A proposal to convert an existing co-ed lounge into men’s locker-room space has “led to member input in a volume that I have personally not experienced,” said a manager of the community association, and prompted the Association Board to delay its decision so it could get legal advice on whether the change would be discriminatory. The club already has a women’s-only lounge and supporters of the change say both men and women members are in favor of creating a similar area for men. But others say creating a men’s-only area would be “wrong morally, ethically and legally.”
A proposed change to the locker room and lounge configuration at Rancho Santa Fe (Calif.) Golf Club has sparked a great deal of community conversation over the last month, the Rancho Santa Fe Review in Del Mar, Calif. reported.
On April 1, the Rancho Santa Fe Association Board’s decision on the change was continued to the May 6 meeting, to allow time for the Board to gather further legal advice, the Review reported. While the Association’s attorney and the club’s outside counsel have weighed in, RSF Association Vice President Sharon Ruhnau said she would like an expert opinion on whether or not the proposed configuration of converting an existing co-ed lounge into a men’s locker room space would be discriminatory.
“I don’t think that there is a rush to do this, so waiting another 30 days is in our best interest,” Ruhnau said.
Director Rick Sapp said the Association Board is looking to achieve the best outcome for golf club members, to ensure facilities provided to members are relatively compatible, equal and fair and that the amenities provided to them in terms of services are the same, the Review reported.
The locker-room configuration changes were presented at the board’s March meeting and in a 5-2 vote, the board approved it for a 28-day posting for public comment with Laurel Lemarie joining Ruhnau in voting in opposition, the Review reported.
“The posting and the publicity that we’ve received has led to member input in a volume that I personally have not experienced at the Association,” said RSF Association Manager Christy Whalen, who has been with the Association since 2015.
In March, the Review reported, the Board received 90 comments on the topic via e-mail with 62% in support of the change, 31% voicing opposition, and 7% (6) with more comments or questions.
At the April 1 meeting, RSF Golf Club Interim Manager Shanon McCarthy provided a history of the use of the clubhouse spaces, the Review reported.
The RSF Golf Club’s plan of operation states that all property owners in the Covenant are social members if they have not yet joined the club, the Review reported. Association members have access to the pro shop and the restaurant (which the Association jointly funds) while only golf club members have access to golf facilities, including the locker rooms and Veranda Lounge in the Players Clubhouse.
Since 1987, all capital improvements, maintenance and repair of golf-related facilities have been paid for solely by golf club members, the Review reported.
The Players Clubhouse opened in 2008 with three areas in addition to the pro shop, the Review reported.: A women’s locker room and lounge called the Bougainvillea Lounge, a men’s locker room and lounge called the Vaquero Lounge, and a co-ed social gathering space called the Veranda Lounge.
According to McCarthy, the $6.9 million cost of the clubhouse project was and is being paid for by golf club members, with repayment of the loan to be completed in about six years, the Review reported.
Shortly after the clubhouse opened, the men’s lounge was made a part of the co-ed space due to similar concerns that are now being raised, the Review reported. Doors were added to provide privacy for the men’s lockers and restroom areas. In 2010, an additional bar was added to the co-ed Veranda Lounge to serve all members and the Vaquero Bar was closed and reserved solely for special events. To this day, it is not set up for service and is not regularly staffed, the Review reported.
The Bougainvillea Lounge remains women-only, the Review reported.
The proposed change would restore the areas to the original layout and according to McCarthy, it is “strongly” supported by both men and women club members, the Review reported. “The golf club feels that the men are entitled to a social area or lounge just as the women are,” McCarthy said.
Both the men’s and women’s lounges are equivalently furnished, the Review reported. The main difference between the two spaces is the unstaffed, built-in bar. In the new configuration, McCarthy said bar service for all areas would continue to be provided from the co-ed Veranda Lounge bar, which is open Wednesday through Sunday.
During public comment, Rancho Santa Fe residents Linda Leong and Ilia Christy shared their opposition to the proposed change that they believe to be discriminatory, the Review reported. “I believe barring women from the Vaquero Lounge is wrong morally, ethically and legally,” Christy said.
The women believe all residents should have equal access to all Association-owned property including the golf and tennis clubs, whether they are members or not, the Review reported.
Deb Gustafson, a 12-year RSF Golf Club member, said she saw a lot of misrepresentation in the comments the Board received, from people who are not familiar with the layout of the buildings and rooms involved, the Review reported. The current situation, Gustafson said, discriminates against the male members of the club as the women have a private lounge which is part of their locker room and the men do not.
“No amenities in this area are different than the Bougainvillea Lounge part of women’s locker room,” Gustafson said of the Vaquero Lounge. “Our golf club membership is thriving and growing, and it is our desire to give everyone the best possible experience and changing the use of this space will help us to achieve that.”
The bar in the Vaquero Lounge appears to be the major difference between the men’s and women’s spaces, the Reviewreported, and Association Director Greg Gruzdowich said if the club physically removed the bar, then both lounges would effectively become just locker room extensions.
Blair Nicholas (speaking on behalf of himself, not in his role as president of the RSF Golf Club Board of Governors) said that rather than removing the bar, he believed the golf club Board would be open to discussing building a bar on the women’s side, the Review reported. Nicholas said he supported both the men and women having reasonable expectations of privacy in their locker rooms and bathrooms, and maintaining the common Veranda Lounge as a “terrific space” that everyone shares.
In his comments, Sapp said the conversation has unveiled an already unbalanced situation at the club, the Reviewreported. It will be important to get “precise” legal advice that will help determine the best solution to make things fair and equitable, he added.
“There is currently a discriminatory situation at the club, but it’s not against the women,” Sapp said. “The question is how do we socialize this properly and how do we make a rule change that will benefit as many members as we can, without violating whatever extant law there would be.”
At the meeting, the Board also approved other operational changes at the club, including suspending inactive status for the remainder of 2021 while the golf club is under renovation and a new inactive status policy that will take effect in January 2022, the Review reported.
Currently the inactive status policy is that for every five years of membership, members can take up to one year off for any reason without payment of dues, the Review reported. The policy has been revised to state that for every 10 years that a member maintains active membership, up to six months of inactive status can be taken.
During public comment, resident Steve Leisher spoke out against the revised policy, saying it does not take into account member health issues that may force an extended leave from the course, the Review reported.
“There’s lots of complications that come out of various illnesses,” Leisher said. “It might be useful to take a different perspective from how to work with people who have had serious health issues that can linger on for a long time.”
Nicholas, the RSF Golf Club President, said he fully understands that unexpected health situations do occur and there is a mechanism in place for members to ask for accommodations, the Review reported. “This is not at all to disenfranchise any of our members; it’s really to protect the financial viability of our golf club,” he said.
Another approved operational change regarded minors in the clubhouse, the Review reported. Per the rule change, unaccompanied children of members will not be allowed in the Players Clubhouse unless they have earned Junior Golfer’s privileges. Additionally, minors are not allowed in the clubhouse after 5 p.m.
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