Council rejects petition to reexamine municipal golf operations; staff data follow‑up requested

A citizen petition asking the City Council to analyze municipal golf courses — their acreage, water consumption and equity of public‑land use — was not adopted by council on Wednesday. After public comment from petitioners and community members, the council voted to accept staff’s recommendation to deny the petition, 7–1.

Petitioners and speakers raised questions about how much city parkland golf courses occupy, how much water they consume annually, who uses municipal golf, and whether large amounts of developed turf best serve the broad public interest in a warming, growing city. “Golf consumes nearly 1,000 acres … while serving a small share of residents,” one petitioner told the council during public comment.

City staff recommended denial of the petition; staff said the city tracks water usage and could provide details but does not currently collect participant demographic data for municipal golf programs. Councilmember Anna Hernandez asked staff to provide follow‑up information on water usage and costs; staff agreed to supply that data.

The council then took a roll call on the staff recommendation. The motion to deny the petition passed 7–1; Hernandez recorded the lone no vote.

Discussion vs. decision: council did not order a systemic review or program change; it denied the petition but asked staff to deliver water usage and financial data to the council as follow‑up information.

This article uses direct public testimony and council remarks recorded in the May 21, 2025 Phoenix City Council meeting transcript.