Park Board Invited to Discuss Golf Plan

Responding to a request by Councilwoman Linda Parks, the Thousand Oaks City Council has decided to discuss with the Conejo Recreation and Park District whether a plan to build an 18-hole public golf course at Hill Canyon should go before the city’s Planning Commission.

Council members voted 5 to 0 this week to postpone a decision on the issue until the council holds a joint meeting with the park district’s elected board. The two agencies have formed a joint powers authority that would oversee the proposed Hill Canyon Regional Recreational Facility.

Parks had suggested that the proposal go before the Planning Commission so it could undergo additional scrutiny. City Atty. Mark Sellers said it wasn’t necessary, but that the plan certainly could go before the Planning Commission if city leaders deemed it appropriate.

Council members decided that because the project involved another agency with elected leaders, they too should be a part of the discussion.

The golf course, driving range, multiuse trail system, nature center and wetlands preserve would be in a 284-acre area bounded by Santa Rosa Road to the north, Rancho Conejo Boulevard to the south, Wildwood Park to the east and open space to the west.

A shuttle would connect the clubhouse, which would be at the top of a hill off Rancho Conejo Boulevard, with the course on the canyon floor. The entire project is expected to be finished by 1999 and to cost $20 million.

A recent environmental report on the plan said it would require the removal of 39 oak trees, but concluded that most other effects on the pristine area could be minimized.