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Resident urges commission to block golf-club driving-range expansion near Sterling Park
Summary
A resident told the commission the Dunedin Golf Club's proposal to expand its driving range risks cutting trees, altering drainage and encroaching on Sterling Park; she asked the city to protect the park and questioned expenditure priorities.
Denise Minch of Gulfview Boulevard told the City Commission she and other Sterling Park supporters oppose any plan that would expand the Dunedin Golf Club driving range into Sterling Park or its tributary areas. Minch said the club’s original petition dated Jan. 18, 2023 calls for expanding the driving range to meet the public range on Bayshore Boulevard and warned that expansion could require cutting “dozens of trees,” disrupt drainage from Curlew Creek tributaries and “possibly destroy protected mangroves.”
Minch framed why the issue matters: Sterling Park is a quiet public space used by many residents; its preservation benefits the whole community while the golf-course expansion would serve a much smaller portion of the population. She told commissioners the golf club already has adequate practice facilities and questioned the city’s spending priorities given past investments in the golf course.
Mayor and commissioners acknowledged the concerns and said staff would review the materials Minch left with the commission. No formal action was taken during the public comment period; the commission directed staff to “have a look” and did not commit to any particular outcome or timeline.
Minch asked the commission to be “engaged in this local effort to protect the natural environment of Sterling Park” and to avoid any adaptation of the golf-club plan that affects the park’s natural use.
