Bayfront Park: What and who is Highlands Golf LLC? Bayfront Park: What and who is Highlands Golf LLC? (November 16, 2005)

** More details are sought on the company that proposes to build a golf course in Bayfront Park.

By Rory Brown

Almanac Staff Writer

As the city of Menlo Park prepares to negotiate a deal with a private company called Highlands Golf LLC that could lead to the building of a 75-acre golf course at Bayfront Park, residents are seeking more details about the proposal and the company that would build and operate the golf course.

The city would, in effect, be a partner with this private company, and would depend on the success of the business to generate revenues for the city -- the key reason the deal is being considered.

As with any such arrangement, it is important to know that the partner -- Highlands Golf -- can hold up its end of the deal.

The company, based in Buena Park in Orange County, operates two golf courses in Southern California. Its president, Craig Price, has played a major part in a number of other courses, including two on closed landfills.

Mr. Price proposes constructing a golf course and three lighted playing fields at the 160-acre Bayfront Park, which is adjacent to a wildlife refuge. The proposal is the best option for covering the costs of maintaining the park and giving the city much-needed playing fields, according to Menlo Park city staff.

If an agreement is negotiated, it will go before both the Parks and Recreation Commission and the City Council.
Financial check

City staff has yet to begin a detailed financial background check of Highlands, so the city doesn't have the company's credit report or statements of annual revenue and net income, according to Kent Steffens, the city's public works director.

According to City Attorney Bill McClure, a financial study of the company will come after an agreement is negotiated, but before the council votes to approve or reject the agreement.

The financial information about Highlands that will be released to the public depends on the nature of the agreement, Mr. McClure said. He noted that Mr. Price holds privacy rights to his company's financial information under the California Public Records Act, but some information will be released to assure the public an agreement with Highlands Golf will be financially sound.

There isn't a specific "rule of thumb" that dictates how much information should be made public, said Mr. McClure.

It is uncertain whether the financial information will be available for the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting at which commissioners will make a recommendation on the agreement, he said.

Dates have not been set for the agreement to come before the council or the parks commission, said Mr. Steffens.
Track record

Mr. Price established Highlands Golf in 2002. The company's 60 employees work at its two courses in Ventura County, Mr. Price said.

Ventura County and Highlands have an "ongoing private/public relationship," according to Rebecca Arnold, Ventura County's deputy director.

"The developer comes in with its own money, and the county provides the land," she said. "The county then receives a base rent and a percentage of the gross revenues."

Under the Highlands proposal to Menlo Park, the city would receive $24,000 for each of the first two years the course is in operation, but after the second year, revenue for the city would be based solely on a percentage of the business the course generates.

According to Mr. Steffens, projections show that the city would receive an annual average of $84,350 during the third through 10th years; $216,000 for years 11 through 20; and $262,500 for years 21 through 55.

Residents, park users and parks commissioners asked for more public outreach before the council authorized the city manager to negotiate an agreement to prepare designs and environmental studies for the proposed development.

But city staff and council members have stressed that an extensive public outreach and review process will be conducted if an agreement is approved. A negotiated agreement would still go before the parks commission for recommendation, and the council for approval. If the council approves the agreement, the city will conduct 12 to 18 months of environmental review and public outreach efforts before approving actual construction.

That process is similar to the one followed in Ventura County, said Ms. Arnold, the county's deputy director.

"If the county chooses to pursue a proposal, we give the developer an option to see if they can do what they want with the site," she said. "It's not until this option period that we start studies, environmental review, and public comment."
Recent proposal

A recent proposal issued by Highlands in Ventura County didn't reach stages of public comment and review because it "wasn't economically viable," Ms. Arnold said.

Highlands submitted the plan last year, proposing to build an 18-hole course at Camarillo Regional Park in Camarillo.

The financial projections by Highlands Golf didn't meet the minimum requirements of the county, according to Ms. Arnold. She did not specify what the county's requirements are.

Mr. Price said the county asked for proposals from developers, and his proposal -- the only one submitted -- labeled Camarillo Park a poor site for a golf course due to its remote location.
Highlands courses

In 2002, Highlands finished construction of Rustic Canyon Golf Course, its first fully constructed course, in Moonpark, Ms. Arnold said. Named "best new affordable course of 2002" by Golf Digest, it's built in the middle of a 3,000-acre canyon.

"All non-native plants were replaced with native vegetation, and a bubbler spring (watering hole) was built to draw wildlife away from the course," Ms. Arnold said.

Trails both through the course and on the perimeter were preserved, she said.

Although it's very early in the planning stages, Mr. Price said trails and wildlife would be preserved if a course were eventually approved for Bayfront Park.

"We would keep the course a very open environment," said Mr. Price. He added that with the exception of fertilizer, chemicals are "a rarity" on his other courses, and measures would be taken to avoid breaking the seal of the landfill beneath the park.

"You can't grade the land on top of a landfill," he said. "You have to take the land the way it is ... and irrigate the course so water doesn't infiltrate the landfill below."

With a different development company, Mr. Price has helped build two courses on landfills: Shoal Canyon in Glendale and Phantom Gate in Los Angeles.

"Shoal Canyon is a similar situation to our current proposal," Mr. Price said. "It's a tight, small executive course I helped build on a landfill around 1998, and the course is doing fine."

Ms. Arnold acknowledged financial projections of $300,000 for the county in 2007 for the Rustic Canyon course might not be met due to damage to the course by a firestorm in 2003 and flooding in 2004-05.

Ventura County also gives Highlands Golf a "water-use credit" for the Rustic Canyon course, Ms. Arnold said. The county deducts a portion of the developer's water bill for the first five years of the lease.

Highlands Golf also manages Soule Park, a golf course in Ojai. The firm recently acquired the course, and is making renovations.

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