Idea of Golf Course at Broome Ranch Backed by Officials : Thousand Oaks: Some residents are infuriated by plan by which development would fund mountain preservation.

To the dismay of parkland boosters, the Thousand Oaks City Council on Wednesday backed the concept of a Broome Ranch golf course, arguing that development on the grassy flatland would generate the funds to preserve the rugged mountains.

A divided council voted to set aside $1 million from the city’s golf course fund to buy part of the Newbury Park wilderness. The Conejo Recreation and Park District has agreed to put up another $1.9 million.

Both the city and the park district consider these funds as loans and are counting on recouping their investment, most likely from playing fees generated at a future Broome Ranch golf course, City Manager Grant Brimhall said.

That plan has infuriated some residents, who have accused council members of locking themselves into a golf course before they have commissioned environmental impact reports or listened to public testimony.

Repeatedly, council members Judy Lazar, Alex Fiore and Frank Schillo said they were not committing to a golf course prematurely. But they conceded that their plan to buy Broome Ranch hinges on revenue from a public course, unless someone can come up with a better way to generate several million dollars over the next few decades.

One possible source of funds is a statewide bond issue targeted for the June, 1994, ballot. Backers say the measure, if approved by a majority of voters, would allocate $3 million specifically for open space in the Conejo Valley. That money could be used to pay back the park district and the city, even without golf course revenue.

But the bond money would be a one-shot deal, canceling out the loans without generating additional funds. A golf course, on the other hand, would create a steady revenue stream, which could be used to maintain trails and acquire more open space in Thousand Oaks, Fiore said.

By developing a small portion of Broome, he argued, the city could ensure enough funds to pay for upkeep of the pristine ridgelines and stunning vistas in the southern half of the property.

Before voting to dip into the golf course fund, the three-member majority rejected Mayor Elois Zeanah’s proposal to purchase the long-coveted ranch with some of the $12.6 million that developers of the Dos Vientos housing project have promised Thousand Oaks.

Money from that development agreement could be used with no strings attached.

Zeanah pointed out that Councilman Alex Fiore has asked the city to use $650,000 from the Dos Vientos funds to buy an oak-studded hilltop behind the old city hall. But that property is across town from the Dos Vientos project, whereas Broome Ranch abuts the development across winding, narrow Potrero Road.

Since the Dos Vientos project will affect Newbury Park traffic, air quality and noise, the developer’s funds should be used to soften the impacts by preserving nearby Broome Ranch as parkland, Zeanah argued. Using the Dos Vientos funds to buy a ridgeline in the center of Thousand Oaks makes little sense, she said.

In turning down that proposal, Lazar, Fiore and Schillo said they believed it was more creative and more appropriate to dip into golf course funds.

Their primary concern, they said, was generating enough revenue to support the $500,000 annual tab of maintaining the city’s open space holdings--an issue Zeanah suggested would be better addressed in a separate hearing, where options other than a Broome Ranch golf course could be explored.

The post-midnight debate featured several sharp exchanges between council members, who bickered throughout Zeanah’s debut as mayor.

“Golf courses are an acceptable use in open space,” Lazar said at one point.

“So are landfills,” Zeanah snapped back.

Seeking to reassure residents that Broome’s former barley fields would not automatically become manicured fairways, Brimhall promised that the city would not blindly send in backhoes and bulldozers.

For example, he said, the city scrapped earlier plans to build a second 18-hole course next to the Los Robles public course after reviewing environmental and economic-feasibility studies.

But his comments did not placate the half a dozen speakers who hung around until nearly 2 a.m. to protest the council’s decision. Bitterly, they reminded Lazar that she just last week promised to leave Broome Ranch as a “legacy” for the community.

“I have heard of political rhetoric and double talk, but this is absurd,” said resident Harry Evry. “Anyone who thinks the value of Broome Ranch is an 18-hole golf course has missed the point completely.”

Michelle Koetke, a leader of Residents to Preserve Newbury Park, added: “This is a shell game, a con. . . . Why are we going to trash Broome Ranch to buy any other open space? What else is comparable to Broome?”

On the other side, a dozen residents urged the council to use golf course funds if need be, because the city needs to come up with $1 million before escrow closes in mid-October. Allocating the money, they said, was more important than dickering over the source.

“There are lots of ideas for how to use this property,” Colleen Briner-Schmidt said. “Please approve the funding now and we’ll battle it all out later.”

An 18-hole championship golf course would occupy about 160 to 240 acres, or nearly half the area slated to be under joint control of the city and park district. Another 150 acres or so will become national park service land.

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy--which engineered the $4.2-million purchase of Broome by counting on contributions from the city, park district, and national park service--will retain little or no land.