Media Coverage: How Public Access was Restricted at CordeValle
CordeValle (Santa Clara County) is “one of Discovery Land Company’s legacy projects.” In fact, it was the second property Mike Meldman started with when he founded Discovery.
CordeValle opened under Discovery’s ownership in 1999; however, a 1996 use permit restriction guaranteed 60% of rounds for the public. After opening, Discovery began restricting availability of public rounds to Mon-Weds only. In response to public outcry, the County insisted that public rounds be available seven days per week, but Discovery objected, saying "it would not work with their business model and could lead to lawsuits from members or even the facility’s closure” (never mind that Discovery must have known of this requirement and should have informed their members before they bought in).
In 2003, the County and Discovery negotiated an arrangement in which participation in charity tournaments and youth golf programs would be an acceptable substitute for public access. Notably, part of the settlement involved the County controlling the board that governs the Discovery-funded foundation created to organize the agreed tournaments and youth program. The foundation continues today.
In short, in response to Discovery continued pressure, Santa Clara County allowed the “60% of rounds available for the public” requirement to be whittled down to “occasional tournaments for kids.” The analogue at Homewood would be Discovery creating a foundation to fund ski team participation mid-week for local underprivileged kids. While this would be an admirable program, this is a far cry from what Homewood is today - 100% public.
Current Discovery spokesperson Ed Divita was a key partner in the company at the time when the CordeValle settlement was finalized.
Media Coverage: Homewood
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"Residents fear that, along the super-crowded lake shores, most of which are already privately owned and closed off to the public, this may be only the beginning of a trend of open-to-the-public resorts converting to exclusive private clubs."
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"Homewood’s parking lot beers and creaky ski lodge stairs are going the way of the dodo, replaced by luxury upgrades. A new members-only model would effectively turn 'Homiewood' into a playground only for one-percenters willing to buy real estate to access the 1,253-acre mountain. "
— SFGate
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"I’m curious to see what Homewood’s next move is here. They were supposed to construct a new gondola to replace the Madden Chair this offseason. They needed the approvals to get started on the new gondola, so they’re kind of screwed at the moment for having it open during the 2023-24 season. It’ll be interesting to see whether they’ll invest in the resort to keep it competitive in the Lake Tahoe region, or if they’ll continue to push the membership model."
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"Keep Homewood Public said until it receives enforceable mechanisms to hold Discovery to its word, it is wary of the company’s stated commitment to keeping the ski resort public."
Media Coverage: Other Discovery Properties
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"DLC owns and operates 35 resorts around the world, and ours is not the only community that struggles beneath the weight of the company’s dreams. We’ve been lucky enough to speak with activists, campaigners, and residents from Barbuda, the Bahamas, Portugal, California, New York, and beyond, all of whom have dealt with, or are currently dealing with, the consequences of a Discovery development."
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"Taymouth Castle developers have spoken of their 'regret' after work started on a section of the project which does not have planning permission."
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'“Events unfolding on the Caribbean island of Barbuda are a microcosm of what is wrong with our world,” David Boyd, a U.N. special investigator on human rights and the environment, wrote on the X platform in October. “A beautiful, idyllic island being transformed into a playground for wealthy elites, with ZERO concern for people who have lived there for 100s of years or the sensitive ecology.”'
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"The status of the community facilities promised under the Baker’s Bay Heads of Agreement appear to have become the latest battleground between its developers and the project’s long-standing opponents, the Save Great Guana Cay Reef Association. Dr Marshall was responding after Great Guana Cay-based businessman, Troy Albury, who has been one of Baker’s Bay’s leading opponents, complained to Tribune Business that the developers - Arizona-based Discovery Land Company - had not fulfilled their promises to the Abaco island’s residents."
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"The Wall Street titans, tech executives, and pro sports moguls who own lots or multimillion-dollar homes in Silo Ridge Field Club, the 850-acre luxury development on the outskirts of town spearheaded by the real-estate tycoon Michael Meldman, are suing Amenia individually and en masse to slash their property-tax assessments. The town is fighting back, at a hefty cost to its annual budget of less than $5 million."
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"Last year, a group of Jamaican workers settled a lawsuit against the club. They claimed the Yellowstone Club and another staffing agency had been discriminating against them and shortchanging tips and wages. The plaintiffs, who worked at the club as cooks, bartenders and housekeepers, were brought to Montana on temporary work visas. They were promised tips and service charges that could amount to $400 to $600 a night at the nicest restaurants, the lawsuit alleged."
— The San Francisco Standard
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"Environmental groups have sued a large private mountain ski resort in federal court for allegedly dumping nitrates into the Gallatin River in Montana, claiming that Yellowstone Mountain Club LLC has violated the Clean Water Act by dumping the pollutants without a permit."
— Law360
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"Southampton's planning board has been slapped with a lawsuit over plans to build a luxury golf resort in the Pine Barrens. Group for the East End, along with the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, East Quogue Civic Association, and several local residents joined forces to file the suit. The suit is filed with the Suffolk County Supreme Court against the Town of Southampton Planning Board and the Arizona-based development company Discovery Land Company. The lawsuit is in response to a recent Southampton Town Planning Board decision that would allow the construction of an expansive multi-use, 130-unit luxury golf resort development on the largest parcel of unprotected pine barrens land left in Southampton Town."