Response to LGC Appeal

Dear Commissioners:

The Wellstone lawsuit against Forsyth County is entering the discovery stage, perhaps the most critical stage. It appears that the plaintiffs will state that the property does not have a reasonable use as presently zoned; that its current legal use as a golf course is unprofitable. The issue before the court will not be whether property might have a higher value under a different zoning but rather does the property have a reasonable economic use as presently zoned.

In that light it is incumbent upon the property owners to prove with clear and convincing evidence that 1) the current zoning which allows the land's use as a golf course is a significant detriment and 2) that the current zoning is insubstantially related to the public health, safety, morality and welfare. The file of ZA 3370 offers no such evidence. Therefore, any such evidence will necessarily be presented at trial and needs to be aggressively investigated now during the discovery period.

The property owners may state that in recent years the golf operation was not profitable and it may not have been. However, it is important to understand why. If it truly didn't make a profit over the past few years was it due to the current zoning, the golf market in general, the quality of the course or management?

Up until 2005 the club boasted a robust membership and was generally considered one of the finest courses in north Georgia. In early 2006 the owners entered into a contract for the sale of the property for residential development. Its clear that management wanted out of the golf business in 2005 or before. Up until 2005 the course was annually over seeded. They discontinued overseeing which is critical to quality play during winter months and membership dropped. In 2006 they announced the sale of the property and that the course would close forever. The membership dropped off dramatically and limited public play was introduced. In 2007 all memberships were canceled. It is not difficult to understand that under those business decisions revenues might decline but that decline was a result of management decisions and not due to the property, the course or the current zoning.

In order to get an accurate picture of the property's potential as a golf course it is imperative that income and expenses from years prior to 2005 be examined. It is also important that management style during those prior years be examined as to how some substantial amounts of potential revenue were recognized. Where memberships traded for other goods and services off the books and were many, many rounds comped for other reasons not associated with the prudent operation of a golf course business. The owners need to be deposed.

Another approach in determining the viability of the property as a golf course would be a comparative analysis of the subject to other similar properties operated under professional management. Based on that comparison how many rounds should the subject generate, at what rates and what are reasonable expenses. Based on the comparative analysis can the subject produce a reasonable net income.

When the property was being offered for sale during 2005 it was never marketed as a golf course. It was not advertised as a golf course, it was not offered to the general membership as a golf course and a sign was never placed on the property offering it for sale as a golf course. Without such an effort there is no reasonable way of knowing what its potential as a golf course might have been.

Reportedly the owners of the Canongate family of golf courses are very interested in purchasing the property for continued golf course use but their overtures have been rebuffed by the current owners. If interviewed, the Canongate group, professional golf course operators, will likely state that they would be interested in buying the course and would pay millions for the opportunity. They need to be interviewed and possibly deposed.

There are others that may be insightful into the operation of the Lanier Golf Course. Mr. Frank Siple has been the superintendent for many years and should be familiar with maintenance expenses, Mr. Sonny Lennard was the club PGA pro for almost 20 years and would be familiar with the number of rounds played and Mrs. Linda Stancil was the comptroller in charge of the books. They need to be interviewed and possibly deposed.

In order for the court to make a reasoned decision and uphold the BOC's denial of ZA 3370 the true potential of the subject property as a golf course must be determined.

While the issue of rezoning the Lanier Golf Course is of immense concern to the area residents it is perhaps more important to the future of all of Forsyth County. The BOC unanimously denied ZA 3370 through the sound exercise of their constitutional authority based on Federal, State and County law. Now it is up to the county attorney to competently and vigorously defend that decision. Anything less would diminish the respect for our laws, undermine the authority of the BOC and result in zoning chaos.

Sincerely,

Jim Quinn