The owners of the San Ramon Golf Club have applied for a permit to install a fence around the entire property, claiming their insurance carrier requires it.

They submitted their application to the City on October 5, 2018. It was incomplete as of December 3. The City’s Planning Department has created a website to show the status of the application. It will presumably be updated as new information arrives.

You can enlarge the image by clicking on it.

View the Planning Department web page HERE.

There was a good turn-out of interested homeowners at the Open House last night. We hope you got most of your questions answered.  We heard some grumbling about there being no presentation about what is going to happen beyond this fence plan.  The committee can appreciate your frustration. But please remember, what we got last night is exactly what the owners said we would get; answers to your questions.

The biggest concern was “what happens to those with a ‘C’ next to their fence?”. This is what we took away from the Open House:

Each property owner whose home has a “C” next to it will be contacted by a representative of the owners.   These “C” condition property owners will be advised that the survey indicates that their property encroaches on the golf course and proof of that encroachment will be provided. Owners will not be ordered to correct the encroachment, but will be asked  to sign a document acknowledging that they are aware that their property is encroaching on the golf course and that they will not hold the owners liable for any damages should any injury take place on the area of encroachment. No commitment to remedial action nor payment of costs will be made by owners for remediation or compensation.

Those in attendance had the opportunity to review aerial photos of the golf course, including close-ups of their home-sites. Each property is identified with a letter designation (A, B, or C).  We have reproduced those photos below.

If you have comments of questions, please convey them by way of the site. Answers provided on this site will not reflect the questioner’s identity.

Pat Tuohy
Steering Committee Chairman

At least one of the owners of the San Ramon Golf Club owns the Cottonwood Golf Club in El Cajon. He has different plans for that property, however. He wants to turn it into a sand mine.

The property, which is two golf courses, filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy laws in 2011. The two courses were sold to the present owner in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

The proposal would involve mining 570,000 tons of sand per year over a period of ten years. Under the proposal, excavation and processing would happen between 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. Truck traffic would be limited to 4:00 AM to 6:30 AM and 5:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturdays.

The ten-year project, if approved by the various regulatory agencies, would net the owners an etimated $40 million. The sand on the site is an essential component of Portland cement concrete.

More information is available at the San Diego Union-Tribune and at ABC News Channel 10 (incuding a video report). Another local television report HERE.

We just received a message from someone who lives on the Silverstone Golf Course in Las Vegas. I’m posting it with their permission. They were commenting on the recent “open house” where the developer’s representative talked about the proposed fence around the entire golf course.

Golf Course Fencing Plans? Really?

Incredible … let’s see what happens with this deal. They say the GC owner will contact each homeowner with a ‘c’ next to it … seems more like a way to contact and intimidate individual homeowners to me. Sorry, but this is not just a property line dispute, it’s a ‘legal jab’ at the beginning of a long fight. They have a long history to learn from.

In Escondido, they did the same thing in 2013…

“Around the same time the fence was being constructed, Stuck in the Rough commissioned an engineering survey to exactly define the property’s boundaries. The survey results allegedly found that numerous homeowners had walls or landscaping that encroached onto former golf-course property.

The company then sent letters through their attorney to about 64 residents who had property adjacent to its property, threatening legal action if the encroachments were not removed within one week of the date of the letter.

In the letter, the company threatened to cloud the titles of homeowners, possibly preventing sale of their home, if not immediately removed. The deadline given to homeowners was in some cases before they received the letter.

Many of the encroachments were small borders or walls that allegedly encroached only a few inches or a few feet. Richard Sheeders, a 93-year-old WWII vet, was told that his four-inch-wide embedded concrete garden divider extended onto the company’s property by about a foot.”

These carpetbaggers are scum, they destroy communities, and can not be trusted… sorry.

Hope San Ramon stands strong …

They tried fencing Silverstone and lost, same thing at Rancho Mirage before they blackmailed them and conned them into folding…

It always helps to learn the lessons of the past!

Good Luck Folks
P@

There was a good turn-out of interested homeowners at the Open House last night. We hope you got got most of your questions answered.  We heard some grumbling about there being no presentation about what is going to happen beyond this fence plan.  The committee can appreciate your frustration. But please remember, what we got last night is exactly what the owners said we would get; answers to your questions.

The biggest concern was “what happens to those with a ‘C’ next to their fence?” This is what we took away from the Open House:

Each property owner whose home has a “C” next to it will be contacted by a representative of the owners. The committee presumes this contact will not take place until the pending Conditional Use Permit application is approved by The City. That won’t happen until after the matter is heard and approved by the Planning Commission.

