The San Diego City Council on Tuesday discussed the findings of a recent audit that found the city is likely charging below market rent on some of its leased golf courses.
San Diego owns 11 golf courses. Three of them — Torrey Pines Golf Course, Mission Bay Golf Course and Balboa Park Golf Course — are operated in-house by city employees, while eight of them are leased to private operators.
The report focused on the leased golf courses, which auditors found produce less revenue on average than the city-operated golf courses. Four of the leases are expired and in "holdover" status, the audit found, meaning the city is likely charging less than fair market value for the use of those properties.
The problem of expired leases is not isolated to golf courses, said Councilmember Vivian Moreno, who chairs the council’s audit committee.
"Around 25% of the city's leases are in holdovers, meaning we're leaving potential revenue on the table that could help fund critical services that our residents rely on, like arts and culture, libraries and parks," Moreno said.
Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said the lease for Fairbanks Ranch Country Club was an especially sweet deal for its operator. The original lease was signed in the 1980s by Mayor Pete Wilson, and was last renegotiated in 2016 under Mayor Kevin Faulconer. The lease expires on July 17, 2056.
"Rich people's golf rounds are being subsidized by a $25,000 per year country club while their rec center hours are being slashed and they're being asked to pay more," Elo-Rivera said.
The city's Economic Development Department agreed to implement all of the audit's recommendations. They include renegotiating the golf course leases, conducting more regular inspections of leased golf courses and exercising more oversight of the operators.
