Jim Hummer (at podium) speaks in favor of a petition to ban a housing development at The Bath Golf Club. Jason Claffey / The Times Record
A crowd of Bath residents on Monday night took a swing at convincing city officials to approve a petition to ban a housing development at The Bath Golf Club.
A group of golf club members recently gathered 777 signatures for the petition, which would block the club’s plan to reduce the course from 18 holes to nine and build a housing development in an attempt to drive it back to profitability. The club, built in 1932 as a nine-hole course, has been in the red since it expanded to 18 holes in 1994, according to managing member Sean McCarthy.
A crowd of about 100 people voiced support for the petition during a public hearing held by the Planning Board Monday night.
“If we let (the housing development) happen, this beautiful place we love is gone forever,” resident Mike Stinson said. “If this happens, we’ll never get it back.”
Club operator Resurrection Golf proposed building up to 70 townhouses on the 120-acre property, but the City Council last year blocked the project, citing opposition from club members and neighbors. The move forced the club to consider other options, such as building affordable housing.
Meanwhile, club member and neighbor Alicia Romac organized the petition effort and founded a nonprofit seeking to purchase the club.
“Prohibiting cluster housing and/or multifamily homes within the (Golf Course District) ensures the continued vitality of the golf course while preventing incompatible land uses and protecting our residential neighborhoods,” Romac said in written testimony to the board.
Sam Hamilton, the club’s legal counsel, emphasized city code allows cluster developments on the golf club’s land. He also pointed to the city’s 2023 Comprehensive Plan, which identifies affordable housing as a priority.
“The city needs housing, and cluster developments are a creative, low-impact way of addressing the housing shortage,” he said. “The petition is unwarranted, an abuse of municipal process and inconsistent with Bath’s comprehensive plans.”
William Truesdell, who served on the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals, said the code was meant to preserve the golf course and allow cluster housing only if the course was expanded, which never came to fruition.
“The changes to the land use code (in the petition) are justified since they better fit the use of the property as presently constituted in the land use code as a Golf Course District,” he said. “It keeps the Golf Course District as a golf course and not a residential area.
“The City of Bath is not in the business of bailing out a failing business by drastically changing the land use code. … This sets a dangerous precedent.”
Planning Board Chairperson Robert Oxton asked the crowd whether they support the petition; all but two people raised their hand. The board was scheduled to review public testimony at its meeting Tuesday night then make a recommendation to the City Council on whether the language in the petition should be adopted by the council or sent to voters to be decided. The council will hold another public hearing on the petition at its Jan. 17 meeting before making a decision.
A view of The Bath Golf Club, which was established in 1932. Courtesy of The Bath Golf Club
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