The California State Legislature will again consider a bill that would remove protections for municipal golf courses in the state, making it easier to rezone public golf properties for housing.

Assembly Bill 672, proposed by California Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), would exempt municipal golf courses in high-density, park-poor areas from the Public Park Preservation Act and the California Environmental Quality Act, making it easier to rezone those areas into housing developments. Rezoned golf properties would be required to include 25 percent affordable units and 15 percent open-space, according to the text of the bill. (Assemblymember Garcia has also authored a bill to ban freeway construction in areas with high rates of poverty in pollution.)
The bill died in committee in April 2021 before being reborn as a two-year bill for the current legislative session.
The bill "would strip municipal golf courses of their park status protections and encourage their conversion to low income housing developments," reported Clara Harter for the Santa Monica Daily Press in April 2021. Assemblymember Garcia is quoted in the article justifying the bill as a necessary step toward meeting housing development mandated by the state's Regional Housing Needs Assessment process.
The Southern California Golf Association is opposing the bill, as explained in a release announcing the bill's temporary demise in April 2021. A column by Katy Grimes published by the California Globe provides more background and opposition, updated for the current legislative session.
FULL STORY: California’s Public Golf Courses to be Converted to Affordable Housing Complexes Under AB 672

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing
The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant
A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing
Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions