West End golf course park goes to county vote Tuesday

The former West End Golf Course is one vote away from being zoned as a public park. The Alachua County Commission takes up the change at its regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 10.

The county owns the 75-acre site at 12830 W. Newberry Road. It sits in unincorporated Alachua County, about nine miles west of downtown Gainesville, across Newberry Road from Tioga.

Today the zoning allows only one use on that land: a golf course. The county wants it to allow a “Community Park” instead, according to the application report in the meeting agenda. County staff recommend approval. The county’s planning commission voted Oct. 21 to recommend it too, the staff report said.

Why the zoning has to change

The golf course was part of the West End Planned Development, a neighborhood plan first approved in the 1970s. The course closed about six years ago, the staff report said.

The county bought the land in June 2024 for $3.8 million, it said in June 2025. It then prepared the site as a secondary venue for the 2025 World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships, with a cross-country course and throwing areas. Crews cleared overgrowth, backfilled sinkholes and knocked down the old buildings first, the county said in July 2024.

A permanent park needs the zoning to match. Tuesday’s item, Z26-000013, changes only the two county-owned parcels. The 742-home cap on the rest of the West End development stays as it is.

What the rules would say

The draft resolution sets these conditions for the park:

• Alachua County owns and runs it as a public park
• it can mix sports facilities with nature areas, following the county’s park master plan
• hours are generally dawn to dusk
• lighted courts can stay open until 10 p.m.
• outdoor lights must be designed to limit glare on neighboring homes
• a 50-foot buffer of trees and plants runs around the park’s edge
• organized competitions such as the World Masters are allowed with county staff approval
• the county may partner with a private operator for some facilities
• any new driveway onto Newberry Road needs an FDOT permit

The application estimates a park will bring less traffic than a golf course. It puts the figure at about 60 trips a day, against 547 for the golf course.

What could be built

Tuesday’s vote does not pay for anything. The agenda says it “does not authorize additional expenditures” and that park projects will go through the normal budget process.

The county has discussed these amenities, it said in March:

• a playground
• pickleball and basketball courts
• walking trails
• disc golf
• pavilions
• a pétanque court
• parking
• a dog park

The next round of improvements was estimated then at $6.3 million. In March the commission voted to build the park’s first public restrooms, a sidewalk and supporting amenities. The county said those will be done in time for the 2027 World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships.

The county held a public workshop on the plans Aug. 20, according to the application.

What it means for you

• To speak: The meeting starts at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Jack Durrance Auditorium, second floor of the County Administration Building, 12 SE First St. in Gainesville. Public comment is at noon. To comment by phone, call 1-929-205-6099 and enter meeting ID 873 5974 1977, the county said in its meeting notice.
• To watch: The meeting airs on Cox Channel 12 and streams on the county’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
• This is a quasi-judicial hearing. The agenda says the commission can consider only testimony given at the hearing, so speak when the item comes up.
• Questions about the park: Jason Maurer, director of Parks and Open Space, at 352-213-4796.

For more parks and places to go, see our things to do page.