Country Club Seeks Increase in Dues to Regain Solvency : Chapter 11: Marbella board hopes to lift exclusive haven for golfers out of bankruptcy status. Opposition expected from some of 700 members.

The board of directors of the Marbella Country Club, one of Orange County’s exclusive havens for well-heeled hackers, has proposed lifting the club from bankruptcy proceedings by raising dues.

But the plan could face stiff opposition from many of the club’s 700 members because it raises dues unevenly.

Under the compromise plan, founding members--who presently pay no dues--would be billed $250 a month. Dues for regular members, now $295 a month, would be boosted $55 to $350. All members would have to fork over an initial $1,000.

The plan was presented in a letter dated Friday that was sent to all club members, a list that includes corporate chiefs and local celebrities.

The San Juan Capistrano club has been trying to find an agreeable solution to cover a projected $50,000 annual shortfall. When attempts at resolution failed, the club filed a Chapter 11 reorganization petition in October.

“It’s kind of a middle-of-the-road, a compromise in terms of proposals that we’ve heard,” said board President Stan Sanderson.

The plan certainly has run afoul of Jon Anderson, a leader of a group of about 200 founding members.

Anderson criticized the plan as uneven and excessive. It it would raise $70,000 a year from the founding members but add only $20,000 a year to dues income from regular members, he said, and the $90,000 in new income would be used “to attack a $50,000 problem.”

The members of his group have already agreed to dues of $150 a month, Anderson said. But he said he fears the latest plan will not stop the founding members’ dues from rising over time.

He also questioned a board proposal to reduce membership to about 550 and require the remaining members to pay higher dues than they otherwise would.