The property is one of two courses the city owns, and city officials hope to present the City Council with the results of a study of options that include renovating the golf course, selling it a company that would continue to operate it for golf, or selling to a developer, with a requirement for green space.
Despite recently deciding to keep Glen Lakes Golf Course running in Glendale, Ariz. for another year, the city may look at other options sooner, reported the Arizona Republic.
Recently, the city contracted with a company to design and illustrate possibilities for private residential development on the land, reported the Republic. Glen Lakes, a nine-hole course, is one of the two courses the city owns, reported the Republic.
The Republic reported that City Manager Kevin Phelps said the city is paying Scottsdale, Ariz.-based landscape designer Greey Pickett up to $15,750 to study the possibility of selling the land for housing while also requiring the developer to maintain a certain amount of public green space.
The idea for green space comes after residents have rallied to save the course, mostly for the open space and tranquility it brings to the otherwise developed area, reported the Republic.
Phelps said he plans to present the Glendale City Council with the results from that study in the fall, showing three main options for how the council could move forward, reported the Republic.
Option 1: Put millions of taxpayer dollars into renovating the course to bring it up to standards and keep the course under city ownership.
Option 2: Sell the golf course land to a company interested in continuing to use it as a golf course.
Option 3: Sell the land to a private developer, with a requirement for green space on the property.
The council voted in May to pay a private company $429,500 to operate the course for the next year while it looked at options, reported the Republic.
But with the course in disrepair and maintenance issues continuing to pop up, Phelps said he would prefer that the council decide how to move forward soon, reported the Republic. The city could cancel the contract with proper notification, he said.
“We can’t continue to run this day to day,” said Phelps.
In the next few months, Phelps said, he must ask council for more money for the city’s parks budget because the cost of repairs at the course have been higher than expected, reported the Republic.
Jane Bachmann, a leader of Save Glen Lakes, a neighborhood group formed to try to prevent the city from selling the course, said she wasn’t surprised to see the city had hired a consultant.
“There were rumors of development,” she said. “The city manager wants houses in there.”
Bachmann, who lives in the neighborhood near the course, and other residents who live in the area want the city to find a way to make the course profitable, reported the Republic.
“It’s a slice of nature,” she said. “It’s a respite from all of the buildings.”
The problem, Phelps said, is that the course and the buildings on the land have been neglected over the years, reported the Republic. The kitchen is in such bad shape it can’t be used, the clubhouse roof is bad, and the parking lot, netting, irrigation, greens and bunkers need to be rebuilt, reported the Republic.
He estimates between $6 million to $10 million in costs, not including maintenance, would be required to restore the property adequately, reported the Republic.
In addition, rounds of golf played at the course have dropped so low that they are a quarter of what they would need to be sustainable, he said.
Hearing that, Bachmann said that while putting millions into the course might not be the best option “from an economics point of view,” her personal point of view is the land should remain a golf course.
Phelps said he is optimistic that he can get residents to see the benefit of developing the land, reported the Republic.
“I believe that when they see the vision and see the amount of work we are putting into it, to protect their interests and protect their neighborhood, we will actually get support by a majority of the neighbors,” said Phelps.
Bachmann said she and her neighbors are willing to hear the city out and “be reasonable about it.” She just hopes the city will keep everyone updated, reported the Republic.
Phelps said he plans to ask the council whether they would feel comfortable with him meeting with residents before he brings the options to a council workshop in the fall, reported the Republic.
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