Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. – He controls the chips. But they hold the trump card.
That’s the gist of the high- stakes poker game being played in Rancho Palos Verdes as millionaire developer Donald Trump struggles to rename a street that leads to his new $250 million oceanfront golf course, Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles.
Trump wants city officials to change Ocean Trails Drive to “Trump National Drive.”
But some on the Palos Verdes Peninsula say they are already weary of the mogul’s push into their community and have suggested some alternative names: “Ego Aisle” or “Narcissism Lane.”
“I think Trump is trying to take over everything,” said Marcos Dela Cruz at the local Starbucks. “‘Ocean Trails’ is an actual spot. We were hiking there the other day. The name Ocean Trails said it all.”
The request has also teed off city leaders who complain that such a switch would violate city street-naming guidelines.
But they say they are willing to grant the change – if Trump is willing to change the name of his golf course.
They say the 261-acre oceanfront links should be called “Trump National Golf Club Rancho Palos Verdes” since it lies within their city’s boundaries and is nearly 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.
At the very least, they want it designated “Trump National Golf Club Palos Verdes Peninsula” to reflect the rugged coastal area around historic Point Vicente.
The dispute over naming rights has been simmering since 2002, when Trump took over what had been called Ocean Trails Golf Course, rebuilt it and put his own name on the place. He owns four other “Trump” golf courses along with numerous other eponymous properties.
If attaching his name to one of the last major pieces of prime coastal land in Rancho Palos Verdes wasn’t enough, Trump further ruffled local feathers in 2003 when he squeezed the annual Palos Verdes Concours d’Elegance charity event out of its Ocean Trails home and then sued the school district over the lease of school-owned land on the golf course.
