The Ridgemark Homes Association posted the $1 million bond necessary to maintain a temporary restraining order that prevents the golf course from cutting down unwatered trees located near some of their properties.
JMK Golf LLC – the company that acquired the Ridgemark Golf & Country Club golf course in 2009 – is arguing that the trees are a liability and could fall on nearby houses when the winter storms come, while the homeowners are arguing the trees improve property values and the residents’ quality of life.
“We posted the bond,” said Bradley Matteoni, the attorney representing the homeowners association, in an interview with the Free Lance on Friday. “We want to save those trees and we are willing to put a bond up to do so.”
The homeowners association filed a lawsuit in April against JMK Golf LLC asking for a restraining order that would keep the company from cutting down trees on the golf course in front of their houses.
At the time of the most recent hearing on Oct. 9, JMK’s attorney, John Richards, argued the judge’s proposed $1 million bond was not high enough.
“We’re incredibly concerned about the bond as it stands, your honor. I think it should be at least $10 million,” Richards said. “We would like a larger amount.”
The 125 trees in question fall in an unkept part of the golf course, which employees stopped watering in July when Ridgemark closed some of its fairways and moved from a 36-hole course to an 18-hole facility.
An “order to show cause” hearing – meaning one or both parties will justify the reason they want an ongoing restraining order – will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 30 at the San Benito County Courthouse.
