What should happen to the now-closed Muni Golf Course? Modesto seeks ideas
The city is holding its second meeting to gather public input about the future of its now closed Modesto Municipal Golf Course. That future could include housing, commercial development, open space and recreation.
The city will conduct the meeting Wednesday over Zoom. The meeting ID is 869 4597 0570 and the passcode is 84326. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m.
The City Council voted in January 2020 to close the nine-hole golf course, which opened in 1933 as the city’s first golf course. The tree-lined course also is a gem for west Modesto, one of the city’s most diverse, poorest and oldest communities.
The council decided to close the course because of the finances of the city’s golf fund. Modesto continues to operate its two 18-hole courses, Dryden and Creekside.
The council directed city staff to hold two meetings to gather public input about the reuse of the nine-hole course along Tuolumne Boulevard and next to John Thurman Field.
While some have called for building housing — including affordable housing — or a mixed-use development of housing, stores and offices, many of the roughly 75 people who attended the first public meeting in March 2020 supported having the course serve as recreation or open space.
The 54-acre course provides open space and beauty for residents. Walkers and joggers travel along the course’s perimeter, and families strolled and picnicked on the course when golfers left for the day.
Smith said the pandemic delayed holding the second meeting.
She said parks and rec staff will review the input from both meetings and research some of the options that emerged. She said parks and rec then will make a presentation before the City Council’s Safety and Communities Committee.
She said it was too soon to provide a timeline for when parks and rec will appear before the committee with its findings.
This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
