City to Enter Exclusive Negotiations on Potential Lease for Mini Golf

BY C. JAYDEN SMITH

A small development group curried favor from the San Clemente City Council last week, paving the way for a proposed mini golf facility at Vista Hermosa Sports Park.

Councilmembers voted unanimously to authorize City Manager Andy Hall to conduct exclusive property negotiations with Salty Turf LLC, which comprises three San Clemente residents, regarding a 1.18-acre lot set aside as a designated lease area within the sport park’s Master Plan.

The group’s proposal to construct 36 holes, along with clubhouse and concession areas, came to the council after the Beaches, Parks & Recreation Commission reviewed and recommended it via a 6-0-1 vote in February. Commissioner Rob Feuerstein recused himself from the decision.

Jeff Moore, member of Salty Turf and development partner of the ongoing Rare Society restaurant project, spoke to the San Clemente Times on Monday, May 8, and mentioned the importance of receiving public support for the potential facility.

“Also, to have the support of the City Council is massive for us, to have them see the vision and understand the value that it’s going to give to our community is awesome,” said Moore. Salty Turf and the city are progressing in negotiations, according to Moore, who added that the immediate next steps are concentrated on conceptualizing design for the facility. According to the city’s staff report regarding the item for the May 2 council meeting, the lease amount was un- for which the federal government and the city split the cost into 65% and 35%, respectively.

Moving forward, the cost share will be 50-50 for the remaining $99.3 million needed to fulfill the entire plan.

Before the project’s estimated start in November or December, the Corps, Cheung said, is still waiting to receive state grant funding. The government agency must also confirm environmental commitments by mid-May, the city must obtain a California State Lands lease by June, and in July the USACE will award a contract to use the Portland District’s West Coast Hopper Dredge.

Once the dredging begins, a 75-footwide berth of sand, including 25 feet of “overbuild,” will be placed on the city beach to result in a beach that is actually 50 feet wide.

“The idea of that is that overbuild accommodates a thing called equilibration,” said Cheung. “What will happen is, quickly, that area will equalize to fill out the natural slope of the surrounding area.” determined prior to any negotiations.

There will be a discharge area that is closed to the public, enforced by both temporary sand berms and fencing. Project operations will be limited to 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

In response to Councilmember Mark Enmeier questioning which way the sand will migrate, Cheung said the Corps expected movement to align with the traditional north-to-south plan.

The group’s goal is to build a facility that reflects the beauty and landmarks associated with San Clemente, Moore’s partner, Andrew Streett, previously said to the BPR Commission, with features such as the T-Street Bridge decorating a hole rather than a clown’s face.

At the council meeting, Councilmember Mark Enmeier asked Beaches, Parks & Recreation Department Director Samantha Wylie to speak to the city receiving only one response when it issued a request for proposals (RFP) on the property in December 2022.

“We posted the RFP on Planet Bids, which is the standard—we use that for all of our bidding,” said Wylie, adding that the proposal “was all we got, and we’re not required to come with any type of minimum proposal response, so that’s kind of where we landed.”

Other groups that previously expressed interest did not reach out further, according to Wylie.

“As the area starts to potentially erode again and go further south, you should see some of the south beaches picking up some of that material as it migrates down,” he said.

Kiel Koger, city engineer and director of public works, opined that the amount of rain Southern California experienced in recent months should contribute to an increase in sand on San Clemente beaches in the summer, as a significant amount of sediment was transferred.

Once the USACE completes the initial project, it will monitor the shoreline and include plans to fund the next nourishment cycle in the Corps’ budget as it determines the next necessary event.

Cheung couldn’t provide an estimate of what the cost would be according to price levels in the year of a specific cycle, but said updated cost estimates every two years will be helpful.

She added that while staff doesn’t have data that shows a specific desire for mini golf in town, the lot would remain undeveloped if the council voted against the proposal, and could remain barren indefinitely as the city prioritizes its own responsibilities and plans.

Regarding the facility’s design, Moore said he met Monday with an architect from artificial grass installer Back Nine Greens, which services corporate and residential needs across the nation.

“Today, he just wanted to visit the site and get a little bit of inspiration, and he was shocked,” said Moore.“He literally was like,‘This is a blank canvas; I cannot believe that this is undeveloped and nothing has been done here.’”

With Moore acting as the marketing arm of Salty Turf, he looks to continue developing the design concepts as partners Streett and Marcus Vanneman take on the operations and financial aspects, respectively, if the group signs a lease agreement to operate on the property.