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Housing advisory panel forms subcommittee to vet proposed golf-course redevelopment
Summary
The Leavenworth Housing Advisory Committee voted to establish a subcommittee to refine a large Syndicate Smith proposal to redevelop the municipal golf course into housing (proposal describes ~500 units with ~185 workforce-designated units). The subgroup will prepare materials for an April 28 study session and advise council on next steps.
The Leavenworth Housing Advisory Committee voted to form a subcommittee to further study a Syndicate Smith proposal to redevelop the city-owned golf course into housing and other uses.
Committee members spent the bulk of the meeting debating trade-offs between preserving the golf course and converting parts of the site into housing. The Syndicate proposal described as many as 500 dwelling units across a mix of river lots, typical lots, smaller lots and roughly 11 acres of multifamily, with 185 units proposed as workforce housing. Members raised environmental constraints (wetlands and nearby well fields), the golf course’s long-term lease that expires in 2034, and political concerns about losing a historic amenity.
Why it matters: the parcel is city-owned and sizable; any conversion would require council buy-in and careful environmental and fiscal analysis. Committee members repeatedly emphasized a staged approach — raising the possibility of a partial conversion (for example a reduced‑size golf facility plus new housing) and recommending professional planning work to test options.
The subcommittee was charged to prepare three deliverables for a study session on April 28: BJ Robinson’s fiscal analysis and fuller report, a summary of council members’ concerns with suggested responses, and results of conversations with the golf-course operators. Committee members discussed asking the council to allocate an initial planning budget (members mentioned $50,000 as an example) to hire consultants for site assessment, environmental review, and scenario planning. Members said they would report monthly and bring a package ready to put before the council for a study session.
The motion to create the subcommittee was seconded and approved by voice vote during the meeting; the committee did not record a roll-call tally for the vote. The subcommittee will also plan outreach to the golf-course operators and to council members in advance of the April 28 study session. The committee did not take any final action on land use or funding at this meeting; the vote established a working group to provide more detailed information to the council.
