Source: The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.)
Residents of the Shenandoah subdivision packed the pews of St. Andrews United Methodist Church Sunday to organize against a proposed project that would replace the Shenandoah Country Club Golf Course with an upscale development.
The meeting at the south Baton Rouge church was organized by Save Shenandoah, a community group fighting the development, and was aimed at continuing to mobilize subdivision residents and to articulate legal arguments against the proposal.
Save Shenandoah started in mid-January, when George Cascino announced he had sold the country club to a New Orleans developer who plans to put about 300 homes on the 130-acre course, to be called Green Trails of Shenandoah.
On Sunday, outraged residents said the golf course was both an integral part of the community and important to their property values.
Ellis Michael, who has lived in a home on the course since 1983, said he stands to lose $20,000 to $30,000 in property value if the course is developed and that the development will cause a host of problems for the subdivision.
"We're really all concerned about traffic and the drainage and definitely taking away the golf course," he said.
Tim Edens, who has helped spearhead Save Shenandoah, said his group is pursuing two strategies to stop the development: trying to find investors to buy back the course or, if that fails, taking legal action against a plan he says violates the Horizon Plan, the city-parish's 13-year-old development blueprint.
Attorney Charles Schutte told those in attendance that there were strong legal grounds to stop the development. He said the Planning Commission should reject the current development plan because the golf course land only can be legally used for open space and recreational purposes.
"I don't think it's credible for any one to claim the golf course isn't an integral part of the community," he said.
Cascino has said he sold the 34-year-old course to developer David Waltemath after membership flagged from 556 in 2001 to just over 200 today, citing competition from newer golf courses in the area.
But Edens said the course has simply been mismanaged and, if given the chance, his group can make it profitable again.
"There were over 500 members of this course three years ago, when he (Cascino) took over," he said. "He let the course deteriorate; he was not a good manager and he personally drove a lot of members away."
David Waltemath has offered to sell the golf course to any resident group for $4.45 million and Edens said his group is working to take him up on the offer.
While Edens said he is confident his group will be able to purchase the course, he said he is willing to pursue other options to stop the development.
"If it doesn't happen, we're fully ready to fight it and stop the development on legal grounds," Edens said.
Sunday's meeting was attended by state Reps. Gary Beard, R-Baton Rouge, and William Daniel, D-Baton Rouge, who is also the acting director of the city-parish Department of Public Works. Edens said growing support among such public figures is key to his group's efforts.
"The fight on this is fixing to pick up steam," he said.
At the meeting, Jodi Moscona, a Save Shenandoah member, framed the battle as much more than trying to save a golf course.
"We can save our way of life," he said.
