Anybody live here or own property here?

Residents to fight proposed changes at Refuge golf course area


By JAYNE HANSON
Thursday, December 31, 2009 7:08 AM MST


Several homeowners at The Refuge are prepared to fight for peace and quiet in their backyard.

The Refuge Golf & Country Club residents battle was triggered in the latter part of 2008 after the golf club’s new owner revealed his extensive renovation plan linked to the property.

Homeowners said they purchased high-end homes in an exclusive housing development with “wide open surroundings, rolling greens of the masterfully designed Arnold Palmer golf course, architecturally stunning clubhouse and homes built by the finest custom and semi-custom home builders,” according to a Rescue Your Refuge newsletter prepared by Refuge homeowner Lori Perry.

“All the individuals who invested in The Refuge (homes) relied on the fact they were being sold a beautiful home site in a golf course oasis,” Perry said Tuesday.

The Rescue Your Refuge group was organized by a handful of homeowners, said Ron Moyes, a Refuge homeowner and the contact person for the group. The group is orchestrating a collaborative effort to pool funds for attorney fees, circulate newsletters about new developments as the situation progresses as well as a community petition against the proposed project.

The group’s Facebook page, “Rescue your Refuge,” reflects seven fans so far. Moyes said Wednesday most of the homeowners at The Refuge are against the $25 million large-scale renovation plan for the property plan proposed by the new owner Jerry Aldridge.

Rescue Your Refuge’s Scottsdale-based attorney Paul E. Gilbert of Beus Gilbert PLLC is banking his case on the private roadway, Arnold Palmer Drive, a main thoroughfare through the golf course property but maintained with Refuge Homeowners Association dollars.

“It is a private road. They can’t use it without permission,” Gilbert said Tuesday.

Efforts to contact Aldridge or his attorney Wednesday were unsuccessful.

According to a letter written Dec. 4 to Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson, R-Dist. 3, from Aldridge’s Phoenix-based attorney Kyle B. Hetinger of Perkins, Coie, Brown & Bain, The Refuge Community Association declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions clearly states the new owners can do what they like with the property and are not bound by any implied restrictions.

The letter also states the renovation will shrink the golf course by 30 percent to a standard-scale 18-hole desert course, which will result in the loss of the Arnold Palmer signature golf course status. The plan also includes amenities such as tennis courts, swimming, fitness facilities and an upscale 275-site RV Motorcoach Resort.

However, Gilbert maintains the status of the course cannot be changed because the original developers featured the signature golf course as an amenity of the housing development.

“And I have the brochures to prove it,” Gilbert said, adding the courts will side with implied restrictions because the original developers sold the housing properties while saying the signature golf course would be there.

According to a timeline provided in a November newsletter on www.refugecountryclub.com, The Refuge was foreclosed Aug. 6.

Shortly after, City Center Executive Plaza LLC, with Aldridge at the helm, reportedly purchased The Refuge golf course, clubhouse and 24 residential lots for $3.9 million, according to county documents.

By Oct. 31, Aldridge had presented the new plan to a group of Refuge homeowners who the majority of, by show off hands, were on board with the plan, according to earlier reports. The country club’s Web site reflects more than 100 letters of support from homeowners.

County officials said the property is already zoned CR-E, which allows for an RV park. A new plan for the property was submitted to Mohave County Developmental Services Oct. 14 and was subject to review. Fees for submittal cost was $750 plus and additional $2 for each proposed RV site, according to Rosevelt Arrelano, planner I of county developmental services.

The staff review was completed and the plans were returned to City Center Nov. 5, Arrelano said.

“Just to be clear, the zoning is in place on that portion of the property,” Arrelano said. The owners only need to submit an RV-park plan so county agencies such as environmental health and public works can determine if the plan can adequately manage the waste water, water, traffic engineering and drainage.

Arrelano was unaware of the Dec. 15 version of the preliminary property site plan. The project has not been scheduled for public review in front of county planning and zoning commissioners or board of supervisors.

At that time, Aldridge’s letters of support and Rescue Your Refuge’s community petitions will come into play.

The latest preliminary site plan includes 279 RV sites located south of Arnold Palmer Drive instead along both sides, which was depicted in the October version. Furthermore, the proposed RV sites are located on holes one through four on the golf course and on the driving range. It also includes a lap-size swimming pool and two dog parks.

You may contact the reporter at jhanson@havasunews.com.