The city of Ottawa has filed a formal application to shut down the golf course in Kanata Lakes.

Earlier this month, the owners of the Kanata Golf and Country Club formally applied to the city to bulldoze the golf course and build more homes.

Late Friday night, the city filed the paperwork to bring the case to court. The city wants ClubLink to withdraw its building application or offer the land to the city for free.

The city councilor for the area Jenna Sudds says, “Our outside legal counsel went to the court house to file an application to ask that the court intervene and ensure that ClubLinks respect their obligations under the 40% agreement.”

The city insists thecommunity must be maintained with 40% greenspace because of an agreement signed in the 1980S by the then city of Kanata and developers.

Sudds says, “we are taking the necessary legal measures to make sure that the community’s rights are protected to make sure that we reserve this green space and we don’t see this development move forward.”

CTV News reached out to ClubLink Saturday but have not yet received comment. Earlier this month ClubLink justifies the move by calling the Ottawa golf market "saturated" and "in decline".

"Participation levels have declined and people are playing less golf while operating costs continue to rise", the companies wrote. 

The city has asked for a court date in December.