Mike Keiser is going to pay through the nose for the right to build a municipal golf complex south of his property at Bandon Dunes.
For 280 acres of state-owned land in the Bandon State Natural Area, the Oregonian reports, Keiser has agreed to give up 208 acres near Bandon Dunes and to pay the state as much as $3.25 million.
The Oregon State Parks & Recreation Commission plans to spend $300,000 of Keiser’s money to remove gorse from some of its property in the Bandon area and to spend the rest of it on land purchases, primarily a 6,100-acre spread in Grant County that will become a state park.
On top of all that, Keiser is obligated to pay for the design and construction of the planned Gil Hanse-designed, 27-hole complex that the state will own. The recreation commission hasn’t yet determined whether this transaction constitutes an “overwhelming public benefit,” which it must do to be approved. It appears to be on track to decide in September.
