Among the items discussed by Council at the COW (Committee
of the Whole) on Feb. 5 was the Golf Course Parcel as requested by
Councilmember Burch. As might be expected, there was a wide variety of
opinions and attitudes with Councilmember Burch firmly in support of the City
acquiring the property from the present owner and maintaining the future land
use of Parks and Recreation. The sense of the Committee was that the best
plan was to leave all negotiation with the owner's representative to the City
Manager. The fact does remain that any policy action will be by Council
and the individual members need to have done due diligence with regard to the
following items.
1. As the City Manager has pointed out, this
matter is a series of crossing bridges one at a time. The first bridge is
a clear expression of interest in acquiring the property. This ties into
the needs of the City to be in accord with the Future Land Use Element and the
Recreation and Open Space Element of the Comprehensive Plan.
2. In considering the various possibilities of
financing the members of Council need to be fully informed as to the
possibility of utilizing the services of The Trust for Public Lands. In
the discussion the possibility was even mentioned that the owner might be able
to donate the land to the City for a tax advantage. Such "out of the
box" thinking is how some creative deals originate and should not be
ignored.
3. Before the City Council assumed the duties of
the Board of Commissioners of the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency), the
previous CRA Staff investigated the possibilities of out-sourcing the operation
of a golf course coupled with a business venture for this property. Those
records should now be available through the office of the current Executive
Director/City Manager.
4. As long as the property remains for sale, the
City should maintain active in trying to acquire it.
