Proposed Public Golf Course Under Fire

Environmentalists and golfers skirmished over plans for a new public golf course Thursday night as city and park officials scrutinized the controversial Hill Canyon Recreational Project.

The $16.2-million project, proposed for the northwest corner of the city, would spread across 284 acres of Wildwood Regional Park, which straddles both city and county land.

Local golfers have sought a new public course for several years. They want to alleviate crowding at Los Robles Golf Course, now the only public course in Thousand Oaks.

Environmentalists, however, claim the plan would damage 28.4 acres of wetlands and require the uprooting of more than three dozen oak trees. Opponents also complain about the developer’s intention to build on 75 acres of prime agricultural land.

“I don’t want my kids hiking in a revenue stream,” said Bruce MacDonald of the Ventura County Surfrider Project. “There’s a large body of science that says that re-creating wetlands does not work.”

The revised environmental impact report discussed at the meeting was supposed to address many of these concerns, along with those raised by the U. S. Department of the Interior and the Sierra Club.

For instance, project supporters say the plan now calls for using 100% reclaimed water to irrigate the links, planting more than 200 new oaks to replace the uprooted trees and designating 52 acres as open space.

“This is important to preserve the environment,” City Manager MaryJane Lazz told the City Council and board members of the Conejo Valley Recreation and Parks District, which met together as the Hill Canyon Regional Recreation Authority. The meeting attracted more than 50 people.

“There’s a lot of off-road activity, reports of discharges of firearms as well as illegal dumping. We’re trying to eliminate this aggressive intrusion into this natural area,” Lazz added. “The recreational facility will provide a buffer to significant areas of open space.”

The proposed 18-hole golf course would be complemented by a driving range, chipping green, pro shop, clubhouse with banquet room and sports bar, nature center, hiking paths and equestrian trails.

“The research done with this environmental document is consistent with the policy established when we originally looked into this, which is to do everything possible to make sure it will be as environmentally sensitive as it can be,” Councilman Dennis Gillette, a former parks director, said before the meeting.

The proposed project would be near the Hill Canyon Sewage Treatment Plant, which served as the focal point for a two-year political battle about its expansion. It is also close to the site of February’s sewer line break, which spilled 86 million gallons of raw sewage into Arroyo Conejo.