Posted by: thepinetree on 09/16/2008 01:38 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 09/22/2008 01:53 PM
Expires: 01/01/2013 12:00 AM
:
One on One with Trinitas' Mike Nemee ~ By John Hamilton with Golf Cart Tour Video Enclosed
Burson, CA...We had the opportunity to tour the Trinitas Golf Course in Burson with The Ridge At Trinitas owner, designer Mike Nemee. We also tried to ask Mike some tough questions on the project and how it came into being. Permitting, Ag Tourism, Tree Preservation, Land Use and more were just some of the topics we covered. From the Human interest side it really is a great story. It is a stunning facility with greens, fairways and tee boxes mixed in with the Old Oaks and Olive Trees. It looks like it was always there. Trinitas is a world class golf course not built by Jack Nicholas or Robert Trent Jones but by Mike Nemee and his family. This is our very own "Field of Dreams" story in our backyard. When we toured the facility on a late summer morning it was hard to believe that just a couple of years ago this beautiful course...
didn't even exist.
This really was a do it yourself project. Mike literally picked up a book on designing golf courses, sketched it out and fired up his tractor and started building.
This is where some of the controversy that the project has garnered got it's start. Neighbors and community activists cannot believe that this course could be built without permits. Something has to be fishy about this...right?
Not really...the construction of a course on a parcel this size didn't even meet the thresholds for requirements needed for a grading permit. In the eyes of the local government code the course itself might as well be a vineyard or a giant backyard landscaping project.
Trinitas is also a working Olive Orchard and the trees were the primary motivation when the Nemee's bought the property. They offer orchard tours and are currently selling a full line of Olive Oil related products.
Last year the Northern California Golf Association did a very nice write up about how the course came into being. They go over the details much better that I could and it can be found Here!
They do need permits however to open the course and run it as a business. They have obtained permits for all of the buildings on the property and according to Mike Nemee County Officials have visited Trinitas over 50 times. Eventually they would like to build a Clubhouse and Lodge with 12 homes along the course. They are currently in their second round of the EIR process. The latest EIR is over 400 pages and you can get a copy from the county site or Here!
The next round of votes on the project will not make the agendas until right after the Novembers Electons. The Nemees are willing in developer and governmental parlance to Mitigate and Mitigate. They have planned improvements to the local roads, water infrastructure etc.
This project can also provide additional things desperately needed in today's economy. Jobs and Tax revenue are a couple of those things. The Nemees are already paying the tax rates for the improvements including the course. The course under full operation could employ over 40 people.
We have spoken to a couple of County Supervisors off the record on what their feelings on the project are. One in particular thought they should be allowed to open the course and at least be able to run it while the discussions continue on the rest of the development.
When we finished up our tour one thing seemed missing. Trinitas was almost eerily quiet all we could hear were hawks flying overhead and the muffled sounds of a courseworker maintaining the course in the distance. What was missing was the familiar sounds a working course makes. The whirring of the golf carts and the sound of club striking ball.
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