City council to discuss new ordinance of rundown golf courses

PHOENIX — Phoenix golf course owners beware.

Complaints about rundown golf courses around Phoenix have spawned a city council subcommittee meeting Tuesday.

“People want to put high rises on these golf courses or they’re coming in with an intense zoning change,” said Councilman Sal DiCiccio, who put together the ordinance. “The idea is to put things on an equal playing field so that developers can’t use blight as a tool to get concessions from neighbors.”

There is an incredible amount of pressure being put on golf course owners to redevelop the properties, he said.

The new ordinance would require golf courses to get permits to put up fencing, outlaw barbed wire fencing completely, and according to the DiCiccio, require property owners to go through a public process before doing anything that could have a negative impact on the surrounding neighborhoods.

DiCiccio thinks he has enough votes for the ordinance to pass Tuesday. After that, it’ll have to go to the main council in early April.