BY TOM LUCKMAN
WEST NECK — Dear Editor:
We object to assertions in the Sunday, May 28, article about plans to redevelop the former Signature at West Neck property.
There is a contention the golf course cannot return. This is not so. The course’s longtime general manager provided financials to our West Neck Community Association which show the course made a profit, just not enough to meet the former owner’s total debt requirements.
We do not know whether offers for the property have been considered or dismissed by the new owner, who wants to build housing. We do know the infrastructure of the superbly designed Arnold Palmer Signature course remains. So does the zoning that requires a course there. The developer asserts there are not enough golfers in the area to make a go of the course. Not so. Any local golfer will tell you play is up and preferred tee times are harder to get.
The National Golf Foundation states that 3.3 million people played golf for the first time in 2022, the industry has had nine straight years with more than 2 million beginners and play has increased over the past three years. A pool of 17 million new golfers over the past three years is attributable, in part, to off-course golf and interactive golf experiences that go beyond the typical 18-hole course, but new people are finding the sport.
It is hyperbole to say Harrison & Lear’s option to buy and repurpose the course into five villages of 153 dwellings “is a long-term solution to a problem that no one else has been able to solve.” Developable land is worth more than land for a course. Until there is a no vote by the City Council on a rezoning request, we doubt the owner will entertain legitimate offers from golf course operators.
The developer says its plans were shaped by a committee of 30 residents from West Neck and Indian River Plantation who have never been identified. This is approximately 1 percent of residents. The vast majority, as documented by our boards, oppose this type of development.
The plan would remove “one of the highest polluting uses out of the Southern Rivers Watershed.” This is not true. West Neck Villages and the course are in an enclosed storm water system serviced by internal lakes. A proffer for a comprehensive stormwater/lake management plan was required of the original owner. There is no runoff, and even the 200-year storm in 2016 proved this. And modern course turf management is environmentally friendly.
The developer says it will expand amenities for Signature Meadows residents and those in West Neck and Indian River Plantation who opt in for access. This misses the point of the original West Neck development. The increased housing density needed to offset the cost of the Arnold Palmer Signature amenity, which was available to all, was the prime reason for the approval of the original development. The citizens of Virginia Beach will have lost a major amenity without the course’s return.
The developer says new homes create the revenue stream to pay for amenities, but the homeowner assessment required to properly maintain them will be significant. These new homeowners may choose to forgo some maintenance.
We disagree with the idea West Neck was rezoned under different rules and rezoning might not set precedent. The Transition Area guideline of one acre per dwelling has remained over time. The course was counted in the 1999 development approval, which is significant to all Transition Area residents. If the course can be counted again to add 153 new dwellings, the area effectively will have no enforceable density requirements.
It is absurd to think the plan will please most people and raise neighboring property values. There are 506 homeowners near the property line with homes designed to maximize golf course views who would lose paid lot premiums. As measured by land assessment losses, we believe the losses will be significant.
Think a moment about the West Neck homeowners, whose average age is over 70, who purchased their retirement home in an age-restricted, quiet golf course community. They would have 153 new homes appear around them, with children playing and basically anyone walking, biking and skateboarding, as well as additional noise and traffic. Approval of this proposed development will destroy the unique character and charm of our neighborhood. The Transition Area will be forever changed.
The City Council must not let this happen.
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