Salt Lake City considers selling portions of golf course to fund improvements

SALT LAKE CITY (Deseret News) — Sell off a piece of the Bonneville Golf Course to relocate a maintenance building in Glendale? Hawk a chunk of Glendale to expand the driving range at Nibley Park?

These were the questions members of the Salt Lake City Council were left with this week after golf officials detailed $22 million worth of capital projects they say are essential to the future of the city's courses.

"We hope to be able to avoid selling that property," said David Terry, who manages the golf enterprise fund. "That is certainly not our intent. We have a responsibility to submit a proposal to fund these improvements without asking for money. This is the best proposal we could come up with."

The plan was met with hesitation from council members, who said selling open space to fund projects violates the city's own policies.

"We don't sell open space for other uses," Councilwoman Jill Remington Love said, asking her colleagues if they were interested in revisiting the policy. "But these guys need help from us. They need some solutions."

The proposal from golf officials includes selling 14.5 acres at Glendale, 10 acres at Bonneville and 3 acres at Rose Park, bringing in about $12.5 million.

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