Popular SLO golf course won’t be turned into housing anytime soon. Here’s why
San Luis Obispo may be in need of more affordable housing, but it won’t be converting a popular golf course into homes anytime soon.
In fact, the golf course in question could instead be getting some major — and much needed — improvements.
The City Council on Tuesday heard a staff presentation on the viability of the city-owned Laguna Lake Municipal Golf Course.
According to a staff report, city staff last year were asked to bring back “more information on the operations and financial analysis of the Laguna Lake Golf Course programs and service offerings,” including estimates on two major capital improvement projects.
At the same time, staff were also asked to present potential reuses for the Los Osos Valley Road golf course, like converting it to affordable housing or a public park.
But those possibilities are a long way off, if ever, from becoming a reality, the council said Tuesday night.
“I just don’t see a realistic path forward for something other than a golf course,” Councilmember Mike Boswell said during discussion.
In the meantime, the course is in need of some improvements to bring it up to what Boswell called “San Luis Obispo standards.”
“If we’re going to do a course, let’s do it right,” he said.
SLO golf course struggled in recent years — but use is actually up
The 26-acre, 10-hole Laguna Lake golf course is located at 11175 Los Osos Valley Road.
The city has owned the property since 1978 and operated it as a city facility since sometime in the 1980s, the staff report said.
The golf course struggled amid the COVID-19 pandemic and storm-related closures in 2023, though use in 2024-25 was actually up from pre-shutdown numbers, the report said.
In that fiscal year, nearly 24,000 rounds of golf were played there, according to city data — well above the more than 16,200 rounds played in the 2019-20 year.
Meanwhile, expenses continued to outpace revenues, with the golf course bringing in more than $375,000 in 2024-25, but costing roughly $827,100 to operate, according to the report.
City staff noted that although expenses are higher than revenues, the golf course has still managed to continuously operate within its annual budget.
There are also at least two major capital improvement projects slated for the course in the future: a $600,000 replacement of a bridge spanning the creek and a $250,000 renovation of the long-closed pro shop that was damaged by flooding in 2021.
Both projects have been on hold until the City Council provides direction on timing and scope, according to the staff report.
Could golf course be turned into housing?
In 2025, staff were directed to present potential reuses for the site, including what it would take to transform the golf course into affordable housing.
It wouldn’t be an easy road.
According to the staff report, the city would have to rezone the property, bolster its stormwater detention facilities and clear numerous hurdles like its fire hazard severity zoning and a deed restriction.
It would also likely be a costly endeavor for any affordable housing developer and require the city to go through the “lengthy and complex Surplus Land Act process” to transfer ownership of the property, the staff report said.
It’s unclear exactly how large a housing development at the Laguna Lake property could be, though the city did offer a theoretical example based on high-density zoning regulations.
Under those rules, if 20 acres of the site were developed, the property could be home to roughly 480 two-bedroom dwelling units, according to the staff report.
Housing isn’t the only potential reuse for the golf course.
The staff report also explored options for the city to decommission the course and instead use the property as a public park.
That plan would allow the current restrooms, parking lot, barbecue and seating area, and maintenance shop to remain, though it would also require some “potential upgrades for accessibility and safety,” the report said.
City staff noted both options “would involve a major work plan effort with participation from multiple city departments.”
Golfers protest converting SLO course to housing
Potential reuse of the golf course met with significant pushback from local golfers and nearby homeowners who highlighted that the Laguna Lake facility is one of the most accessible and low-cost in the area.
Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, more than 115 people wrote in to the City Council about the golf course study session, with the majority expressing support for keeping it open.
Terri Benson, a PGA golf professional who teaches at the course and runs its First Tee program for youths, noted the facility “has been a second home and a lifeline for many children and families in our community.”
“I understand the need for affordable housing, and I respect the city’s commitment to that goal,” Benson wrote in a letter to the council. “I simply ask that you also consider what would be lost if this course is taken away. Once a space like this is gone, the opportunities it gives our children — to belong, to grow, to be supported — are gone with it.”
Benson was also one of a handful of concerned local citizens who spoke on behalf of the golf course during public comment Tuesday night.
Another was Cal Poly professor and First Tee coach Darren Avrit.
“Laguna Lake is the only public golf course in this city,” Avrit said at the meeting. “It is a vital public asset.”
Avrit, who at one point showed a homemade sign urging the city to keep Laguna Lake open, also asked the council to consider holding tournaments at the golf course as a way to secure more funding for it.
One of the moments of brevity in the meeting came when a group of local golfers calling themselves “The Lagunatics” came forward to speak.
The yellow-T-shirt-bedecked crew then launched into a modified rendition of The Drifters’ “Under the Boardwalk” in which the lyrics had been changed to highlight the benefits of the course.
“It’s such an asset to our city — God I hope it stays,” they crooned.
The impromptu performance was met with applause and smiles from the council.
SLO to move forward with improvements at Laguna Lake golf course
Near the conclusion of the lengthy meeting, which extended slightly past the city’s standard 11 p.m. stop time, councilmembers discussed their visions for the future of the golf course.
Mayor Erica Stewart noted that there were still a lot of unknowns about the viability of any sort of housing or park conversion at the site.
She said she hoped those “loops could be closed” during future city-wide land use and housing element discussions.
In the meantime, though, she said she wanted to focus on providing the best version of what is clearly a much-beloved recreational opportunity in the city.
“I think there is a point in time that even if we were able to or desired to change this golf course into housing or something else in the future, we’re a ways out. So let’s have people enjoy what we have here right now,” Stewart said.
Along those lines, she and other councilmembers all expressed support for moving forward with replacing the creek bridge and repairing the pro shop on site to give the golf course its best shot at viability.
“I think the lack of a bridge and clubhouse have greatly impacted the ability to generate revenue,” Councilmember Michelle Shoresman said. “The course has had a hard couple of years. First it was COVID, then it was the clubhouse, then it was the storms. It just really hasn’t had a chance since COVID to reach its full potential, I think.
“We need to give it a little more time to see what it can do in a real environment where it’s got all its resources intact,” she said.
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