These “C” condition property owners will be advised that the survey indicates that their property encroaches on the golf course and proof of that encroachment will be provided. Owners will not be ordered to correct the encroachment but will be asked (required) to sign a document acknowledging that they are aware that their property is encroaching on the golf course and that they will not hold the owners liable for any damages should any injury take place on the area of encroachment. No commitment to remedial action nor payment of costs will be made by owners for remediation or compensation.

Those in attendance had the opportunity to review aerial photos of the golf course, including close-ups of their home-sites. Each property is identified with a letter designation (A, B, or C).  We have reproduced those photos below.

If you have comments of questions, please convey them by way of the site. If you want to remain anonymous, use the contact form.

Pat Tuohy
Steering Committee Chairman

The Application Notice from the San Ramon Planning Department contains a list of questions and concerns adn missing items in the application submitted by representatives of the property’s owner on October 5, 2018. It is 8 pages long but worth reading.

The site plan and survey are also available.

The owners of the San Ramon Golf Course, Tree City LLC submitted an application with the City for a permit that would allow them to enclose the golf course with fencing and preclude access.  The application was filed earlier this month.  The City Planning Department has just begun to review the submitted documents and is developing a list of questions that, once completed, will be presented to the applicant for answers and clarifications.

It is almost too early to tell how long before anything concrete will result from this action; consider several weeks, if not months.  We were assured by the City planner in charge that this matter will go before the Planning Commission at some point and that ten days before that appearance, property owners within 300 ft. of the course boundaries will be notified of that meeting.

The steering committee is in touch with City Planners and will likely contribute additional questions to those of the City.  Further, we will continue to communicate with interested parties by way of this site any pertinent information that comes our way.

Patrick Tuohy
Steering Committee Chairman

After posting the article this morning, I received a call from Ronald Richards. He informed me that the charges were dismissed on 7/31/18. I am glad he called me to set the record straight.

Here is a portion of his email to me (his contact info redacted). There is a link to the docket below.

Dear Joe,

Please find attached the docket showing the charges were dismissed against Mr. Schelsinger as well as the corporate entity.  I appreciate your immediate attention per our call to “set the record straight” and make it clear that the charges were dismissed.   I am sure you don’t want to cast either the entity or Mr. Schelsinger in a false light.  Neither he nor the entity were guilty of any wrong doing, both entered pleas of not guilty, and the City Attorney dismissed the case and neither he nor the entity are facing any charges of any kind.

Thank you again for correcting this and I am glad you are in front of your computer to handle this immediately.

Sincerely,

Ronald Richards, Esq.
Law Offices of Ronald Richards & Associates, A.P.C.

Dismissal of Charges

This story is a few months old, for which I apologize. I just ran across it today as I was doing a search on another matter.

The headline in “Escondido Country Club owner hit with criminal charges.” Read the rest of the story on the San Diego Union-Tribune.

In another important matter: The Candidates’ Forum will happen on September 24, 6:00-9:00. This is a very important election. Be there to ask questions and let the candidates know your views.

March marks the one-year anniversary of the committee that volunteered to research and monitor activities at the golf course and to explore the strategies that might be needed to rebut what Tree City LLC (the group that now owns the golf course) might do.  We thought this would be an appropriate time to report back to interested neighbors and citizens on our progress and the state of the golf course as we see it.

We now have twelve committee members. We began last March with monthly meetings at the Senior Center, at which we made a good deal of progress.  We elected officers and worked out various action plans to counter possible actions by Tree City. Also, we formed a 501(c)(4) not-for-profit corporation just in case we later need to raise funds for defense measures.

Due to the cost of holding monthly meetings at the Senior Center, we began holding meetings in one of our homes.  This might make it a bit less convenient for meetings to be open to the public, but not impossible. All future meetings will be announced in advance on the web-site.

In light of the fact that there has been no suspicious activity on or about the golf course for several months, and that the bulk of our preparations are complete, we agreed to conduct quarterly meetings in future.  Again, the time and place of future meetings will be announced in advance in the web-site.

We continue to monitor the golf course and activities at the course on a regular basis, and we maintain close personal relationships with our friends at City Hall. We feel confident that our vigilance, and yours, will give ample time to react to any hostile action by the golf course owners.

We wish you all a happy new year.  As always, your suggestions are welcomed, and your support is counted on.  Stay the Course, San Ramon.

Pat Tuohy
Chairman