City orders Silverstone Golf Course owner to clean up property
The city of Las Vegas has slapped the California owner of Silverstone Golf Course with a nuisance notice for violations that include refuse and waste in public areas, tall weeds and polluted stagnant water in the golf course's ponds.
The city's Code Enforcement Division found six violations and ordered five of them to come into compliance by 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 2. The city's enforcement letter, released Tuesday to the Review-Journal, says polluted stagnant water in the golf course ponds is a "public health hazard." It has an earlier deadline, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, to remove the water or turn on irrigation pumps to circulate it.
The homeowners association at Silverstone Golf Course has taken Ronald Richards, the golf course's new owner, to court in a bid to get the water spigots turned on.
In court filings, the new owner argues that the course lost money before the purchase and he can't be forced to run an unprofitable venture. A court hearing is set for Thursday in U.S. District Court.
The city also has ordered the owner to resume irrigation and watering of the golf course turf within a public drainage easement, restore irrigation to landscaping and repair broken irrigation equipment.
The golf course's management company will work with city code enforcement officials to resolve the violations, Richards, a Beverly Hills attorney with Desert Lifestyles, LLC, said in an emailed statement.
He said neither his company nor the course's management company got a warning letter or phone call before getting the notice. If that had happened, Richards said, "these could have been addressed immediately."
Failing to comply by the city's deadline results in a $180 re-inspection fee and civil penalties starting at $150. The city also has the authority to issue a misdemeanor citation for any remaining violations that are unfixed after the deadline. Each violation has a penalty of up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both -- for each day that the violations exist.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Follow him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1
