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Over 5 years ago, thanks to your help, the Protect RSJ Golf Course Coalition successfully persuaded our Irvine city council members to adopt a legally binding resolution, Resolution 18-66, which reaffirms the current General Plan and zoning for the Rancho San Joaquin golf course to protect the property from redevelopment.
Since then, the owners of RSJ golf course invested millions of dollars in NUMEROUS improvements! And this Friday, January 12th will be the grand reopening of their ALL NEW and beautifully redesigned The Terrace restaurant, which is open everyday for breakfast, lunch, and drinks & refreshments. (The restaurant is already open for their "soft opening".) View the photos below of their menu and indoor & outdoor seating (complete with an outdoor gas fire pit).
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The City of Irvine is finalizing its Housing Element plan, which will be the city's guide on where its future housing will be built -- especially affordable housing -- for its growing population. (All cities in California are required to file an Housing Element plan with the state.)
One of our Coalition to Protect Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course members, Ford Fujii, spoke at the city's Planning Commission meetings on July 1st and July 15th at Irvine City Hall to advocate to protect our recreational amenities such as the RSJ Golf Course and the Racquet Club of Irvine (RCI). It's been 3 years since we successfully protected the RSJ Golf Course from redevelopment. Unfortunately, our community is facing a new, similar threat as the Racquet Club of Irvine seeks to (again) rezone and sell off part of its property for a high-rise development. Read on for more details and on how you and your neighbours can help!
The new owner of the Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course has been making numerous improvements to the golf course, including:
 The Protect RSJ Golf Course Coalition thanks the new owner for investing in a recreational amenity that is valued by the residents of Irvine, and to make RSJ Golf Course one of the best places to play golf in Orange County!
"A prominent Laguna Beach real estate investor is on the brink of foreclosure on a $195.5-million loan backed by a portfolio of 19 properties, including the Hive complex, Royal Hawaiian restaurant, and Holiday Inn on South Coast Highway.
"4G Ventures CEO Mohammad Honarkar was supposed to pay the approximately $133 million remaining on the loan, held by Delaware-based LCC Warehouse, by Dec. 9, but he did not do so, according to a lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court against Honarkar’s companies earlier this month. "The lawsuit, along with a report filed in a separate case by an attorney who acted as a court-appointed receiver in Honarkar’s divorce proceedings, detail an empire of assets that’s mired by debt, lags behind on many months of bills and is close to financial collapse." Drive Shack Inc., the owner of Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course, announced on Monday, October 19th that they have sold the RSJ golf course to a private investment group for $34.5 million.
American Golf, a subsidiary of Drive Shack, will continue to operate the RSJ golf course under a management agreement for now. The Coalition to Protect Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course will continue to monitor the situation and we will share updates with the Irvine community on this sale once it becomes known and is verified by the coalition. But the Coalition welcomes the new owner of RSJ golf course to our Irvine community!  Satellite map of RCI property near Michelson & Culver The Save RCI group is asking the community to attend this coming Irvine City Council meeting, which is on Tuesday, August 13th. Those attending should plan to arrive by 5pm.
The Council will consider a resolution to affirm that "it has not intent to change the General Plan and/or Zoning Ordinance designations applicable to the RCI property. According to the Save RCI group, Irvine City Councilmember Mike Carroll, along with Mayor Christina Shea, announced that they will place a resolution on the agenda for the August 13th City Council meeting to "1) confirm there is no intent to change the General Plan or Zoning Code and 2) reaffirm that the [Racquet Club of Irvine] site shall remain designated for recreation." Below is Councilmember Carroll's full statement that was published on his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/IrvineMikeCarroll: "Last night, I held my first Town Hall meeting, joined by Mayor Christina Shea and over 200 residents. The topic was the proposed re-zoning of the Racquet Club of Irvine (RCI) site from commercial recreation to residential housing. We were moved by amount of citizen participation and thank everyone for attending. The path forward is clear. Today, we are placing a Resolution on August 13, 2019 City Council meeting agenda to (1) confirm there is no intent to change the General Plan or Zoning Code and (2) reaffirm that the site shall remain designated for recreation." A memo dated July 12th detailing this decision has been issued by Councilmember Carroll and Mayor Shea, which is addressed to City Manager John Russo. The memo instructs the City Manager to place the resolution on the August 13th City Council meeting agenda. Read the memo
For more information on Carroll's and Shea's announcement regarding the RCI property, visit the SaveRCI.com website. Members of our Protect RSJ Golf Course Coalition have recently learned that the developer KB Homes has submitted an application to the City of Irvine to change our city's General Plan to build 123 homes on the Racquet Club of Irvine (RCI) property.
The RCI property is about 11 acres near the intersection of Culver and Michelson, and is currently the home to a popular tennis club in south Irvine. In January, the owner of RCI wrote a letter stating that he is exploring a zone change for the property for possible sale to a developer. Each year, the City of Irvine Mayor presents a "State of the City" address to the public at Irvine City Hall. This year's address took place at the February 12th city council meeting. During Mayor Don Wagner's speech, he mentioned the City Council protecting the Rancho San Joaquin golf course from unwanted development as being one of the key highlights from this past year. Observers thought this got the loudest applause from the mayor's speech! Watch the short video clip below. |
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