Michael Schlesinger, owner of the Poway, Calif., property, is polling residents to determine if they would be interested in allowing development of part of the club property in exchange for gifting the golf course and other amenities to the city. Schlesinger purchased the property in 2013, and has been trying to sell it for more than a year without success.

A group of golf course managers and water district officials have formed the Coachella Valley Golf Industry Water Conservation Task Force, to focus on reducing the water footprint of the Southern California area’s 124 golf courses. In Poway, Calif., city council approved a conditional use permit to allow Maderas Golf Club to start pumping ground water from its wells after being forced to stop in 2011.