SPARKS, Nevada — Residents of the master-planned residential neighborhood Wingfield showed up in force at a community meeting to express their opposition to a plan to turn part of a neighboring golf course into a housing development.

Hundreds of people packed the cafeteria of Sky Ranch Middle School in Sparks last week a meeting held by the Wingfield Springs Preservation Group. The public meeting was organized to galvanize efforts against plans by Red Hawk Golf and Resort to build hundreds of homes at the golf course.

“The purpose of this meeting is to start a process of organizing a community of individuals who have one thing very much in common, and that is opposition to this development,” said Brian Moore, director of the Wingfield Springs Community Association, which also opposes the project.

“This is not a golf course issue, this is a community issue — and I’m a golfer.”

Moore’s comment garnered applause from the standing room crowd, many of whom did not hesitate to show which side they were on.

The list of concerns echoed by attendees includes traffic congestion, safety and lower home values.

“As proposed, this project fundamentally misaligns with our city’s needs and values,” said resident Tom Ciesynski, who is part of the Wingfield Springs Preservation Group.

“Our community needs to stand united to say no to this proposal in its current form.”

More: Red Hawk seeking to build hundreds of homes at golf course

What is being proposed at Red Hawk golf course?

An application submitted by Red Hawk to the City of Sparks on Jan. 21 calls for an amendment to its master development plan for Wingfield Springs as it proposes to close the Lakes Course for development while keeping the Hills course.

The move will cut the number of holes from 36 to “a more manageable” 18 holes, according to Red Hawk. In addition to shutting down its Lakes Course to build 606 homes, Red Hawk is also looking to build 158 additional homes at another location in the foothills.

The 764 homes translate to more than a thousand cars spilling into roads already struggling with capacity, Moore said.

“We’ve talked about traffic on Vista and Sparks Boulevard as it is now,” Moore said. “It’s not going to get any better.”

Traffic was also one of the concerns cited by resident Eddie Goenne at the meeting.

“You’ve got a lot of traffic (and) you’ve got a lot of kids,” Goenne said. “I’m worried about kids getting hit.”

Goenne also questioned if the city had enough law enforcement personnel to handle such an influx of people into the Wingfield area.

For Red Hawk, the golf course claims that its development plans are a matter of survival.

Red Hawk previously pointed to the closure of several golf courses in the area such as Northgate and Rosewood Lakes in Reno, a reflection of an industry that has struggled since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.

Red Hawk also noted how Wildcreek and D’Andrea golf courses in Sparks have reduced their number of holes, while Lakeridge Golf Course in Reno is looking to build a potential boutique hotel at its property.

“Since the 2008 Great Recession, the United States has seen nearly 1,600 golf courses close,” Red Hawk mentioned in its proposal. “This is due to several factors, including a diminishing interest in golf, rising costs for maintenance and the need for suitable land for development.”

Legal stakes raised in battle between residents and Red Hawk

Some attendees expressed concern on whether the development is already a done deal, regardless of what they do.

Despite the turnout, Goenne expressed skepticism about things going the way that residents opposed to the project want it to.

“You make everybody show up and then, ‘Hey, it’s still going to happen,’” Goenne said.

“I know how politics plays a role with things like this,” Goenne added.

Moore admitted that stopping the project will not be easy. He confirmed that his group is taking additional action against the proposed development.

“I will tell you … the Wingfield Springs HOA has hired legal counsel,” Moore said. “I think we’ve all agreed that really the only way to defeat this is through legal means.”

Some of the people who will play a role in the decision to approve the project or not were present at the meeting.

Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson and city councilmembers Charlene Bybee and Paul Anderson could be seen among the crowd at the event.

The officials were limited in what they could say about the issue, according to Lawson.

“If you’re going to ask me if I would vote for it, I can’t tell you,” Lawson said.

The issue is especially tricky to address for Sparks City Council members, who have to balance the concerns of residents against the project with those who call for increasing the housing supply to quell skyrocketing home prices.

Decision makers also have to consider the precedent set by cases like the Badlands Golf Course housing development, which the city of Las Vegas tried to block.

“Las Vegas lost a lawsuit for the Badlands Golf Course,” Lawson said. “It cost them $300 million.”

One thing Lawson confirmed is that the city wants a decision about the project to come sooner rather than later.

“For me, the best thing to do is get an answer for all these people,” Lawson said.

“Whether it’s good or bad, get an answer, then you can react. But having this loom over your head for months and years is not a way to live.”

This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Wingfield residents fight golf course housing plan