Silverstone association plans to sue to restore golf course
Once a pending dismissal of the Silverstone Golf Club owner’s bankruptcy case is official, the Silverstone Ranch Community Association plans to sue to restore an operating golf course.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Bruce Beesley said in a hearing last week he intends to dismiss the Stoneridge Parkway LLC bankruptcy case, according to a court transcript.
The California-based limited liability company bought the northwest Las Vegas golf course in late 2015. An agreement stipulates the land must continue to be an operational golf course.
“Hopefully we have a green course as quickly as possible for the community,” said Timothy Elson, attorney for the community association.
The course has no’t been open since the previous owner, Desert Lifestyles LLC, bought it in September 2015, stopped operations and shut off the water.
Homeowners sued Desert Lifestyles LLC, and when the bankruptcy case dismissal is finalized will add Stoneridge Parkway LLC as a defendant in that case, Elson said.
A change to the golf course configuration requires approval by at least 75 percent of the 1,526 homeowners in the community.
D.R. Horton is eyeing part of the course to build single-family homes and conducted environmental testing on the site last week. Beesley gave the company until 5 p.m. Friday to remove any markings it left on the property and imposed a $1,000 penalty for every day beyond that if it doesn’t comply.
Beesley said the property value has been diminished for reasons like lack of watering and damage to the clubhouse, according to the hearing transcript.
Samuel Schwartz, the attorney representing Stoneridge Parkway LLC, said the grass was dead or dying when his client bought the property, and the clubhouse has been repeatedly broken into and damaged, according to the transcript.
“The lack of watering of all the properties, which has caused the course grass to die, even though you’ve maintained the trees and some of the other stuff, that’s a diminution in the value of the property,” Beesley said. “I just don’t think you can argue it’s not. And I do think it’s deteriorated, from what I’ve seen, from the time that the debtor took over.”
Neighbors pleaded with the Las Vegas City Council last year to put pressure on the property owner to continue upkeep on the closed course, citing brown fairways and green ponds.
After a series of inspections by city code enforcement, the City Council in June voted to levy thousands of dollars in failed inspection fees and civil penalties on the owner and to file a lien for $97,380.
Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Find @JamieMunksRJ on Twitter.
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TIMELINE
Sept. 1, 2015: The Silverstone Golf Club is sold to Desert Lifestyles LLC, Silverstone Ranch residents receive letters notifying them that the new owner intended to close the course.
November 2015: U.S. District Court Judge Richard Boulware ordered the course owners to restore the course to its state when it was being consitently watered and maintained.
December 2015: The course was sold to Stoneridge Parkway LLC, which then filed for bankruptcy.
May 2016: Attorneys for the Silverstone Ranch Community Association attorneys pursue an expedited hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to address a neutral third party that would take over the golf course.
June 1, 2016: The Las Vegas City Council votes to charge the owners thousands of dollars in fines and to file a lien on the property.
March 15, 2017: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Bruce Beesley says in a hearing he's dismissing Stoneridge Parkway LLC's bankruptcy case.
