Usage Restrictions Remain at Quaker Ridge Golf Club

Lawyers for Quaker Ridge Golf Club and Brittany Close resident Leon Behar were back in court on Tuesday July 6th trying to iron out their differences in the ongoing conflict about errant golf balls. The lawyers met behind closed doors with Judge Murphy at the courthouse in White Plains while Quaker Ridge Club President Alan Howard, General Manager Robert Musich and Brittany Close resident Leon Behar awaited the outcome.

As reported on Scarsdale10583, Behar’s property borders the second hole of Quaker Ridge Golf course and is now in the line of fire. Behar constructed a 25-foot fence to protect his home and pool, but since the fence height exceeded Village code, Scarsdale has asked him to remove it. In turn, Behar's lawyers negotiated with Quaker Ridge Golf Club and they agreed to build a 60-foot screen of netting to shield Behar's property. However, when the application for the fence went before the Scarsdale Village Planning Board on 6/23 it met with objections from neighbors on Brittany Close who felt a 60-foot fence was higher than needed and the Planning Board held over the matter until their 8/4 meeting. The Board has requested additional information on alternatives to the 60-foot fence, including trees and a temporary fence plus scientific data on the required height of the netting to prevent balls from hitting the Behars. The Board also encouraged the neighbors to continue to work with the Behars to find an amicable solution.

Though neighbors contend that Behar caused the situation by removing trees from his property Behar claims that the trees he took down were dead and were not shielding his house from the golf course. In fact he says that the Village arborist recommended their removal.  According to Behar, in addition to the trees he removed, six or seven trees on the golf course, some as tall as 80 feet, fell in a storm in 2008 and were not replaced. The club says that these trees were actually located on Behar's property.  Behar told Scarsdale10583 that the lawsuit was “a last resort to protect my kids.” Though he empathizes with the club, he argues "that human life is more sacred than the game of golf" and would like the club to reposition the tee box for the second hole. He also believes that the village could require the club to do extensive landscaping to protect his home and hide the proposed mesh fence.

The management of Quaker Ridge argued that the golf course was built in 1918 and that repositioning the second hole would be impossible. They favor the construction of the fence and are ready to do so. The club also plans to build staff dormitories to house Quaker Ridge employees near the Brittany Close homes. The application for that project appears to be on hold until the current conflict is settled.

In the words of one longtime club member, “Assumption of risk is not the end of the inquiry. The Club owes a duty of care to adjoining homeowners. So, the compromise calls for the erection of a screen. It's now up to the Village to decide how high the screen should be.”

For now, pending an agreement on the form of protection for the Behars, use of the second hole at Quaker Ridge Golf Course remains restricted until August 22nd. The Scarsdale Planning Board will reconsider the matter on August 4th and parties will meet again in White Plains court on August 17th.