Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Escondido residents mobilize to try and save golf course
Petition drive aims to gather 6000 signatures
Don Yerkes, Jim Ahler, Diane Yerkes, Olga Diaz, Julia Diaz
Saturday mornings were usually quiet affairs at the Escondido home of Gary Johnson, board member of Escondido Country Club Homeowners Organization. However, Saturday morning, May 11, was different.
At 9:00 a.m., about 200 Escondido Country Club area residents–turned–community activists gathered at the Johnson residence to kick off the next phase of the battle to save Escondido Country Club’s golf course from being developed into houses and condos.
The activist/volunteers were there to organize a petition drive to gather at least 6000 Escondido voters' signatures. The intent is to prompt a city council measure or ballot measure that would restrict the use of Escondido Country Club property to either green space, golf course, or both. Many volunteers will knock on doors throughout the community; others will set up petition sites at local intersections and in front of businesses.
Homeowners organization board member Jim Ahler said that although they have six months to gather the necessary 6000 signatures to create a ballot measure, he thinks they could reach that goal in two to three months.
“All these people showed up to save their neighborhood," said Ahler. "This is fantastic. Here we are under the First Amendment, assembling, speaking our mind, and then going out to meet members of the community and participate in direct democracy. It’s an awesome responsibility and a great opportunity.”
Escondido City Council member Olga Diaz was on hand and spoke to the group. “I’m really here to be nosy. I needed to see this for myself. I’m always excited when people notice that they have rights and that they can speak their minds. It makes me proud to see civic activism.”
To address the role of the city council in this turf war, Diaz stated, “You know the city doesn’t own the property. Many members of the city council have been distant because we really don’t know how to intervene. We’re waiting for some direction, some clear opportunity to be fair to everybody involved.”
Concerning the country club area and the general plan, Diaz said, “There’s a lot of very complicated material involved with property, with ownership, the general plan. I can tell you quite honestly we didn’t discuss this part of town as part of the last general plan review because in everybody’s mind this area was already built out. So, you’re forcing us to double back.”
Stuck in the Rough, LLC, a Beverly Hills–based corporation, purchased Escondido Country Club out of bankruptcy in December 2012. Although they have not yet made any applications to the City of Escondido, their publicly declared intention is to develop the country-club acreage into a housing development.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Escondido residents mobilize to try and save golf course
Petition drive aims to gather 6000 signatures
Escondido residents mobilize to try and save golf course
Petition drive aims to gather 6000 signatures
Don Yerkes, Jim Ahler, Diane Yerkes, Olga Diaz, Julia Diaz
Saturday mornings were usually quiet affairs at the Escondido home of Gary Johnson, board member of Escondido Country Club Homeowners Organization. However, Saturday morning, May 11, was different.
At 9:00 a.m., about 200 Escondido Country Club area residents–turned–community activists gathered at the Johnson residence to kick off the next phase of the battle to save Escondido Country Club’s golf course from being developed into houses and condos.
The activist/volunteers were there to organize a petition drive to gather at least 6000 Escondido voters' signatures. The intent is to prompt a city council measure or ballot measure that would restrict the use of Escondido Country Club property to either green space, golf course, or both. Many volunteers will knock on doors throughout the community; others will set up petition sites at local intersections and in front of businesses.
Homeowners organization board member Jim Ahler said that although they have six months to gather the necessary 6000 signatures to create a ballot measure, he thinks they could reach that goal in two to three months.
“All these people showed up to save their neighborhood," said Ahler. "This is fantastic. Here we are under the First Amendment, assembling, speaking our mind, and then going out to meet members of the community and participate in direct democracy. It’s an awesome responsibility and a great opportunity.”
Escondido City Council member Olga Diaz was on hand and spoke to the group. “I’m really here to be nosy. I needed to see this for myself. I’m always excited when people notice that they have rights and that they can speak their minds. It makes me proud to see civic activism.”
To address the role of the city council in this turf war, Diaz stated, “You know the city doesn’t own the property. Many members of the city council have been distant because we really don’t know how to intervene. We’re waiting for some direction, some clear opportunity to be fair to everybody involved.”
Concerning the country club area and the general plan, Diaz said, “There’s a lot of very complicated material involved with property, with ownership, the general plan. I can tell you quite honestly we didn’t discuss this part of town as part of the last general plan review because in everybody’s mind this area was already built out. So, you’re forcing us to double back.”
Stuck in the Rough, LLC, a Beverly Hills–based corporation, purchased Escondido Country Club out of bankruptcy in December 2012. Although they have not yet made any applications to the City of Escondido, their publicly declared intention is to develop the country-club acreage into a housing development.
Comments