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Country club gets change to change course
(by Joan Demirjian - April 22, 2009)
Country club gets change to change course
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
Tanglewood Country Club, a longstanding private club, will open to temporary nonmember play.
The Bainbridge board of zoning appeals approved the modification last week to the club's conditional-use permit from the township. Private membership also is required as part of the club's deed restriction.
The board set conditions that will require greens fees to be at least $30 on weekdays and $40 on weekends.
Modifications to the conditional-use permit will remain in effect until the closing of a sale of the course or the end of the 2009 golf season in Northeast Ohio. A new owner will have not have the same right when the club is sold.
The board noted that it made the modification because of the special circumstances that exist with the ocurse since it is under receivership and in the process of being sold.
"Nothing in this decision could be construed to indicate that any future requests to operate as other than a private club will be granted," according to the board of zoning appeals' motion to approve.
Steven Renaker, of Tartan Golf and Management Co., of Dublin, said the permission for nonmember play is a positive step.
The club went into receivership in 2007, when the owner failed to make payments on a promissory note to Huntington Bank. Tartan is managing the club and course until it is sold.
According to Mr. Renaker, the restriction for members only discourages participation at the golf course. "We want to get the club operating," he said.
Tanglewood Country Club is still for sale, and, if an acceptable offer is not received, then a date for an auction will be held,m he said. "We have a number of people interested."
Deed restrictions also require the golf-course land to remain as passive-use open space.
Township zoning requires the land to stay in open space for Tanglewood's planned-unit-development permit.
David Kraninger, president of the Tanglewood Lake Homeowners Association, said he is pleased with the board of zoning appeals decision to relax the conditional-use permit for nonmember play. It will keep the club open and maintained, he said.
The next step will be the sale of the club, he said. The homeowners are in the planning stages that could bring to a vote whether they will make an offer on the property. "We're looking at options and preparing for a vote," Mr. Kraninger said.
Geauga County Common Pleas Court is expected to determine May 4 if it will be auctioned.
Attorney Jaredd Flynn represents the homeowners. "It's necessary at this stage," he said of nonmember play. "We want the club to be taken care of and properly maintained."
They still view Tanglewood as a private club, and "it's a temporary measure and in the best interest of the homeowners association," Mr. Flynn said.
"Our first objective is to protect our association members' home values," he said.
He said the receiver, Tartan Management, talked with the homeowners about the nonmember play proposal before going forward. "The homeowners board of trustees felt it was the best course of action," Mr. Flynn said.
Marc Strauss, of Willoughby Hills, has offered $1.3 million to buy the club and is in negotiations with the bank, he said.
"In this economy, that is a lot," he said. It includes earnest money.
He said he was pleased with the decision to allow nonmember play. But he hopes the board of zoning appeals sees it not as a temporary measure.
"We're going to be looking for a public-play component," Mr. Strauss said.
While recognizing concerns of the community, he said, "there has to be a combination, and that's always been our plan.
"We have a good plan for a public-play component," Mr. Strauss said. In these days, there has to be some relaxation of the rules, he said. It is a way to keep it open and viable, he said.
"Tanglewood is a great course and a great opportunity, and we want to be the ultimate owners," Mr. Strauss said.
Dennis Romanini is still the owner of the club. He said he tried for years to do public play in off times. "They told me they would revoke my conditional-use permit if I did, and they would fine me," he said.
When he was marketing it for the past five years to sell it, "everyone wanted some public play," he said. "It stopped me from selling it. Yet the only way to survive is with public play."
Golf courses across the country are closing because of the economic times and lack of business, he said. Golfers don't have the money to pay the dues of the private clubs, he said.
"I feel very wronged by the community," Mr. Romanini said. "I knew what had to be done. I was trying to survive."
If no one buys the property, the bank will close it, he said.
The golf course covers about 150 acres and is surrounded by 575 single-family houses and condominiums.
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