As California looks to increase the supply of housing, one of the more creative solutions emerged — and then died — during last year’s legislative session. Former Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, proposed a bill to let local governments sell off public golf courses for housing projects.
The pushback was intense. We know that many people enjoy golfing, but didn’t realize the golf community had evolved into such a powerful lobby. The California Golf Course Owners Association dubbed Assembly Bill 1910 “The Public Golf Endangerment Act” and argued that converting these large tracts of urban land would endanger “open space and outdoor recreational opportunities.”
Golf courses are great for golfers, but aren’t accessible to families for hiking and picnics. As Reason Foundation noted on these pages last year, 24 of the 27 local California government-owned golf courses it identified through city budgets lost a total of $20 million operating them. Governments aren’t good at operating anything in an efficient manner. They should not be operating facilities that cater to a few, wealthier residents. Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize them.
The Assembly bill analysis pointed to around 250 municipal-owned golf courses in the state and concluded: “The average size of a golf course is approximately 150 acres. At a relatively moderate density of 10 units per acre, the space held by California’s municipally-owned golf courses could contain approximately 375,000 units of housing.”
Garcia’s bill wasn’t ideal. It came with affordable-housing mandates and taxpayer-funded incentives. But the general idea is sound and her bill didn’t require cities to sell off the courses. Why not simply change the zoning to allow developers to build useful projects on thousands of underutilized acres?
We have nothing against golf. But it’s a pastime easily handled on privately owned land. When land is publicly owned, officials must balance what’s best for the general public. As Reason added, selling off the properties could help cities pay off pension debts and fund infrastructure projects. One former San Jose golf course hit the market for $125 million.
Lawmakers should consider teeing up this idea again.