City council is moving to amend a heritage designation for a portion of the Roseland golf course property in Windsor.
In a recorded vote of 8-to-3, the council approved a recommendation to lift a heritage designation from the clubhouse and parking lot-a four-acre piece of land-to allow for the clubhouse to be demolished.
Councillors Renaldo Agostino, Mark McKenzie, Ed Sleiman, Jo-Anne Gignac, Gary Kaaschak, Kieran McKenzie, and Jim Morrison, along with Mayor Drew Dilkens, voted to remove the designation.
Councillors Fred Francis, Fabio Costante, and Angelo Marignani voted against the recommendation.
Ward 1 councillor Fred Francis told council he couldn't support the motion because it sets a bad precedent for the future of the golf course.
"In 100 years next year, that footprint has not changed until we're changing it with this vote right here. So in 100 years that property's footprint has not changed; there's a reason for that," he says.
Francis expressed worry about creating a slippery slope that opens up other parts of the golf course to future development.
"I really hope that 20 years from now, 10 years from now, or 15 years from now we're not penning letters to our successors with this motion; that was not our intent," he says.
Mayor Dilkens told council that we're talking about an asphalt parking lot and a building that a heritage consultant said doesn't have heritage features worth protecting.
"It's not precedent-setting in law; it just isn't. It's not precedent-setting decisions that you're making today. You're dealing with a very discreet matter, dealing with a discreet property for a discreet purpose," he says.
The decision will also clear the way for construction of a new clubhouse and potential housing development on the land.
Dilkens says this is a process that has several steps to go.
"City council removed the designation only from the asphalt parking lot and the existing clubhouse, which will allow us to take the clubhouse down and put out an expression of interest at the same time to see what the development community would come back with in terms of a residential development," he says.
The proposed plan included the development of a 38-unit luxury condo building with a green roof, underground parking, tiered levels, glass railings, and balconies, along with a new clubhouse for the golf course.
Roseland resident Silvio Barresi, one of several people from the neighbourhood who addressed the council, asked that the designation remain in place,.
He calls the decision is insulting and a betrayal.
"Whoever takes this part over, there's no way that he's going to build a clubhouse that's going to be comparable or compatible to the golf course that's existing," he says.
Dilkens says if there is a housing development, it would still need to go through a full rezoning and a council review process.
"If we don't get anything good, we're not trying to force a development here. If nothing good comes back and it's not appropriate for the golf course, I will be the first to hit the eject button on a housing project," he says.
It's expected the demolition of the existing clubhouse could happen sometime this fall.
An Expression of Interest (EOI) still needs to be issued to develop the property and build a new clubhouse, and if a project is approved, construction could begin sometime in 2026.
The course was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act on Aug. 25, 2003.
The Roseland Golf Course, located at 455 Kennedy Drive West, was designed in 1926 and built in 1927, and the clubhouse was built in 1978.