River Ridge golf enterprise has $7 million reserve but faces landfill, compliance costs

Michael Wolf, public works director for Oxnard City, said River Ridge Golf Club (the city’s golf enterprise) has maintained steady rounds and revenues in recent fiscal years, has built about $7 million in reserves, and is using those reserves to address deferred maintenance and planned improvements.

Wolf said the golf enterprise’s main revenue source is green fees, supported by rentals and event revenue. He listed recent and planned projects including irrigation control upgrades, a replaced bridge at hole 18, roof replacement at the clubhouse and planned bunker sand renovation and possible expansion of event rental space to increase revenue.

Why it matters: the golf course operates as an enterprise fund whose reserves affect the timing and scope of maintenance and improvement projects. Wolf said the course’s location on a landfill triggers post‑closure landfill regulations that make many projects more expensive and lengthen approval timelines.

Other constraints he listed included coordination with outside agencies — he named VRSD (a sanitation district) — and increased costs and delays tied to state approvals and compliance. Wolf also noted homelessness at the course near the lakebed as an operational and safety issue that the enterprise manages.

Ending: Staff said reserves allow near‑term projects but that longer‑term work will require continued planning, regulatory approvals and potential additional funding.