Prop H: Escondido Golf Course Dispute To Be Decided By Voters

TOM FUDGE: Our top story on Midday Edition, a golf course is a nice green backdrop for a home, and that is the way homeowners who live around the Escondido country club want to keep it. The problem is, the owner this is the course requires too much water and too much money. His desire to turn the course into housing tract has faced opposition from many citizens and the Escondido city council. The city council recently stepped in and adopted an initiative to keep the area as open space. This led to a lawsuit, and ultimately, the qualification of the owners voter initiative, Measure H, also known as Proposition H. It is on the November ballot in Escondido, and it is what will be talking about this morning. I would like to welcome Michael Schlesinger and Rick Elkin. Michael, when did you purchase the Escondido country club golf course? The property was acquired originally as a distressed piece of dead from the local credit union. After the borrower, the Escondido country club, which was in its third bankruptcy at the time and could not repay the debt. We had to foreclose the property on December 2012. TOM FUDGE: It sounds like when you had gotten into it, you had no intention as running it as a golf course, it sounds like it was failing already. MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: Property has historically been zoned R17 urban one zoning, which allows for 600 homes to be developed on the property. The property was in its third bankruptcy. When we finally foreclose the property, we brought in a nationwide professional golf management company. They got into the property and realized it was losing a lot more money than the two bankruptcy documents had showed. Membership had fallen from 500 to less than 130, and less than fifty or sixty people were playing golf. The property of hundreds of thousands of dollars in back property taxes, water bills, and so, we basically try to figure out can the property be economically viable, and how much it takes to get done. We met with members to potentially raise rates and figure out a way, and the net result was that golf was not economically viable for the course, and it was closed in April 2013. TOM FUDGE: You qualified measure H for the valid after the city council in Escondido voted to designate the property as open space. What would that have meant for you as an owner? MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: The city council made a vote that took the 50+ year historical designation that had been reaffirmed by three general plans of the R17 zoning, which allowed 600 homes. They converted the zoning of the property to a new zoning designation, that to this day does not exist, that of an open space park, which creates no economic viability for the property. Measure H restores the zoning and puts forth a plan that creates a specific plan for the property and document the property future going for. TOM FUDGE: I think there is also a lawsuit that has been filed by you and your company. MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: There is a lawsuit for taking the property. When the city change the zoning that was reaffirmed by three general plans to a new zoning designation that does not exist, they took all of the economic value out of the property and were forced to sue the city on that action. TOM FUDGE: With regard to with the city council did to preserve it as open space, did they condemn land or did they simply change the zoning rules? MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: They changed the zoning to a zoning designation that does not currently exist. TOM FUDGE: They did not condemn the land, meaning they are not buying from you? MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: The judge may determine that in their action of down zoning the property, that they are forced to pay me the economic value of the land which would be the value of the land for 600 homes, which would far exceed the value of the city's general fund. TOM FUDGE: We will hear from Rick in a moment, but first, what will a yes vote on Measure H mean? MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: Measure H outlines the future of the property. It dedicates 25% of the property over 27 acres for open space. It also puts together a plan that reduces water consumption by 50%. It establishes a community center, swimming pool, two tennis courts, all to be used by the community. It also takes a privately funded $1 million open space fund, gives it to the city and the allows them to use the money to protect and preserve open space and other parts of the city. Lastly, it puts a cap on the total number of homes that can be developed on the property at 430, which reduces the prior zoning cap from 600 down to 430. TOM FUDGE: Did you ever plan to build 600 homes there? MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: We've had a variety of plans in the last eighteen months of process. We have had eight different plans, including one that we submitted to the city. They have had different numbers of homes, different numbers of open space, and different numbers of works. The plan we had as a part of Measure H is the best of everything. It provides open space, parks, trails, community benefit, and opens up the property to the entire community and not just the 120 members of the club. TOM FUDGE: You said a 50% reduction in the use of water compared to the golf course? MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: Compared to the golf course. TOM FUDGE: Rick Elkin, let me get you into the conversation. I think you have heard the sales pitch, tell me why residents are against this development plan and Proposition H. RICK ELKIN: First of all, it is not a good plan. In fact, I do not think you could come up with a worse plan if you tried. Let me say this, the city reaffirmed our feelings about this. They didan extensive impact study that says the opposite of what Michael is saying. It says water usage will go way up, the impact on schools will be detrimental, we have not had a new school built in the area in a long time. They have been overcrowded for a long time. Adding that many new homes to the neighborhood will put a lot of pressure on schools, and teachers. And traffic, we already have the worst bottleneck in San Diego county at the intersection of Nordall and 78. The transition between fifteen and seventy-eight is a daily traffic disaster. That is exactly where all of the homeowners would be accessing the freeway system. There are many other reasons, but the obvious ones are what I just iterated. I think the most important part of this is that Michael seeing this was always zoned R1. I think that is a debate that will have to be held in the courts. I do not think we can make that assumption. I think the golf course was placed there by the city planners and the original developer, they went through a large amount of collaboration to determine how the golf course would fit into the neighborhood and how they would have to rezone the property to allow it. Many homes around that golf course are now on much higher density lots then what was planned. We are talking about essentially doubling the density. TOM FUDGE: This study you said was done by the city council, that showed it would be bad for schools, it will use more water, who did the study? RICK ELKIN: The city council was presented with Michael's proposition where they could adopt it, or review it and