- October 10, 2026
Conversations surrounding the reopening of Ormond Beach's River Bend Golf Course are ongoing, and city staff is pointing to its upcoming Airport Master Plan update to determine next steps.
Several residents attended the Ormond Beach City Commission meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 9, to voice their continued advocacy for the reopening of the 172-acre golf course, located on airport land next to the Ormond Beach Municipal Airport. The golf course closed in December 2020 after its operator filed for bankruptcy.
"More than 2,600 people have already said that they want River Bend reopened and I just ask you to please listen to them," said Ormond Beach resident Chani Smith, referencing a recent petition. "If there are any opportunities to be able to open the door to qualified operators and let them show us what's possible, let them bring their plans to the table of proposals. But imagine what it would be like to see those gates open again, to hear people laughing, see family and friends gathering, and know that something that we thought was lost has been given new life."
The commission has had several discussions regarding the golf course in recent months. In June, city staff informed the commission that they would meet with the Federal Aviation Administration to discuss the golf course. The city needs the FAA's consent before taking any action on the property.
"This conversation would be completely different if the former golf course, and that's what it is, was at a different location," City Attorney Randy Haye said. "Unfortunately, it happens to be on airport land. ... There are a lot of restrictions. The use of the airport land, and that includes the golf course area, is for the principal purpose of a public airport — aeronautical uses."
When the golf course first opened in 1991, the FAA allowed its development as it considered the land surplus property, Hayes explained. The circumstances are different today, he said, and the FAA's response to the city has been that, before considering a golf course, an updated master plan is required.
This isn't new information; City staff has stated multiple times to the City Commission that the FAA would not consider using the land for purposes other than aeronautical purposes, or allow it to be sold, without a master plan update projecting the airport's 20-year aeronautical demand.
At Wednesday's commission meeting, City Manager Joyce Shanahan said that the master plan update will cost about $581,000 and take 12-18 months to complete. It is being budgeted for the 2027-2028 fiscal year, based on funding the city is slated to receive from the FAA and the Florida Department of Transportation.
City Commissioner Harold Briley said he wouldn't see an issue with reopening the golf course, but has some concerns. Namely, he's not in favor of using taxpayer dollars to rehab the course, and is worried a potential operator may not want to take the project on due to the FAA only allowing a maximum 25-year lease.
"Let's look at the master plan," Briley said. "If the FAA will allow it and we can find someone to come in with private money and do the golf course, and it doesn't cost the taxpayers, I'm all in."
City Commissioner Kristin Deaton asked if the city could bring in an FAA representative for a workshop. Hayes responded that it was unlikely to happen.
"They will not deal with anybody other than the sponsor agency — that happens to be the city with respect to this land," Hayes said.
Deaton said she would call the FAA herself.
Mayor Jason Leslie thanked residents for coming to speak, saying that, though his term is coming to an end, he would still like to see the golf course reopen in the future.
"I just hope that you all can continue these conversations and get that master plan going and hopefully give these residents some relief here on that you all are going to be working on something," he said.
Deputy Mayor Lori Tolland, the city's mayor-elect, said she will honor Leslie's request to follow through on this issue.
"I believe that the budget process is the proper place to discuss the master plan," Tolland said. "I appreciate what our attorney has shared with the process, of what the history of it [is] and where we can go, and I think if we want to make this happen, it's got to happen correctly."
