The volunteer president of the Royal Mayfair Golf Club is open to increasing public access, city councillors heard after a lengthy executive committee debate Monday.

Councillor Ben Henderson put forward a motion that would require the club to make its facility more publicly available.

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Henderson, whose ward is home to the course next to Hawrelak Park, said the city would never handover prime river valley land today, but this land deal dates back almost 100 years.

“They’ve leased that land in good faith from us since 1922,” he told reporters. “They’ve made significant investments based on that.

“For us to turn around and say: ‘You’re out of there and we get your stuff’… I think would be problematic.”

Its current lease expires in 2051, but the club is in talks with the city to extend the agreement until 2069. It’s hoping to get financing to rebuild the club house and other amenities but needs a 50-year lease to satisfy the banks.

Henderson’s motion will have the city compare the lease terms to the Highlands Golf Club, which is also privately run and in the river valley, in an effort to make public access equal on both properties.

“I’m not familiar with the Highlands lease, which is part of the problem, why we can’t comment,” said club president Craig Trendel. “So I think once we have a look at that, we’ll see what makes sense.

“We’re going to be reasonable and try to find the best benefit for everybody.”

Access would include formalizing cross country skiing access, as well as continuing junior golf programs and public golf access when visitors are accompanied by a club member.

“That’s why we came up with the ideas that we did, in terms of the cross country skiing, formalizing that, all that sort of stuff. So I think we’re close and I’m sure we can get something that everyone can live with.”

Financial terms were not detailed, however the city said the property is appraised as parkland, which is limited in value because it can’t be used for any other purpose.

Trendel said the club got a third opinion on its value which appraised it even lower, meaning the city is getting good terms from the Royal Mayfield’s members.

Opponents aren’t happy that the two sides appear to be heading to an agreement.

“Ultimately we’d like to see the land revert back to truly the public and become part of the river valley parks system which is open to everybody in the city,” said Eric Gormley, an advocate of the river valley.

He’d like to see the natural grasses be left to grow naturally.

“I don’t think you’d need to tear it up. You could just let it fill in.”

City staff will come back to council’s executive committee April 25 with an update on negotiations.

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