Montage bid denied

Barbara Diamond

Supervisor Tom Wilson teed off Monday on a preliminary proposal by

Montage Resort and Spa to expand Aliso Creek Golf Course into

county-owned parkland.

“The concept as explained to me is one I simply cannot personally

support, and I met with them late last week to formally reject that

concept,” said Wilson, who represents the Fifth District on the

Orange County Board of Supervisors.

Although Wilson informed officials of Montage and its developer

partner, Athens Group of his decision on Friday, it was not made

public until Monday.

His rejection elated environmentalists and preservationists who

formed a coalition to oppose any intrusion into dedicated open space.

“That’s one dragon put back in its cage,” said Mary Fegraus,

Laguna Canyon Foundation executive director. “I really want to thank

Supervisor Wilson for upholding the integrity of our wilderness

parks.”Up until Friday, Montage officials had declined to discuss

development options for the golf course purchased last spring, and a

contiguous parcel known as Driftwood Estates purchased later in the

year

“Our silence was due to compliance with a county request that we

suspend the process until they had time to review it,” Montage

spokeswoman Marguarite Clark said.Wilson had requested last summer

that the Athens Group defer any discussions with the county regarding

expansion of the golf course until the new year.

He said he reached the conclusion that he couldn’t support the

project after reviewing the staff report.

Wilson’s decision Friday paves the way for a more inclusive

process, said Clark.

“He urged us to enter into discussions with the city and the

residents,” Clark said.

In a community that prides itself on being informed, exclusion

from talks between the county and the property owners, even in the

concept stage, rankled.

Environmental groups compounded their clout by forming a coalition

to monitor proposed activity in open space. The City Council approved

Councilman Steven Dicterow’s proposal in January to create a

subcommittee to advise Montage and Athens Group of the city’s desire

to be put in the loop.

Dicterow said he was not surprised by Wilson’s decision.

. “I thought it was a clear and obvious answer,” Dicterow said. I

hope in the future Montage will open up and work with the city as a

whole.”

Objections to the expansion of the golf course into dedicated open

space have been loudly voiced.

Alan Fuerstman, chief executive officer of Montage Hotels &

Resorts, the operating partner of Montage Resort & Spa, and John

Mansour, vice president of developer partner Athens Group, hosted a

media briefing Feb. 11 to present background on the partnership’s

position. “Shortly after the hotel opened, we opened a dialogue with

Mrs. Brown, which led to us buying Aliso Creek Golf Course,” Alan

Fuerstman said, referring to Violet Brown, the owner of the property.

The 60-room inn and golf course less than a mile from the resort

was a good fit with the resort, Fuerstman said.

“The purchase was not contingent on building an 18-hole golf

course,” Fuerstman said. “We knew it was a great property and that it

would take time to determine the best plan for it.”

Fuerstman said the resort can get along without an 18-hole golf

course.

“There is no pressure by our investors to compete with hotels down

the road,” Fuerstman said. “We are very pleased with the level of

business.” Montage’s was not the first offer Violet Brown received

for her spectacular piece of property.

“We hope the reason she sold to us was in part due to the

sensitivity with which we dealt with this [resort] property,”

Fuerstman said. “We are concerned about the condition of the

environment and we thought our activity could be a catalyst for

cleaning the creek, which would be a tremendous plus.”

Expansion of the golf course is not a new notion. The county

turned down a proposal in the 1980s.

With Montage’s proposal tabled at least for now -- Wilson said

Athens Group has the right to continue presenting concepts. “It’s

very important to us to be careful listeners when we embark on a

development,” Mansour said. “Is it more important to be a good

neighbor or get a good financial return? We would weigh in on the

side of community interests.”

Neighbors and environmentalists have also expressed concerns about

development of Driftwood Estates. Entitlements obtained by another

developer for Driftwood are still valid.

Rattled residents viewed the purchase as a land-grab by the

Montage gobbling up the city -- including the old Unocal Service

Station bought for employee parking. Montage also tried to purchase

the parking strip between the station and the stop-lighted

intersection to the south, dubbed the Linear Lot, but legal

complications arose and the deal fell through.

“If we could acquire the strip, we would,” Fuerstman said,

contrary to City Manager Ken Frank’s statement at the Laguna Canyon

Conservancy Dinner Feb. 7.

If nothing else was learned in the years spent redeveloping the

former Treasure Island Mobile Home Park, Fuerstman said, they have

learned the importance of working with the community.

“If we improve the level of trust then we will not be vilified for

what we might do,” Fuerstman said.