detached condominiums on 8.4 acres. The first step to shorten the Upland Hills Golf Course was unanimously approved by the Upland Planning Commission last week, the Daily Bulletin reported.
“Upland needs its golf course, period,” resident Albert Hernandez told the commission. “There’s nothing around here since they closed Empire Lakes.”
The developer will set aside $749,000 to the city for improvements at the golf course. As a condition of the approval, Diversified Pacific must first make the improvements to the golf course and then get reimbursed by the city. It will have one year, from when the permits are issued, to complete the work, the Daily Bulletin reported.
“It’s quite a commitment on their part,” Upland Senior Planner Jerry Guarracino said.
Peter Pitassi, partner with Diversified Pacific Development, said the home builder worked on the plans with planning staff for more than a year. The developer also met with a representative from the homeowners associations on the south and north sides of the country club. The latter included meeting with the board and its members, Pitassi said.
Documents were also left in the clubhouse with details for the project. The conceptual plans include seven floor plans, ranging from 1,390 sq. ft. to 2,420 sq. ft. The units will incorporate California Spanish and Hacienda architectural styles, the Daily Bulletin reported.
The project would bring the total number of housing units to 612 units on the 215 acres in the Upland Hills Country Club Specific Plan, Pitassi said. “We have a high interest in maintaining this golf course as a successful operating entity,” he added.
The company’s proposal also includes a covenant that could protect the golf course and homeowners. The owner of the golf course, or any future owners, cannot take on any other debt and secure it with the golf course without the vote of the homeowners association, Planning Commission Chairman Gary Schwary said.
“You have a voice in any potential future debt that could be encumbered. It will be a debt-free operation unless you decide to give them the right to take on the debt,” Commissioner Shelly Verrinder told residents in attendance Wednesday.
The site improvements will be done all at once, but the homes will be built in phases, between five and seven per phase, the Daily Bulletin reported.
A majority of the speakers Wednesday night spoken in favor of the project, acknowledging they would rather see a vibrant golf course, even if it meant shortening the course, to protect their property values, the Daily Bulletin reported.
“We are in support of this project. We think this is the only way to save the golf course,” said Ann Hamer, who lives by the first tee.
To build the condominiums, an amendment to the Upland Hills Country Club Specific Plan must be approved. With the commission’s blessing, the development now goes to the City Council for approval, the Daily Bulletin reported.
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