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Residents press council over early-morning maintenance at Oakhurst Country Club; council holds agreement for revision
Summary
Residents who live adjacent to Hole 1 told the Clayton City Council that maintenance crews have been starting as early as 4:45 a.m. and producing intrusive noise and light. The council held the proposed maintenance agreement and directed staff to renegotiate timing for Hole 1, with 6:30 a.m. flagged as a starting compromise.
The Clayton City Council on Feb. 18 heard extensive public comment about early-morning maintenance and lights at Oakhurst Country Club, then agreed to hold the proposed maintenance agreement and direct city staff to renegotiate the start time for Hole 1.
Residents who live directly across from Hole 1 said noise and light from the golf course have become earlier and more frequent in the past year. "We've been woken up at various times, starting sometimes as early as 04:45 in the morning," said Brian Weisendanger, who said his neighborhood was built after the original agreement and that the change began after new ownership took over in January 2024. Pamela Wiesendonger, who said she has lived across from Hole 1 for nearly 24 years, urged the council to classify Hole 1 with other residence-adjacent holes so that maintenance would occur "no noise before 7AM or after 8PM." Glenn Miller said crews now arrive at 5:00 a.m. and described confrontational interactions with a maintenance supervisor.
Oakhurst General Manager Noreen Rauglen told the council the club's first tee time is 7:00 a.m. and said crews start on holes farthest from residences so that the club "will sit and wait until that 07:00" on residential-facing holes. She said rolling greens occurs daily and mowing schedules vary by day; she also said electric equipment is not immediately available on the market and that some maintenance tasks, particularly rolling, are best done in the morning to preserve course quality.
City staff described a draft agreement that had staggered start times by hole: certain non-residential holes with a 5:30 a.m. start, Hole 1 at 6:00 a.m., and many residential-facing holes at 7:00 a.m. Residents and several council members said a prior city resolution and earlier agreement appeared to exempt the course from the city's standard 7:00 a.m. noise restriction, and said the practical issue before them was both a change in operations since last year and enforcement when crews do not adhere to agreed times.
After discussion, council members said the packet included a version with a 6:00 a.m. start on Hole 1 but that more work was needed. The council directed the city manager to reopen negotiations with the club focused on Hole 1, to consider options such as a 6:30 a.m. compromise and to return with a revised agreement. The item was held; staff said they would bring back a revised draft for further council review.
What happens next: the council pulled the item from the consent calendar for more review, asked staff to seek a narrowed compromise on Hole 1, and requested clearer enforcement and resident contact procedures be included in any revised agreement.
