Extending the Highway 4 bypass will eliminate part of a Brentwood golf course and leave its future in question.
To build the third segment of the shortcut between Antioch and Brentwood, the East County agency overseeing the project must reclaim about one-third of a nine-hole golf course at Brentwood Country Club.
State Route 4 Bypass Authority already owns that portion of the executive golf course, having bought about 10 acres from the group of companies that manage the country club's two golf courses so it could complete the project, said Dale Dennis, the agency's program manager.
Brentwood Country Club Partners then leased the property back in March 2000.
The temporary use permit that allows the partnership to operate the executive golf course includes the stipulation that it will expire when the bypass authority needs to start work, said Steve Beinke, president of Blackhawk Services Co.
His company is part of the conglomerate known as Blackhawk-Nunn, which is a member of the partnership.
Work on the final segment of the bypass is expected to start in the summer or fall of 2005, Dennis said.
The route will run from Balfour Road south to Marsh Creek Road, then continue along Marsh Creek before connecting to Highway 4.
Part of the country club's approximately 40-acre executive golf course and driving range lies in the way of progress, however, situated between Balfour Road to the north and the future bypass on the west.
Exactly when the course will shrink is not yet known.
However, the partnership could decide to close the course at any time -- even immediately, if it wanted to -- and use the land for a completely different purpose, said Mike Leana, head of Brentwood's planning department.
The site is designated a regional commercial zone, which means the partnership could replace the expanse of lush lawn with a combination of retail and office buildings, Leana said.
Alternatively, the owners could decide to continue operating what's left of the golf course or restore the course to nine holes by reconfiguring them on the property that still belongs to them, Leana said.
However, whether the business thinks it can attract enough golfers to make that a economically viable option remains to be seen, he said.
Beinke acknowledged that people might not want to play on a course with fewer than nine holes.
He emphasized that the partnership has not yet studied its options, much less decided what to do with the rest of the executive golf course.
"We have not developed plans for that property," Beinke said, "but we know that when the bypass takes it we'll have to make a decision."
Brentwood residents can learn more about the situation at an informational meeting just before the City Council's regular session on Sept. 14.
The gathering will be in Summerset's recreation center at a time to be announced later.
Source: Contra Costa Times (California)