MORGAN HILL
– John Fry and his Institute of Mathematics golf course will be
allowed to water, mow and fertilize their 110 acres of greens but
will have to satisfy the city, state and federal agencies before
they can tee it up.
MORGAN HILL – John Fry and his Institute of Mathematics golf course will be allowed to water, mow and fertilize their 110 acres of greens but will have to satisfy the city, state and federal agencies before they can tee it up.
David Bischoff, city director of community development, said Wednesday he decided to issue the temporary use permit requested by The Institute so it can keep the greens from deteriorating while it works to meet the environmental requirements of four agencies.
But Bischoff wants all “i”s dotted and “t”s crossed before allowing anyone to play on the course located in the eastern foothills of Morgan Hill.
Two conservation groups, the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society and the Committee for Green Foothills, are reviewing legal options.
The Audubon Society’s Craig Breon said Wednesday they would consult with their attorneys in San Francisco to decide their next step. In the past, the environmentalists have cited court action as a possibility to shut down the course until questions are resolved.
The permit will be valid through April 19, 2005, Bischoff said.
Once conditions are met, play not to exceed 16 rounds of golf a day during daylight hours, will be allowed until Sept. 30, 2004.
“The TUP and the city’s actions are thoroughly illegal,” Breon said, “and we have more than one legal avenue.”
The Institute has 10 days to appeal the city’s requirements. Bischoff said he did not know whether The Institute would agree to the stipulations of the permit.
“There are six items they must satisfy before we can allow play,” Bischoff said.
The Institute must reach agreement with the Santa Clara Valley Water District over the riparian restoration plan (returning the area bordering Corralitos Creek to its natural state), and they must have a plan for monitoring wells.
Two other agencies, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Department of Fish and Game also are regulating the course’s development.
Bischoff said, in his opinion, The Institute can better meet these requirements if allowed to continue maintaining the course than if it was not. He cited removal of predatory bullfrogs – which prey on the protected red-legged frogs, as an example.
Before play on the course will be approved, the city and The Institute must receive a letter from each regulatory agency involved, stating that agency’s satisfaction with The Institute’s actions.
The tussle between the city and The Institute began six years ago after Fry bought the old Hill Country property from Irv Perlich, including his Flying Lady restaurant and an 18-hole golf course. Fry, and his partners in an investment group, graded large chunks of the course and planted turf close to Corralitos Creek, which runs through the property and is home to several listed and endangered plants and animals.
They began watering and fertilizing, mowing and planting trees and dug new ponds. The work took place without obtaining all but a few basic and early permits from the city. Nor did they commission an environmental impact report necessary in such a massive project with implications for plants and animals on site, not to mention neighbors downstream.
Once the city noticed, it began to work with the four agencies to protect the species, the water and, ultimately, to allow The Institute to use the course.
