SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) - The future of a beloved Carmel Mountain Ranch property is up in the air and neighbors are saying that is already becoming an eye sore. The Carmel Mountain Ranch golf course shut down for good earlier this week and residents are concerned over how the owner is handling the closure.
The golf course closed on Monday and the owner of the course told News 8 that rising water rates are to blame.
Residents are worried about what will happen to all the open land in the area. In the short-term, they're concerned whether the owner will maintain the land.
Country club general manager, Kevin Hwang, said that water rates doubled and they couldn't afford to keep the course open.
Some residents say they wished Mr. Hwang would have reached out to the HOA and given residents the option to purchase the course and leave it as a green belt for the community. Others worry it will go into disrepair and hurt property values.
Eric Edelman lives nearby and is working to resurrect the Carmel Mountain Ranch/Sabre Springs Planning Group. The group is currently inactive because of a lack of board members. Now with the course closing he says there's renewed interest in having a say in community planning.
The group will have its first meeting to discuss the issues on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Carmel Mountain Ranch Recreation Center