Possible Rose Park Golf Course land sale drawing concern

SALT LAKE CITY — A number of west-side residents are hoping city leaders will take a mulligan on a plan to sell a portion of the Rose Park Golf Course.

City officials have deemed the 3.16 acres near the 17th tee area as surplus, but property owners expressed concerns to the City Council on Tuesday about how selling the land might hurt property values and increase traffic in the area.

"Every single day, I look out my back window, and I see the sun rise and the sun set," said Kelli Dickerson, who has lived along the 17th fairway for a decade. "I see the glorious golf course and the glorious open space. … Rose Park is a true jewel in our community. Treat it as a jewel."

Selling the property, valued at $476,000, would help improve Rose Park's course and driving range, golf advocates said.

Officials from the Guadalupe Schools, a west-side nonprofit group that runs a charter elementary school and teaches English as a second language classes to adults, have expressed interest in purchasing the property.

A new location for the school would help "many of the children who are facing inequalities and achievement gaps," said state Sen. Luz Robles, D-Salt Lake.

Neighbors, meanwhile, worried the school would cause traffic problems.

The City Council made no recommendations on the sale Tuesday. The sale of surplus property is an administrative decision, and Mayor Ralph Becker ultimately will decide whether the property is sold.

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