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Tee time coming to an end

Haystack Mountain Golf Course sold and closing

Geologically prominent Haystack Mountain has long been in the midst of area history and now it will be marking another transition. Protruding several hundred feet over the Left Hand Creek Valley, the mountain served as an excellent vantage point to watch over buffalo and a sturdy weather barrier as Chief Niwot's Arapaho tribe spent winters in the valley until they were forced to move to Sand Creek in the 1860's.

The US government sold a 240-acre parcel that included the mountain to local historian Donlyn Arbuthnot's great grandfather as a combination of a military warrant granted for his service in the Navajo War for the first 160 acres, and a cash purchase of $1.25 per acre for the 80 acres that is Haystack Mountain.

According to Arbuthnot, the Dodd Family purchased the land from her great grandparents, and it changed hands between several other families until in 1963, Lois and Bud Ebel bought the property with the unusual volcano-shaped peak. Within three years, the Ebels transformed the livestock and hay farm into Haystack Mountain Golf Course, a public nine-hole par 32 course and clubhouse.

After nearly six decades, another change is in the works according to the new property owner, Michael Markel of Markel Homes. Haystack Holdings, LLC, run by Markel, purchased just over 100 acres of the property, consisting of the golf course, Haystack Golf Clubhouse, and Haystack Hearth event center, which was the Ebel family home, for approximately $6 million in early April, with plans for the property to be reverted back to residential use.

What drove the sale?

Lois Ebel managed the golf course operations, with an address of 5877 Niwot Road, until her death in 2016 at the age of 84. She was at the helm in 2013 when flood damage closed operations for almost an entire year.

"Unfortunately, mom had to take out some pretty hefty loans after the flood just to stay in business," Ebel's daughter, Julia Pirnack said.

Lois Ebel's passing left the business and land in a living trust for the benefit of her six children, and Pirnack was designated as the trustee.

"Some of them [the beneficiaries] live out of state, so between their probably never coming back to take advantage of the property and the huge federal estate tax bill, for a small family-owned business, it's just not feasible to pay that kind of estate tax." Pirnack said. Pirnack added that county property taxes for the property increased by 78% last year, compounding the financial burden.

All of the planned 2020 events were cancelled because of the pandemic and that income, according to Pirnack, was what kept the business afloat financially.

"If you have six beneficiaries of a trust that expect some kind of a return when that's not available, it doesn't make sense not to just sell and move on with everybody's life. It's very, very sad for some of us who wanted to continue," Pirnack said.

Pirnack said, "We still own the mountain itself, so we still own three 35-acre parcels that we will probably either put up for sale or sell to the county. We're still kind of weighing options on that portion of the property."

The future of the golf course business and land

The buyer's vision was consistent with what the beneficiaries had hoped, Pirnack said, which was that just a few high-end homes would be built versus full development of the land. Markel's plans are to build his personal home on one of the 35-acre parcels, as well as a home on each of the other two parcels. Markel is referring to all three parcels collectively as Haystack Ranch. He emphasized that although his business is known for developing subdivisions, that is not his intent with this property.

Pirnack said that her sister lives in the manor, the home the Ebels built in the 1960s, and they would like to approach the county to perhaps break off that part of the property, which was included in the sale to Markel. Pirnack said it's dependent on what the county will allow the new owner to do with the property.

But, Markel said that a couple has expressed interest in purchasing the home and the five acres that surround it, as well as perhaps keeping the clubhouse for their private use, which would bring the parcel close to 40 acres. A source who wished to remain anonymous reported that as of last week, the house is under contract for $2.5 million.

According to Markel, who not only now owns the land, but is also the new owner of the businesses that reside on it, the operation of the golf course and event center will continue until October of 2021. Events are on the books for the season according to Pirnack.

Markel said he appreciates what the business and property means to the community, and he acknowledged the sadness that he and others feel about the changes. "It's a great place with great character," Markel said.

"I think we're going to be really good stewards of the property," Markel said, and mentioned the land is being analyzed with the intent to restore it to its natural condition.

The family trust could already be in negotiations with the county and possibly the city of Boulder, according to Markel, to sell the remaining 112 acres of the property, including Haystack Mountain.

"I think we're all aware of the importance of the mountain," Markel said.

The staff at Haystack learned of the sale via a video call when they also were informed they would be retained for a final season. The crew is being "incentivized" to stay through the season, Markel said. It will be "business as usual" and there will likely be an event to mark the end of the golfing era.

