Rancho P.V. Told of Golf Course Benefits

Rancho Palos Verdes officials were told this week that a proposed public golf course along the city’s coastline would have a bright economic future. The course, which has yet to be approved by the City Council, would be a cooperative venture between the city and two private developers and would combine public parkland and privately owned property.

In a report to the City Council Tuesday, Economic Research Associates of Los Angeles said the South Bay area--which has five public golf courses that operate at near capacity--could support up to five more.

The consulting firm, describing its projections as conservative, said anticipated annual revenues of $5.8 million from the proposed course would cover operating expenses and debt service on 30-year, tax-exempt construction bonds. With a projected 1992 opening, the course would begin producing a profit after five years.

“This is a feasible venture from an economic view,” said Gene P. Krekorian, vice president of Economic Research Associates, who said the company has done many economic studies of golf courses.

Workshop Scheduled

Two weeks ago, a golf course design consultant told the council the course would be ideal for the average recreational golfer. “The setting is magnificent,” said Don Knott, vice president of the Robert Trent Jones II firm of Palo Alto. “It has the potential to be a wonderful, fun, enjoyable, exciting golf course.”

The city paid $9,000 for the economic study, while the two developers financed the $40,000 design study.

The council has scheduled an Aug. 7 workshop to discuss the consultants’ reports in detail and begin the process of deciding whether to pursue the golf development. The concept already has drawn support from some residents, who say it will provide needed golf facilities and open space, and criticism from others, who contend it will improperly benefit private developers.

The workshop will be at 7:30 p.m., but a location has not been determined.

The proposed 18-hole golf course, which Krekorian estimates would cost $19 million, including interest on the financing package, would cover 140 acres. Included are undeveloped portions of Point Vicente Park, the present City Hall complex on Hawthorne Boulevard, some 40 acres of the former Marineland site owned by the Monaghan Co., and 45 acres owned by the VMS/Anden Group north of the Point Vicente Interpretive Center.

The golf course would tie into Monaghan’s proposed resort hotel and conference center development and the 95-home project VMS/Anden is planning. The ERA economic study assumes that the developers will dedicate the needed land to the city and the project will involve no land acquisition costs.

New City Hall

City officials said they have not begun detailed discussions with the developers about how the golf course would be put together.

According to the study, the course would have a 12,000-square-foot clubhouse with banquet facilities for 300. A new City Hall also would be built as part of the project and the present complex demolished. Initially, 45,000 rounds of golf a year are expected to be played, increasing to 65,000 in five years.

Under the two-tier fee schedule, Rancho Palos Verdes residents would pay less than others, including hotel guests. The hotel, however, would be entitled to one-third of the course playing time. The study is predicated on the hotel having 500 rooms, although the developer is proposing an eventual total of more than 1,000 rooms.

Residents would pay $25 to golf during the week and $35 on weekends, and others would pay $45 and $60, respectively.

The study projects annual revenues of $650,000 from the pro shop, $325,000 from food and beverage sales and $750,000 from banquets.

According to the study, anticipated rounds of play are well under the average 100,000 annually at each of the three major 18-hole South Bay public golf courses--Los Verdes in Rancho Palos Verdes, Alondra in Lawndale and Victoria in Carson. Fees, however, are higher, even with the discount for Rancho Palos Verdes residents. The three charge $17 weekdays and $20.50 on weekends.

The South Bay’s other major course open to the public is the Palos Verdes Country Club in Palos Verdes Estates, which serves the public after 9 a.m. on Mondays and 3 p.m. on other weekdays. There also is the nine-hole Harbor Park course in Harbor City.

While the council has yet to discuss the golf proposal in detail, several concerns already have surfaced--ranging from whether the parkland may be used for a golf course to whether flying golf balls will endanger walkers and traffic on Palos Verdes Drive South, an existing major road that would snake through the course.

Federal Permission

Once a World War II military installation and later a Nike missile site, Point Vicente Park was deeded to the city by the federal government for public recreation. The city initially intended it for passive recreation, and a new plan for a golf course would require federal permission.

City Manager Dennis McDuffie said the Department of the Interior has indicated the course would be acceptable, but City Atty. Ariel Calonne said specific federal approval must be obtained before a decision is made.

The city and the two developers must also work out a binding agreement ensuring that the private land involved in the project will always remain part of the public golf course.

The city also must determine if trails along the coastal bluffs and the road, which the city considers desirable in coastal developments, could be safely included in the golf course project. Calonne said the city has to look closely at all potential safety and liability problems relating to trails and the road.

Councilman Robert Ryan said that because the course would be on a large chunk of public land, the city may invite discrimination lawsuits by people who object to residents getting a price break.

The city paid $9,000 for the economic study, while the two developers financed the $40,000 design study.