Will Mountain High Be Revived?

A once-lush golf course in the resort town of Bend, Ore., that has sat dormant for three years may be revived within the next two years. In mid-August, Dennis Pahlisch of Pahlisch Homes, a development company in Tigard, a Portland suburb, has an option to purchase Mountain High Golf Course and surrounding undeveloped property. If the transaction goes through – and neighboring homeowners approved the deal, Mountain High’s fairways, greens and tees may once again be verdant.

Pahlisch held a public meeting earlier in August to unveil his plans for the homeowners in Mountain High Community, a neighborhood next to the golf course off China Hat Road on Bend’s south side. The get-together was attended by 250 homeowners, who have been upset with Mountain High’s current owner, Jan Ward, ever since Ward stopped watering the golf course in 2001. The residents also filed a lawsuit against Ward for cutting down trees within the development.

Ward stopped irrigating the golf course in 2001 after Bend officials condemned his irrigation facilities – including wells, pumps and pipes. It later took over his Juniper Utility Co. in 2002. As a result, Ward refused to use city water to irrigate the course and it’s gone dry ever since. Homeowners who bought property around the course from Ward have felt he’s reneged on promises to maintain the layout, though Ward says he made no such promises. Ward always could irrigate the course, and he has kept most of the greens alive, but has refused do so because of the excessive cost of city water.

The dispute may all be forgotten and all parties may live happily ever after if the plan by Pahlisch reaches fruition. In addition to bringing Mountain High back to life, Pahlisch plans to erect a new clubhouse-community center at the entrance to the course; build a new executive-length nine; develop 360 to 400 new homes within StoneGate, a new gated community on a peripheral 100 acres; and incorporate a trail system through the new community. If everything goes well, the resuscitation of Mountain High and construction of the new nine holes will begin in summer 2005.

Pahlisch said that once Mountain High is back up to snuff, he will deed it over to the homeowners of StoneGate for their private use. Mountain High Community residents would also pay $150 per household annually for golf coupons to play the course.

Attendees at the meeting voiced mixed reactions to the proposal. Jack Sealock, a Mountain High Community owner, questioned if the project would really help Mountain High owners. “The course would be owned by StoneGate, why should we pay $150 for that?,” Sealock asked, adding that it could lower the value of current residents’ homes if they are tied to course fees that could rise each year.

But others disagreed with Sealock. “You want the brown patch to stay there?,” said Ron Ross, another Mountain High Community owner. “That’s really going to help us sell our homes.” In comments to Kristy Hessman, a reporter for the Bend Bulletin, Ross added that Pahlisch’s plan is a better alternative to having trailers on the proposed site for the new homes. “One-hundred-and-fifty dollars – you spend that on keys each year,” Ross said.

Other attendees praised Pahlisch’s proposal and asked that fellow homeowners compromise with the developer. At the end of the meeting, Pahlisch took an informal vote. About 90 percent of the attendees suggested he proceed with his plans. The remaining percentage was mixed between “no” votes and “neutral” votes.