​​
​​City-owned Golf Courses
​  
Threat to golf lands!
The City of Winnipeg Multi-year Budget passed on March 20, 2020 by City Council raises serious concerns for city-owned golf course lands.

We see the Sam Katz plan to sell city golf course lands revived as part of the proposed Transformative Fund approved for the 2020 City Budget.

At the March 20 Budget Meeting City Council directed the Public Service to bring forward options to establish a new Transformative Fund (TF)  for Council's consideration, by the fall of 2020. The plan will  include the initiation of the sale of John Blumberg Golf Course and re-purposing up to 30 percent of all City-owned golf lands.

The fund  will be supported from the sale of assets deemed surplus to the City's needs.

The budget includes $200,000 to procure third party resources to assist in the development of the golf lands re-purposing study. Release of the study is expected in early 2021.

The “Transformative Fund” approved by the City in the  Capital and Operating Budget 2020 allows up to 30% of golf lands to be repurposed. A report is expected in Feb 2021.
  • The Transformative Fund may acquire funding from the sale of golf lands.  
  •  Residential development is presented as an option for the golf lands. 
  • We question how the amount of 30% of golf lands available for rerepurposing was determined. 
  • Citizens expect evidence based policy decisions and the 30% of golf lands is not validated by evidence.

Transformative Fund and Repurposing Golf Lands (park zoned lands) proposal allows for:
  • Request for Proposal  for consultant to lead process to be tendered in late fall of 2020
  • acquiring funding from the sale of golf lands
  • residential development on golf lands
  • repurposing up to 30% of all golf lands
  • proceeds of fund to reduce City’s infrastructure deficit
  • “reinvestment” of capital assets (golf land) into services and deficit reduction​

Winnipeg Golf Services has balanced its budget for the last several years and now the City is proposing to sell some of its publicly owned golf lands for residential development.
 
Note that Golf Services Special Operating Agency has a balanced budget and forecasts a balanced budget for the multi-year budget 2020 - 2024.
  • Golf lands provide year round recreation opportunities, both formal and informal.
  • Golf lands provide year round services to the environment - climate change mitigation and resilience, storm water retention and heat absorption in summer, habitat, natural areas for birds
  • More parkland (not less) will be needed to accommodate increased population density in infill areas where golf courses are mostly located
 
Summary of Requests by OURS-Winnipeg

1.      OURS-Winnipeg requests that the residential development option be removed from the repurpose proposal for golf lands
2.      OURS-Winnipeg requests that the proposed re-purposing of city golf lands be halted until a Master Plan for Greenspace is completed. 

references_for_transformative_fund_april_12_2020.docx
File Size: 526 kb
File Type: docx
Download File
 Picture

  • The city owns 12 golf courses located in neighbourhoods mostly along river corridors.
  • The 2020 season  has seen golf rounds on city-operated golf course up significantly over the previous year. New golfers visiting.
  • Golf Services Special Operating Agency had a balanced budget for 2020  and forecasts same for multi-year budget 2020 - 2024
  • Generates close to $600,000 a year in revenue for the city from rent, leases, taxes
  • The golf courses  preserve green space without cost to the City and  provide a revenue stream 
  • The city estimates the cost of maintaining parkland to be $11,000 per hectare compared to golf courses . 
  • Provides  ecosystem services of storm water retention, heat mitigation, habitat, health benefits
  • ​6% of Winnipeg's total city area is public park land, compared to the average of Canadian cities at 9%
  • Golf course lands make up 1% of total city area and adding them to parkland could  increase total park area to 7%
  • Many of the golf courses are well used by the public in the off season and more use is possible
  • The golf course lands are some of the city's  nicest parks and must not be developed or sold.
  • City golf is affordable, accessible and good value
  • ​The golf course lands have been acquired over the past 100 years and belong to the citizens of Winnipeg
OURS-Winnipeg  originated in December, 2011 in response to a plan by the City of Winnipeg  to make  seven of the city-owned golf courses available for sale or lease for commercial or residential development. A public campaign to have the Expression of Interest withdrawn was successfully implemented. 
​The city's 12 publicly owned  golf courses are zoned parkland, and comprise about 12% of  city owned greenspace . 



https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/OURS-Winnipeg/113300432121307?sk=info