Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez rescinded a proposal to shut down one of the two 18-hole golf courses at Country Club of Miami, to the delight of residents who have been fighting to keep its status quo as opposed to converting the massive green space fairway to a leisure area for foot golf.
Gimenez made the announcement last month when he presented a significantly improved spending plan during a series of budget town hall meetings, saying the $400,000 a year maintenance costs for the golf course and restoring some police officers’ jobs can be absorbed by canceling a planned $1.5 million increase in hotel-tax funding for the new Perez Art Museum.
The news was warm comfort for Country Club of Miami residents, who mounted a campaign to save the golf course, worried that foot golf and other recreational sports would cause their property values to decline.
Last month, about 300 residents scoffed at the idea during a meeting called by Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara Jordan at the Country Club of Miami.
They said they pay fees to maintain the golf course through a special taxing district and would be willing to pay additional taxes to keep it off Gimenez’s chopping block.
Jordan, whose district includes the golf course, said residents purchased their homes, now valued between $300,000 to $400,000, because of the golf course, and they feared the proposal for foot golf was the first step and opportunity to eventually sell the land and build homes.