Future of Wikiup Golf Course uncertain after sale

A developer who was involved in one of the most expensive and controversial projects in Healdsburg in the past 20 years has purchased land that includes the Wikiup Golf Course, sparking fears from nearby residents over how the small course north of Santa Rosa might be developed.

Tony Korman, who leads WBR LLC and Korman Development, bought 30 acres in Wikiup that includes several contiguous parcels and the nine-hole golf course. The Langbein family trust, led by course manager Tom Langbein and his sister, Mary Ellen Trainor, sold the land for $4.5 million, according to Sonoma County property records.

The 16-acre course abruptly shut down early this month, shocking golfers who had no warning their aging but prized little course had been sold.

A padlocked cable prevents access to the Carriage Court parking lot, and the pro shop has been emptied of its supplies. A sign on the door reads, “The golf course has been sold” and says club members would be refunded unused funds from their annual fees.

“We were really shocked, but about six months ago, Tom (the former owner) started letting it go downhill,” said longtime member Richard Smith, who played the course frequently with several buddies, also veteran club members.

“We’re not really concerned about the money, but we’re concerned that one of the jewels of Santa Rosa, in terms of a public space to play golf and open space, is gone,” Smith said.

Korman said he has no specific development in mind for the property.

“I don’t really have any plans right now,” he said. “For right now, we’re going to leave it the way it is.”

Golf operations are through, though, he confirmed.

“I’m not going to run it as a golf course,” he said. “Golf is not a venture I’m interested in.”

Korman was one of the primary developers of Healdsburg’s Saggio Hills project, which was approved in 2008 for a ?130-room five-star hotel resort and 70 high-end homes.

That project, which was proposed by different landowners in 1997, drew angry protests from residents over the size, environmental analysis and the planned million-dollar mansions in the hills above Healdsburg.

They sued the city over the environmental review and a judge found flaws in the environmental analysis, forcing additional study. The flaws were revisited, and the revised project was approved by the City Council.

The economic recession put a hold on the project, at one point estimated to cost $310 million and planned to include 6,000-square-foot mansions, a luxury ?130-room hotel and a ?38-acre community park on 259 acres.

From 1996 to 2002, Korman was the director of real estate for Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates, in charge of acquisitions, entitlements, development, and public and governmental relations. During that time, Sonoma County’s largest wine company proposed building three new multimillion-dollar wineries in Sonoma, Napa and Monterey counties, and it became an international presence in Chile and Argentina.

Asked if he planned to grow grapes or make wine on the Wikiup land, Korman laughed, saying his KJ work was a long time ago.

“I don’t have a plan for it. I’m not trying to be evasive,” he said. He characterized the purchase as a “good investment.”

“It’s Sonoma County real estate. It’s a very desirable place to be,” Korman said. “It seems like a good investment, given the values there the last three, four, five years.”

Development on the site - through which Mark West Creek runs - would have restrictions, said Tennis Wick, director of Sonoma County’s Permit and Resource Management Department.

The golf course and some of the other land is zoned as a recreation and visitor-serving commercial district, allowing by right uses “primarily intended to serve tourist commercial and recreational needs.”

That could include professional offices, a restaurant, “occasional cultural events,” and the growing and harvesting of vines, plants, trees and other crops, including wholesale nurseries.

“There are a potpourri of uses that are possible,” he said.

Some would be allowed by current zoning, and others could require a conditional use permit or rezoning requests.

One of the six Wikiup parcels carries with it a tentative map for a 12-lot subdivision on 4.6 acres, according to the deed recorded with the county.

At least three of the parcels also have zoning restrictions because of wildlife, waterways and scenic resources identified by the county as in need of special protections. Requests to rezone the property to allow for development likely would go through an extensive public review process.

County planners haven’t received any inquiries about the properties, Wick said.

As word spread last week through the neighborhoods surrounding the golf course, neighbors grew concerned. Rumors are rampant, including that Korman is proposing 250 homes for the land.

At least one nearby resident said she is planning to rally residents to voice their concerns and seek a meeting with the new owner.

Smith, the longtime club member, is concerned that the property, already showing signs of age, will become an attractive nuisance.

“He’s just going to let it sit? What does that mean? The clubhouse will get graffiti; the weeds will be ?4 to 5 feet tall and catch fire. A lot of the neighbors are concerned about safety,” he said.

Korman said he would keep the property up while he considers development options.

“I don’t want people in and out of it,” he said. “I plan on maintaining it and not letting it go, not letting it become an eyesore.”

Alison Willets bought her home on the seventh tee after doing extensive research on the land. She said she especially values the open space she can look out at through the multiple windows on the rear of her house.

“I figured I paid an extra $50,000 to live on a golf course,” she said.

“The rumors are flying. … Apparently they’re expecting to rezone and make big bucks,” she said of the new owner.

Many of the nearby residents belong to homeowners associations. At least two organizations that represent residents hadn’t heard about the sale as of Thursday.

Willets said she is going to organize Wikiup residents to make sure their input is heard in whatever plans the new owner has.

“We’re not going to go quietly,” she said. “I have a lot invested. I was really grateful with the view out the backyard.”

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.