From the Monterey County Herald Serving Monterey County and the Salinas Valley Friday, March 15, 2002 Pebble Beach Co. plans new course By KEVIN HOWE khowe@montereyherald.com Plans to build an eighth 18-hole golf course at Pebble Beach are likely to move ahead next week when the Monterey County Board of Supervisors considers a contract for preparation of the environmental impact report. Supervisors on Tuesday will be asked to approve a $402,344 professional services agreement with the firm of Jones & Stokes. The agreement provides for the Pebble Beach Co. to reimburse the county for the expense. The existing Pebble Beach Equestrian Center would be razed to make room for the new course, which is intended to be a top-tier course on a par with the company's Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Spanish Bay courses. The Pebble Beach Co. also plans to: Relocate the equestrian facility to the 40-acre Sawmill Gulch site.   Build 160 new suites with additional meeting space at the Inn at Spanish Bay and Lodge at Pebble Beach.   Add a golf driving range and teaching facility at Spanish Bay.   Create 33 new residential lots and construct 66 employee housing units.   Designate 273 acres of permanent open space forest lands.   Relocate existing trails and construct new trails, adding 2.5 miles to the Del Monte Forest's existing system of walkways and bridle paths.   Upgrade the Highway 1 gate on 17-Mile Drive at Holman Highway. Alan Williams of Carmel Development Co., who is negotiating the agreement with the county for Pebble Beach Co., said the company intends to comply fully with its promise to the voters who approved Measure A - the Del Monte Forest Preservation Plan put forth by the company. That measure passed overwhelmingly in the November 2000 election, with 70,475 in favor to 40,350 against. "We promised the voters it would get a full and complete environmental review," Williams said, "and we're at the stage now where the county is choosing a consultant to do that. It's the next big step." The development proposals, he added, "are all consistent with Measure A, line for line." The company hopes to develop a complete management plan for the entire forest rather than the lot-by-lot system for project approvals in the past. "There's never been an overall plan for the forest," Williams said. The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments has advised responsible agencies of the impending environmental report, said Associate Planner Thomas McCue, in order to get comments from them about the environmental issues they would like to see addressed in the report. Kevin Howe can be reached at 646-4416. Copyright (c) 2002, The Monterey County Herald, 8 Ragsland Drive, Monterey CA. 93940  (831) 372-3311 A Knight Ridder Newspaper

[Top of page]

From the Monterey County Herald Serving Monterey County and the Salinas Valley Friday, March 15, 2002 Horses linked to P.B. History By KEVIN HOWE khowe@montereyherald.com The Pebble Beach Equestrian Center could move within two years from the fields it has occupied since the 1920s to a new site, according to manager Tim Postel. Postel said the Pebble Beach Co. hopes to start its next redevelopment projects by April 2003 and complete construction in a year. With the equestrian center slated to move to accommodate another golf course, Postel helped design the replacement $4 million riding facility that would be built on 40 acres in Sawmill Gulch near Holman Highway. The new center, complete with indoor dressage ring, state-of-the art show venues and stables, should be finished in time to allow the 150-odd horses and their owners to move directly from the old facility to the new, he said. "We expect to walk into it with everything being ready: stalls, bedding and feed." Quite a few owners, Postel added, will probably ride their horses over to the new spot. The new grounds may not be as expansive as the old, he said, but the traditional Pebble Beach Classics and other shows will continue and may be more economically viable than in the past. "I don't see any downside," he said. The new center will have easy access to Holman Highway through the Morse Gate for trucks hauling manure out and supplies in. Many riders have a strong attachment to the existing stables and grounds, but the structures are in bad shape despite efforts to keep them up with paint and repairs, Postel said. "The company has a wonderful archive" of memorabilia and photographs from the facility's 80-plus years of operation, "a lot of history," Postel said. " I hope it can be organized before it all disappears." Horses have long been part of the Pebble Beach Resorts. In 1896, the Hotel Del Monte built a combination race track, airfield and polo field. Increasing air traffic in the early 1900s frightened horses on the track, so in 1920 plans were made to build a combination air and polo field near The Lodge at Pebble Beach. The airfield was dropped, but construction started on new stables for Del Monte Properties Co., precursor of Pebble Beach Co., across from the polo field and where the equestrian center stands today. Del Monte's first Horse Show and Riding Competition for Children was held Aug. 16, 1924, when 50 entrants competed in 12 events, drawing spectators from as far away as Los Angeles and San Francisco. The one-day show started a tradition that was formalized on Aug. 4, 1946, when Dick Collins, manager of the equestrian center, chaired the Summer Horse Show, which drew 87 entries in 15 classes. This year will mark the 52nd presentation of the Pebble Equestrian Classics. Temporary stalls and show pavilions are already being erected in preparation for the March 27-31 Pebble Beach Spring Show on the center grounds. Other horse shows scheduled this year include the Pebble Beach Equestrian Challenge May 15-19, the Josephine Kernes Memorial Horse Show on June 2, the Pebble Beach Dressage Show July 11-14, the Pebble Beach Equestrian Classic I July 23-28, Classic II July 30-Aug. 4, the Strides and Tides Horse Show Sept. 11-15 and the Pebble Beach Equestrian Championships Oct. 30-Nov. 3. Kevin Howe can be reached at 646-4416. Copyright (c) 2002, The Monterey County Herald, 8 Ragsland Drive, Monterey CA. 93940  (831) 372-3311 A Knight Ridder Newspaper