The Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes last month set aside almost 12 acres of land to be preserved as open space, free of development.
The land covers the club’s driving range between Palos Verdes Drive South and the ocean. The agreement applies to all future owners.
“This is one of the largest, last visible spaces on the Palos Verdes coast,” said Rancho Palos Verdes Councilmember Jerry Duhovic. “The winners here are the city and the residents, current and in perpetuity.”
Donald Trump announced the gift to the nonprofit Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, which manages 1,600 acres of city-owned nature preserves, at the golf course on Jan. 15.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a year, maybe a little longer than a year, and I decided to pull the trigger and do it,” Trump said, according to the Daily Breeze. The Breeze also reported that Trump said it “was not an easy thing to do” because the land was worth more than $25 million.
“It is my great honor, and enjoy it for infinity, I guess,” Trump said.
In exchange for his gift, Trump gets a tax deduction equal to the property’s value, according to Duhovic, as is common with so-called conservation easements. Representatives from the golf course did not respond to questions in time for publication.
Regardless, Mayor Jim Knight praised Trump’s decision.
“By choosing not to build homes on the land, even though he gets a tax write-off, he puts himself more in line with the residents in preserving open space for recreational use,” said Knight.
Trump bought the course in 2002. It was originally designed as the Ocean Trails Golf Course in 1999 and was owned by developer Edward Zuckerman. The land was zoned as a public golf course with trails that maintained public access to the beach.
However, before it was complete, a landslide sent the 18th hole into the ocean. The project went into bankruptcy and hung around for a few years until Trump bought it for $27 million. He finished construction and opened it as the Trump National Golf Course in 2006.
Trump already had entitlements to build 16 homes on the site for which he gave the conservation easement. However, there were more steps that would have had to be taken, such as getting approval from the Coastal Commission, before anything could have been built, according to Duhovic. But getting the entitlements increased the value of the land, which in turn increased the tax deduction for which Trump is eligible, Duhovic said.
Duhovic also said that Trump’s relationship with the current city council is much improved over his relationship with the last, when Trump sued the city for $100 million, claiming that it unfairly hindered his efforts to develop his property. The suit was settled in 2012.
“This is a continuation of a very positive relationship over the course of the last four to five years between the Trump organization, which is the number three employer in Rancho Palos Verdes,” and the city, Duhovic said. ER