passed to the ballot. They chose to review it and passed on to the ballot, so voters could vote on it. They also ordered in the impact study so voters could no what impact this would have on our neighborhood. TOM FUDGE: Let me ask you, if voters in Escondido vote against proposition H in November, what will happen? RICK ELKIN: I think everybody agrees there has to be something done. Especially now, the property has now degraded to the point it is virtually an environmental disaster. Something has to be done. We think this the wrong plan, long time, the wrong place. I think we defeat the opposition, we can have a clean llate to start over and renegotiate. My feeling has been that Michael has come into town and not consulted with the homeowners. His plan is his plan, it has always been his plan, he may have had five or six plans, but he never got those plans with consultation with homeowners. We feel we have been left out. I have lived here for thirty years and I have invested a lot of time and trouble in this neighborhood. I was a member of the country club for twenty years. My wife worked there for twenty years. Our entire social system was built around that. To see that go away with nothing more than a lot of small homes is not good for the community. TOM FUDGE: Are you a homeowner on the old country club? RICK ELKIN: My home, originally when I bought it thirty years ago, had a view of the golf course. It does not anymore because the trees have grown. I'm not on the golf course. TOM FUDGE: Michael, let me get you to respond to some of what you have heard from Rick. He said the city council reviewed it and they came to different conclusions than you did. MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: The city council did a study with its own internal staff. Multiple councilmembers call that study biased and inaccurate. We had third-party consultants to an analysis of schools, water consumption by the city preferred vendors, and those reports have been available online, I can share them with you. It shows that water consumption will all 58%. It shows that not only can the two school districts handle the incoming students which is about 132 at 150, but also the plan provides for $3.5 million in fees paid to the school system. It is beneficial for schools, students, water, and to the whole community. TOM FUDGE: At the development of the old Escondido country club is not going to result in the building of any new schools. MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: It doesn't need to, the school capacity can handle it as well as the school will be getting a $3.5 million fee payment. TOM FUDGE: Rick do you disagree? RICK ELKIN: I think he is discounting the city council in their sincerity in saying it is biased. First of all, they were the ones who unanimously adopted the homeowners property rights initiative. And in confirming the original zoning of that property. I think one of the problems we have, which is indicative of the way this has been handled since the beginning, Michael has been constantly degrading the leaders of our city. Their point of view is reflective of the people who live there. He is dismissing that study is if it does not have value. MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: Seven of the majority of people running for office including city council people are endorsing our plan. The Republican and Democratic parties are endorsing our plan, we have the San Diego chamber endorsing our plan. These are the third parties that have seen our plan and say it is the best thing for Escondido. I would like to Rick's point of not having community input. We spent numerous amounts of time developing plans and have had no feedback from the community. The community has not provided comments to the plans, and they have not provided their own plan. As a matter of fact, even in Rick's comments they have not provided comments to Measure H. TOM FUDGE: Is that true, Rick? RICK ELKIN: I have never seen any other plan than the lakes. I am a part of the community, if it was out there, I would have seen it. TOM FUDGE: What is your plan? Proposition H fails, what is it going to be? Will it be left alone, the old property? RICK ELKIN: No, I think we will start over. There has to be community involvement. My experience in the building industry, I have thirty years of experience in moving track comes all over Southern California. My experience has been that when a builder wants to develop a piece of property, the first thing they need to do is go to the community and get buy-in. You cannot successfully build and sell houses in a community that you are at war with. That has been a major part of the problem. The reason Michael does not get consensus is because he is not offered meetings since the first day he addressed the country club owners. He locked them out and fenced the property and close the doors. TOM FUDGE: If proposition H fails, doesn't that mean that Mr. Schlesinger will continue with his lawsuit, putting the city at tremendous financial risk? RICK ELKIN: I cannot speak to the lawsuit, I am not a lawyer. This is something that has nothing to do with the proposition. Right now, we have a ballot initiative that is either yes or no, this is what we need to discuss. Whether we talk about the pie in the sky future is irrelevant, because it is either his way or the highway. Our choice now is the highway. It may not be the best way, but we think his way is the worst way. TOM FUDGE: Michael, how would you respond to that? MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: First of that, I think Mister Elkin is discounting the fact that over 11,000 Escondido resident signed on for this to be on the ballot. He also discounted the fact in the last two months alone, CARE, a local resident group, has been over twenty-five meetings to discuss the plan and the future of the property. That is the purpose of this, this moves the property forward, it has something that benefits everyone in the community. The alternative to the question you keep asking is what if, if not this then what, it has never been provided with an answer. It has always been no homes, no plan. TOM FUDGE: Michael, if Proposition H fails and you continue your lawsuit, how much could the city of Escondido be on the hook for? MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: The judge can easily ruled that the property is taking. Then they would go to a jury phase. The jury would determine the damages based on the fair market value of the property sound at our 174 600 homes, versus the economic viability of the property in its current zoning. We think that could potentially bankrupt the city. TOM FUDGE: If Proposition H passes, how soon before homes are built? MICHAEL SCHLESINGER: Proposition H basically restores the zoning of the property and lays out a plan. It will still go through all of the proper environmental and ERI review, the standard city process. That may take a year, and homes will be built after that. TOM FUDGE: Rick Elkin, I will give you one last word. RICK ELKIN: I would just challenge what Michael just said about a judge, I think it is equally possible the judge would rule in our favor and say the homeowner's rights initiative is legal, and should remain in place. At that point, we would deal with the owner, Michael or someone else, and sit down and negotiate a win-win situation for everyone in the community, rather than this being for the owners benefit. TOM FUDGE: Thank you both very much.