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THERMAL, Califonia — A proposal from music industry executive Irving Azoff is poised to bring a private golf course to eastern Coachella Valley, though not everyone is supportive of the project.
Azoff and his team of developers have proposed building an 18-hole golf course, along with a 9-hole practice course, on an existing citrus and mango grove, located on roughly 300 acres of land northeast of the intersection of Van Buren Street and 70th Avenue. The site is owned by the Bakersfield-based company Anthony Vineyards.
Azoff is the chairman and CEO of Azoff MSG Entertainment but previously led Ticketmaster and Live Nation, and in 2012 he was named “the most powerful person in the music industry” by Billboard Magazine.
Access to the private golf course, known as the Jeule Ranch Golf Club, would be extremely limited, with only 50 memberships available for the course, and a total of eight people per membership allowed on-site at any given time. The golf club would allow a daily maximum of 25 people to use the course.
The project, which gained approval in a Riverside County Planning Director’s hearing Monday, has drawn criticism from some community members and activists, who argue the project has no place in Thermal, where the poverty rate is more than double the statewide average, according to American Community Survey data.
In a letter submitted to the county, the project’s director, David Smith, outlined several commitments that the course developers have made to the surrounding community, similar to the approach recently taken by developers of the nearby Thermal Beach Club.
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The golf club has made promises to hire Thermal residents at the club, establish a staff scholarship program, provide guidance to Coachella Valley high school golf teams and offer maintenance services to local elementary and high school playing fields.
Additionally, while roughly 30…
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Source : yahoo
