The South Ogden City Council heard the results of the survey, conducted by Dan Jones & Associates, during a council meeting Tuesday night.

Ivory Homes wants to turn the 20 acres it bought last summer into a subdivision with 56 homes priced from $400,000 to $700,000.

But first it must persuade the city to rezone the land from open space to residential, something many residents oppose.

Golf City was a green jewel in the center of the city that grew up around it, and was loved for its driving range, miniature golf, batting cages and a nine-hole course.

Owner Nancy Farrell sold the property to Ivory Homes last summer for an undisclosed amount.

The council commissioned the survey, expected to cost $5,500 to $6,500, to help it decide what to do about the property.

Dianne Meppen, project director for Dan Jones & Associates, told the council a bond election would be difficult, since 53 percent of the 342 residents contacted said they would probably or definitely vote against a bond to pay for the property purchase and park improvements.

Forty-two percent said they would probably or definitely vote for a $7.5 million bond.

A city typically wants two or three times as many people favoring a bond before putting it on a ballot, Meppen said. “This bond right now would have a difficult time passing.”

The city doesn't know how much it would have to pay Ivory Homes for the property, but estimated that cost at $4 million and improvements at $3.5 million.

However, when residents were asked what they would want to happen to the property if there were no bond election, 47 percent said they would want it to be privately owned open space.

Forty-one percent wanted it to be rezoned for homes and 12 percent didn't know.

Forty-eight percent of survey respondents also said the city has too few parks, compared to 45 percent who said it has about the right number.

“There is a concern about open space. They're saying 'We don't have enough parks' . . . but putting their dollars behind it is a bit tougher,” Meppen said.

Resident Stephanie Christiansen said the council should reject the rezoning and let Ivory Homes, which took a gamble, figure out what to do with the property

“It's not the responsibility of the city to bail out the developer,” she said.

Christiansen said she and others have collected about 800 signatures on a petition opposing the rezoning.