Golf Course Plan Soars Past Model Planes

SANTA ANA — Favoring a proposed 18-hole golf course, county supervisors here Tuesday moved another step toward grounding the radio-controlled airplanes that take off and land from a special airstrip at Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley.

Supervisors said they sympathize with the hobbyists’ desire to save the only designated place in Orange County to fly model planes and rockets, but felt plans for a new course atop the hobby area would provide low-priced golf and increased park revenue.

“I strongly believe the park will be enhanced by the new 18-hole golf course,” Supervisor Charles V. Smith said.

Angered that they could be displaced by the new course, the hobbyists vowed to continue fighting for the right to keep their buzzing planes flying above the park. Model rocket enthusiasts may also have to relocate.

“It’s a setback, yes, but it’s not the last word,” model plane enthusiast Bob Richards said.

Richards said he and others are lobbying the National Park Service, which deeded the parkland to the county in the 1960s, to block the golf course conversion because the land was intended for general recreation use. The hobbyists also have secured an attorney and are considering litigation as a last resort.

At Tuesday’s meeting, supervisors unanimously voted to continue negotiating a 30-year lease renewal with Mile Square Partners, which has operated the Mile Square Golf Course at the park since 1968. A key part of the agreement is development of 18 more holes in the park’s center, which includes a portion of the hobby strip.

“Today we established the basic terms and conditions for the lease,” said David A. Rainville, a Mile Square Golf partner.

The partners currently are in a month-to-month lease with the county.

With both parties saying they are near accord, the lease is expected to be wrapped up in late summer. There are no plans to displace the hobbyists until construction begins, which could be up to two years from now, said Rich Adler, a senior county planner.

If granted final approval, county officials expect the course, which will cost an estimated $7 million to $8 million, to eventually contribute at least $2.1 million a year to county coffers.

Though greens fees have not been set, officials expect them to be slightly more than the prices on the existing course, which are $19 on weekdays and $25 for weekends.

County officials said they will allow the partners to set their own fees but urged the developer to continue low-cost golf in a county where many courses charge as much as $100 a round.

Rainville said he is committed to affordable pricing. “We’ve got a 29-year history of being extremely fair in our rates.”

Supervisor Jim Silva said the county would cooperate in helping the hobbyists find an alternative site to launch their rockets and fly their radio-controlled planes.

Still, the model makers said they prefer their Mile Square airstrip.

“It’s one of the best flying places in California, it’s one of the best flying places in the United States,” said Jim Bliss, an airplane enthusiast from Whittier.

Others said developing a golf course will not only displace the hobbyists, it will eliminate precious space that the public can freely access.

“Why should providing affordable golf for rich people be more important than providing a recreation area for poor children who have nowhere else to go?” asked Miquela Cornejo of Santa Ana.