Mike Hammerstone, operations manager of Haystack Mountain Golf Course, has worked for the Ebel family for 13 years and was aware the business was on the market. His staff of five people are staying on and "focused on this year," he said, but there is a sense of sadness.

Hammerstone said, "I'm glad the word's getting out if this is in fact going to be our final season. We certainly want to go out with a bang and make sure all of our loyal customers have an opportunity to come out and play one more time before we are no longer."

Neighbor's reaction to the sale

Martin Magill has lived adjacent to the golf course since 2008, and his wife's family has lived next to the golf course for 50 years. He and other neighbors began filing complaints in 2018 with Boulder County when they perceived a shift in the amount of traffic and noise being generated on the property. The situation became contentious enough that in addition to complaints, a group picketed at the entrance of the golf course in 2019.

Magill said, "Frankly, I'm cautiously optimistic that the new ownership would be beneficial to preserving the integrity of the area. I mean this has always been a rural agricultural residential area. My hope would be that the acquisition would maintain that type of community. A commercial operation of the magnitude we saw on that property on the last three to four years with events of up to 400 people and the crowds and noise and traffic on a private road associated with that was not in keeping with the nature of the community we live in."

In 1968, Gregory Ames' family moved to a home that shares the entryway and is adjacent to the golf course. He still lives there with his parents.

"We love Haystack Mountain Golf Course," Ames said. "We had a good relationship with the Ebel family. So, when they made it an event center, my wish was that they would have made it into an event center that would have catered to a little bit of a higher-end crowd where the music wouldn't be rock and roll and kind of head-banging music. It was distracting to say the least. But they've had events there for many years and they were always a really good neighbor. So, besides the noise of the events, we were happy to see them keeping the golf course open after Lois Ebel died."

Ames said wildlife, including osprey which would nest nearby, were driven away by the noise of the events, "I think that venue was just not the right venue to have. I hope whoever bought it is going to take good care of it."

Unresolved Boulder County Land Use issues

Dyan Harden, code compliance specialist for Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting, said beginning in July 2018, a large number of complaints were filed against Haystack Mountain Golf Course, in addition to a petition signed by neighbors. Surprisingly, what the initial complaints were contending regarding misuse of the land was not the basis for violations, which remain unresolved. A complaint, Harden said, leads to a property investigation.

"Sometimes the issue that someone complains about is not a violation," Harden said. "In this case, I do know that there were complaints about the noise and activity, however we found that that was part of their allowable nonconforming use." Harden said records were provided to the county showing events were held on the property as far back as the 1970's, with fluctuations of attendance from year to year.

But, when the compliance department was able to access the site in February 2020, it discovered unpermitted work in both the clubhouse and the event center building, some being repair work following the flood, and formally issued a notice of violation.

"To this day, they have not gotten the required building permits," Harden said. On April 22, 2021, a letter was sent from the county attorney's office to Pirnack, whom the county presumed at the time was still the correct person to contact. The county has since realized the change in ownership.

According to Harden, new property owners inherit any outstanding zoning violations. The permits the new property owner needs to obtain pertain primarily to electrical work, water heaters, furnaces and for an updated kitchen.

Harden stated nothing was determined to be critically unsafe. The department's goal is to have property owners in compliance with codes and permitting, Harden said, and if an owner is working in good faith with the department, enforcement tools such as fines and liens are not implemented.

Parting thoughts

Arbuthnot said of the land that once belonged to her family, "Of course, I'm very sad because it's such a special place to visit, even if you're not a golfer."

Haystack Mountain golfer and Niwot resident Jennifer Morrison said, "I'm super sad about Haystack. I love to golf out there...I've been golfing there about 7 years and knew Lois really well. The hard thing about the employees out there is that they've worked there for years and years. Not only is it a job, but it's their social network and boom, it's just going to be over."

Frequent patron and Niwotian Joanne Neville said she's not a golfer, but started going to the venue around 2011 when local musician and friend Kevin Dooley would play Wednesday evenings in the summer.

"I'll miss what it represents," Neville said. "It's like going to summer camp for me. When Lois was alive, she was the matriarch and it was just this family setting...it felt historic. It just meant the world to me to be there with the beautiful light and the gardens in the early evenings in the summertime. It was a treasure."

Pirnack said, "We will miss all of our good customers and good friends because out there, customers are friends."

 

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