Cascadia Daily News Article

Bellingham online and print newspaper, Cascadia Daily News, recently featured our lawsuit with the front-page heading: “Closed Lynden golf course is stark reminder of 5-year legal fight.” Drone and close-up images were included.

Staff reporter, Julia Tellman, provided a detailed history of Homestead’s lawsuit, along with quotes from plaintiffs Sonja Lyons and Steve Zehm, HOAG representative Lynn Button, Intervenors, lawyer Jeffrey Possinger, seller’s agent Patrick Starr, Judge Freeman, and Mayor Korthuis.  Here are the highlights:

Plaintiff Steve Zehm expressed sadness at the poor condition of the golf course, noting there’s now “no trespassing signs” to keep walkers off the cart paths.  His reason for being involved was, “justice for homeowners.”

Intervenor Matt Skinner explained the course had once attracted Canadian visitors and hosted national-caliber tournaments.  He explained student golfers from Lynden schools now have to drive to practice at courses across Whatcom County.

Plaintiff Sonja Lyons explained she joined the lawsuit to protect the interests of the people in her condo complex. She believes Homestead needs to have voting rights over fees and how they’re spent.

Intervenors Maureen and Roger Dowling were concerned about a lack of maintenance of golf course, ponds, and common open spaces during the ongoing litigation, as well as seniors being misled by plaintiff lawyers. Matt Skinner added the lawsuit has been a “money grab from the very beginning.”  

The City of Lynden was named as a defendant for failing to enforce its PRD ordinance requiring an HOA but was dismissed in 2022.  Mayor Korthuis and the city’s legal counsel then sent a letter to the plaintiffs, explaining they did not become involved in the development’s HOA because, “Homestead appeared to function smoothly from 1992 until recently in 2020, when complaints were raised by homeowners.” 

MJ Management was dismissed by lawyers Davis and Andersson in 2022, drawn back in, and then dismissed again in 2024 by Judge Freeman.

Judge Freeman’s final ruling in Oct. 2024 nullified two amendments (6th & 7th) and the $57 fee increase which the plaintiffs considered a win. The judge ruled there was to be an HOA but it was not before the court on how to establish an HOA.                     Note: The judge stated in July an HOA must have property to manage in order to qualify as an HOA.  He also ruled earlier in the case the owner cannot be coerced to give away parts of his land due to “Quiet Title” law.  This remains a sticking point for all sides.

Defendant lawyer, Jeffrey Possinger who represents MJ Management, described Homestead as “one of the more complicated cases I’ve ever worked on.”

Superior Court Judge Freeman said, “This stretched our county to the limit as far as what it could handle because we are a small bench (small courthouse)…Certainly there was complexity to a number of claims the plaintiffs brought that hopefully in the future we can streamline quicker because the community deserves that despite our limitations.”

Once the trial ended, the plaintiffs and MJ Management each sought unsuccessfully to have the opposing party cover their attorneys’ fees.  The City of Lynden, 18 Paradise, and Intervenors did not seek to have their fees paid for by another party.

When the lawsuit appeared to be over, plaintiff Sonja Lyons felt the judge’s rulings were “a little wishy-washy.”  She and the other plaintiffs decided to appeal their case to the state Supreme Court, “and brought all the previously-dismissed parties, including MJ Management’s individual owners and the city, back into the case.”

Original HOAG member, Lynn Button, said after the appeal was filed, “My best case scenario is the owner of the golf course, the City of Lynden and the homeowners come together and figure out the best scenario.”

The Intervenors are less interested in first forming an HOA than re-opening the golf course under a new owner.  

Seller’s agent for 18 Paradise, Patrick Starr, revealed that after the Scholtens’ full-price offer was blocked by the ongoing lawsuit, another group of buyers approached him. He said they were prepared to restore and reopen the course by Spring 2025, knowing its current condition and history.  But when the plaintiffs filed their appeal, “the buyers couldn’t go forward with the quick close they had negotiated.  The buyers are still here.  If the appeal isn’t heard, maybe the course will be up and running by spring.”  

The article ended with a quote from Plaintiff Sonja Lyons stating, “I think people actually were very happy when we got the court to roll the fee back to $36 a month…”

Which raised a question: If everyone is “very happy” about the lower fee, which we agree makes sense, why are there two posts on plaintiffs’ website advising/warning us to not pay fees to MJ?  When we paid our fees to MJ from 2017 – 2023, we understood this to be correct and responsible, but now we’re being told it was neither?  Ever?

If we actually have another chance for buyers to restore Homestead by this Spring, the hope of our community for over 4 years, what possible reason would the plaintiffs have to block the answer to our prayers for a restored golf course?

And for clarification, this is the reason having an HOA without a golf course makes no sense.  Why would we hire-out to mow strips of common space bordering former fairways and greens now overgrown with weeds and brush?  How could we replace our irrigation grid (which waters the common space) that lies beneath a “hay field” without a solid access path for equipment?  How would storm ponds be inspected, let alone repaired, when their maintenance easements have eroded along with the ponds’ banks? Have we considered the logistics for replacing corroded, blocked culverts beneath Sunrise Dr., and between basins in Homestead Park?

We’ve now experienced the downside of living near a neglected golf course, from thistle seeds blowing onto our lawns, the depressing view, clogged drains backing up water behind/beneath our homes, to the negative impact on property values.

A deteriorating golf course = a deteriorating common space because they were planned, developed, and approved to be an integrated system.  The one requires the other to thrive, so why not start there as Mr. Button’s best case scenario?