Housing, stores, open space? Modesto wants public to weigh in on Muni Golf Course future
Residents can tell the city at two meetings this week how it should redevelop its now-closed Modesto Municipal Golf Course, a 54-acre site in west Modesto where golfers had played since the 1930s.
Affordable housing advocates have repeatedly called on the City Council to use the land for affordable housing to help ease Modesto’s housing crisis.
But many residents who live near the course, which is surrounded by houses, have told The Bee they want the course used for recreation, and some opposed housing — especially affordable or rental housing.
These residents have said the course, which is along Tuolumne Boulevard and near Highway 99, is one of the few gems in a part of the city with few amenities.
The residents have said muni was more than a golf course. Before it closed, walkers and joggers did laps along its perimeter while golfers played. And families picnicked and strolled along the course when the golfers were gone.
The affordable housing advocates have said the golf course is big enough for housing, recreation and stores.
The city closed the nine-hole course about two and a half years ago after the council decided Modesto could not afford three city-owned golf courses. The 18-hole Creekside and Dryden courses remain open.
The city will hold an in-person meeting Tuesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the King-Kennedy Memorial Center, 601 S. Martin Luther King Drive, and a Wednesday meeting on Zoom from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The meeting ID is 862 2346 6869 and the passcode is 281911.
City spokeswoman Diana Ruiz-Del Re said three concepts for the course’s reuse have emerged from the city’s two previous public meetings: housing, recreation and commercial development, such as stores.
She said the city wants to hear from residents at this week’s meetings on the kinds of housing, recreation and development they want.
Ruiz-Del Re said if a consensus emerges, then city staff will report those results and seek direction from the City Council on how to move forward. She said if a consensus is not reached, the city will hold additional public meetings.
She said there is no timeline for when city staff could go to the council. Modesto officials have said the pandemic has delayed the city’s work on developing a plan for the golf course.
