The conflict over a beloved Pierce County golf course is headed for eminent domain
Clarity may be coming soon to a confusing agreement governing ownership of Madrona Links Golf Course , the only public golf course in the Gig Harbor area.
PenMet Parks, which owns all but 14 acres of the 94-acre course just across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, will bring an eminent domain resolution before their Board of Park Commissioners at their meeting Tuesday, Nov. 5. The measure would authorize PenMet Parks Executive Director Ally Bujacich to move forward with acquiring the 14-acre parcel, and follows a prolonged dispute between the park district and the course's tenant and subtenants responsible for operating Madrona Links.
Eminent domain is the power a government can use to obtain a piece of private property for public use, "following due process of law and payment of just compensation," as defined by the Municipal Research and Services Center . It's also known as "condemnation."
Gig Harbor resident Mark Pinto, 68, plays at Madrona Links once a week with about five or six others from the Gig Harbor New Neighbors golf group, which he volunteered to lead after moving to the area in March. He's followed the golf course dispute and said he's saddened by the apparent impasse.
Regarding the course itself, Pinto has no complaints. He said he has "100% authority" to decide where his group will play the next week, but he's consistently chosen Madrona Links. The problems with upkeep identified by PenMet Parks, a major point in the dispute, aren't very visible to him.
"The golf course is in good shape," Pinto said. "It's not perfect, but you're not paying for a perfect course."
A golfer for about 30 years, Pinto said he likes the course because it's relatively short but challenging because of the trees, which can block golfers' shots.
Courses like Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton also have "good value," but they're farther away, he said. Others like Canterwood Golf & Country Club are more expensive.
Madrona Links is affordable and local, he said. And none of his fellow golfers have asked him to switch.
He'll value it "as long as it's maintained at its current level or better, as long as it's not degraded with any change of ownership," he told The News Tribune.
A brief history of the dispute
The News Tribune reported in August that the public-private partnership between PenMet and Tyson Limited Partnership, the owner of the 14-acre parcel and the lessee tasked with maintaining and operating the course, began to break down when the golf course started showing obvious signs of wear and tear.
PenMet Parks terminated Tyson's lease Oct. 18, stating that Tyson was in default for not addressing issues such as dead trees, undrivable golf cart paths and drainage improvements after a National Golf Foundation assessment commissioned by the district identified a laundry list of deficiencies. The lease was set to expire in 2028, according to the park district website .
The conflict also involved ZTM Holdings, an LLC formed by Gig Harbor accountants Mark Owen and Zack Rosenbloom that bought the 14 acres from Tyson.
ZTM Holdings spokesperson Ezra Eickmeyer told The News Tribune in August that the Tyson family is retired and that investing at least 1.5% of the revenue from greens fees to make certain improvements to the course is the responsibility of Stutsman Enterprises, the third-party golf course operator and subtenant under Tyson.
If PenMet Parks handed over the operating lease from Tyson to ZTM, ZTM would be willing to make all of the necessary changes, Eickmeyer said in August.
PenMet was unwilling to transfer the lease because they did not believe Owen and Rosenbloom showed the necessary qualifications to operate the course, and also because public agencies aren't allowed to award contracts arbitrarily to private parties without a formal Request for Proposal process, their website says.
Stephen Burnham, the attorney representing Tyson in August, did not respond to a request for comment Nov. 1.
Eickmeyer and Matt Stutsman, the owner of Stutsman Enterprises, did not respond to multiple requests for comment the week of Oct. 28.
How did the park district arrive at an eminent domain consideration?
The park district alleges that ZTM is standing in their way of keeping the golf course intact as a full 18-hole course.
ZTM threatened to turn their 14-acre parcel into 72 residential housing units, the park district alleges on their website. Rosenbloom previously said they had no plans of developing that parcel, at an Aug. 13 public rally inside Hackers Bar & Grill to discuss ZTM's interest in taking over the Madrona Links operating lease, The News Tribune reported .
Rosenbloom said at the meeting that ZTM Holdings wanted to take over the lease to carry on Tyson's legacy and restore it to what the course once was.
"At this time, PenMet Parks has exhausted all reasonable steps to acquire the 14 acres through a sale," PenMet Parks Executive Director Ally Bujacich told The News Tribune in a video call Oct. 29. "Eminent domain is the only remaining option to preserve Madrona Links for public use."
Bujacich said ZTM Holdings can still opt for a negotiated sale to avoid eminent domain proceedings.
According to their website, PenMet Parks offered ZTM $2.49 million in July to purchase the 14-acre property based on an appraisal of the land. A separate appraisal that ZTM Holdings spokesperson Ezra Eickmeyer shared with The News Tribune in August stated the land was worth about $8.1 million. Tyson Limited Partnership sold the 14-acre parcel to ZTM Holdings LLC for $1 million in December 2023, according to Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer records .
There are two holes on the 14-acre parcel, plus greens for three other holes, PenMet Parks spokesperson Heather Dyson told The News Tribune via email Friday.
"At least five holes would be impacted if PenMet Parks does not have continued use of the 14 acres and there is no space available on the remaining property to reconfigure the course and continue to operate as an 18-hole golf course," she wrote.
The News Tribune reached out to all five PenMet Parks commissioners Oct. 29 to request comment on the upcoming board resolution, and received responses from Commissioners Billy Sehmel and Steve Nixon.
Nixon said he was disappointed that the Tyson family chose to sell the 14-acre parcel privately to ZTM without giving PenMet Parks an option to purchase it. He believes that Tyson has a responsibility to maintain and operate the course, per the lease agreement, and that Tyson failed to exercise necessary oversight for that maintenance.
He also was concerned that Tyson hasn't invested enough revenue back into maintaining the course.
"I personally have an issue with that, and I don't think it's achieved the spirit of the original lease," Nixon said.
Commissioner Sehmel wrote The News Tribune in an email Nov. 1 that he takes "the issue of eminent domain very seriously, especially regarding its use by government entities," and supported public input for the decision via email or public comment. He said he plans to share more of his thoughts on the decision at the Nov. 5 meeting.
How are the negotiations affecting the golf course?
The termination of Tyson's lease means that PenMet Parks is now directly overseeing the Stutsman Enterprises sublease. It does not relieve Tyson of its obligations to restore the course, according to the PenMet Parks website.
The park district plans to keep the golf course as an 18-hole course, but they don't plan to directly operate it in the future, the website says. PenMet Parks began exploring options for the course's future operating structure based on recommendations in the National Golf Foundation report earlier this year. For now, Stutsman remains the day-to-day operator.
Golfers will still be able to use the course as normal because the Stutsman sublease remains in place for the entire course, according to the PenMet Parks website. Hackers Bar & Grill will also not be impacted.
Is it unusual for a park district to pursue eminent domain?
Hugh Spitzer, a law professor at the University of Washington and state constitutional law expert, said it's not unusual for park districts to pursue eminent domain. As a metropolitan park district, PenMet Parks is subject to the rules outlined in RCW 35.61.130 , which states that park districts may acquire land via eminent domain for "public parks, parkways, boulevards, aviation landings, and playgrounds."
According to Spitzer, the rules that govern eminent domain in the state include the requirements that the land be of public use and necessity, and that the public body taking the land pay the owners adequate compensation. This compensation is determined either through negotiation between the parties or a jury decision.
Asked how long an eminent domain case typically takes, Spitzer said he isn't the best person to answer that because he didn't take on eminent domain cases when he was practicing law. But he said his hunch is that it could take up to a year or two or three if the parties decide to take the process as far as it will go. Typically, the process takes time because the parties need to negotiate compensation, he said.
