By Colleen Sparks | North Central News
Residents in the Biltmore Estates community are fighting plans by a development company to build an event pavilion on a golf course as they believe it will further disrupt the tranquil quality of life they moved into their homes to enjoy.
Many residents who live in the Biltmore Estates neighborhoods near the Arizona Biltmore Golf Club that is based at 2400 E. Missouri Ave. have filed a lawsuit against JDM Golf LLC, known as JDM Partners, a real estate acquisition, development and management company that also owns and manages many professional sports and entertainment franchises. Jerry Colangelo, former CEO and chairman of the Phoenix Suns, is a partner with JDM.
The residents claim in the lawsuit that they are battling “past, present and impending future unlawful and dangerous operation of two golf courses” in the Arizona Biltmore Estates. In the suit, they allege JDM, which owns the 18-hole Adobe and Links Golf courses, used to serve as a “high-end amenity that contributed to the value, desirability, attractiveness and quality of life within the Arizona Biltmore Estates, all to the benefit of the surrounding homeowners, guests of the Arizona Biltmore resort, the owner of the Golf Courses and the general public.”
But recently JDM has moved away from the “historical model of charging premium daily fees and maintaining the Courses in a first-rate condition” and has allowed the courses to “deteriorate significantly while shifting its focus to more “high traffic, high volume” local corporate golf outings and tournaments, according to the lawsuit. JDM also started allowing non-golf-related uses on the golf course, including hosting weddings and receptions, as well as corporate events, the lawsuit said.
