WOODLAND HILLS : Fitness Facilities Urged for College

The northeast corner of Pierce College should be turned into a fitness mecca, complete with a jogging/exercise course, weight rooms, an Olympic-sized swimming pool and facilities for golf, softball and other sports, according to college President Mary Lee.

With funds from a privately operated golf driving range--approved in concept last month by the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees--the area of campus near Winnetka Avenue and Victory Boulevard could attract hundreds of sports-minded students and residents.

“The college will have a combination of facilities that exists nowhere else in the West Valley,” Lee said. “It will also give the college a higher profile and better image in the community.”

Since taking the job in April, the former Valley College president has been under pressure to find innovative ways to fund classes and pay for improvements to aging campus facilities.

The golf driving range, which has been proposed in various forms for several years, could bring in up to $300,000 a year to the school, Lee said.

Proposals from driving range developers are expected to be considered during the next few months, after which plans would be submitted to the district for final approval. The lease probably would span between 10 and 20 years, Lee said.

Proposals might include the installation of lights, so patrons could practice teeing off at night.

That could tee off some neighbors.

“If there’s going to be lighting at night, it can’t be shining into the windows of residential communities to the north and the east,” said Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization President Robert Gross. “But we’ll wait and see how they plan to mitigate.”

Lee said the developer would probably be asked to pay for several changes to the area, such as moving the soccer and baseball fields, before building a driving range.

Some funds from the venture could be used for projects such as creating a jogging path with stations for chin-ups and other exercises, building a room for weight training and exercise machines adjacent to one of the gyms and expanding the swimming pool from 25 meters to 50 meters.

Each project would be considered separately by the trustees.