By Khalida Sarwari
San Jose residents are invited to a community meeting tonight to weigh in on the mayor’s proposal to sell the Rancho Del Pueblo golf course.
The city is considering selling the 31-acre golf course and allowing the development of up to 570 housing units on the property.
Mayor Chuck Reed proposed the idea as a way to save the city $2 million annually amid its recurring budget deficits.
The city closed a $115 million deficit in June and is looking at a projected $80 million shortfall this fiscal year.
The nine-hole Rancho Del Pueblo course opened in 2000 and has had few years of financial stability since. The city has a hefty outstanding debt for the course, toward which it paid $452,699 last year, according to Reed’s office. The debt now stands at $5.6 million.
The city ran a $279,965 operating loss for the course last year and has lost more than $165,000 each year for the past three years.
San Jose has two other golf courses — San Jose Municipal and Los Lagos — that are more financially sustainable, according to Reed’s office.
The City Council is expected to discuss alternative long-term uses of the property at its Oct. 25 meeting.
Tonight’s meeting will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Mayfair Community Center, located at 2039 Kammerer Ave.