PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — Pontiac city leaders are taking action after residents who live near a golf course raised concerns about stray golf balls damaging their homes, vehicles and other property.
WATCH: Pontiac considers ordinance targeting stray golf balls after residents report property damage
City Council on Tuesday held a first reading of an ordinance that would amend the city’s municipal code to classify golf balls that leave a golf facility as a nuisance.
The proposal comes after residents living near The Links at Crystal Lake complained to the city about golf balls regularly leaving the course and landing on their properties.
Pontiac City Councilman Chris Jackson said the city received nearly a dozen complaints documented through the sheriff’s department, along with roughly two dozen others from residents who did not know how to formally file a complaint.
“It was time that we got something done for the folks that have been dealing with this for well over a decade,” Jackson said.
Among those residents is Delores Stephens, who has lived near the golf course for more than 40 years.
Stephens showed us golf balls she said she had collected from her yard, as well as cracks and holes in her siding and damage to her car.
“These are golf balls that I have picked up throughout my yard over the last two years,” Stephens said.
Her home sits close to the golf course. Along the stretch near her property, there is no netting and only a short fence separating the course from nearby homes.
“Some of them come so hard, they actually burst,” Stephens said while showing us a golf ball that had split in half.
Stephens said she has even been struck by a golf ball and that her family once referred to the area as “helmet territory.”
“We were afraid to have our children outside,” she said.
Stephens said the damage over the years has cost her thousands of dollars in repairs. She also said her insurance company has told her it will no longer cover the damage.
Another nearby resident, De'Aundra Garvin, said the problem has become noticeably worse in recent years.
“When I moved here in 2006, I didn’t have these types of problems,” Garvin said. “It’s been maybe within the 6-7 years, it’s just gotten extensively worse.”
Under the proposed ordinance, golf facilities would also be required to develop a containment plan intended to prevent golf balls from leaving the property.
“They get to decide what containment plan they want to present to Pontiac, and that’s when the negotiations start to happen,” Jackson said.
Stephens called the ordinance a step in the right direction.
“Thank you to the city for this initiative,” she said. “That’s the beginning of some help for us.”
7 News Detroit reached out to The Links at Crystal Lake for comment but did not hear back by deadline. When we contacted the course about residents’ concerns last month, the course said it was not responsible for the damage.
Jackson said the city hopes to work with the golf course as it moves forward.
“The goal is for us to be partners, and I think in order to be a good community partner, you have to consider the community in your operations,” he said.
The City Council is expected to hold a second reading of the ordinance on Nov. 24 before it can become policy.
