CHATSWORTH : Meeting Held on Golf Idea for Reservoir

An estimated 270 people turned out Tuesday night for a meeting of homeowners to discuss reports the city of Los Angeles is considering building two private golf courses at the Chatsworth Reservoir to bring in revenue.

Residents were brought up to date on efforts to preserve the reservoir as a habitat for the coyotes and other animals that live in the area, said Diane Higginson, spokeswoman for the Chatsworth Oaks Area Homeowners’ Group.

“It was low key; it was more an informational meeting than anything else,” she said. “We educated residents in this whole area as to what they might lose” if the area is not preserved, she said.

Noelia Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for Mayor Richard Riordan, on Wednesday denied published reports that the mayor ordered aides to study the golf course idea as a way to raise money to expand the city’s police department.

“There is no proposal from the mayor’s office to have a privatized golf course,” she said.

Her remarks were echoed by Steve Soboroff, president of the city’s Recreation and Parks Commission, which would play a key role in any such plan. He said the issue was apparently sparked by false rumors. In any case, he said, his agency would never consider the idea without support from residents.

“I personally don’t get so hot over coyotes; they have eaten one of my dogs,” he said. “But if the public thinks it should be a coyote preserve, Godspeed.”

The 1,300-acre reservoir in the Santa Susana Mountains above Chatworth was built in 1919. It has been empty since 1969, when it was drained so that it could be enlarged. The reservoir was deemed unsafe after the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and has not been used since.

Along with coyotes, the facility is home to various other animals, including deer and Canada geese, which stop at the reservoir during their migration. Chumash archeological sites have also been discovered in the area.

City Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents residents who live in the area of the reservoir, says he favors leasing the facility to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which acquires land for preservation.

Francine Oschin, Bernson’s spokeswoman, said Bernson has sent a letter to the conservancy’s executive director Joseph T. Edmiston, asking him to reply in writing expressing an interest in leasing the property.