CALABASAS : Plans Pushed for Golf-Driving Range

The applicant for a golf-driving range in Calabasas will pitch his plans for the second time during a public hearing next month before the city Planning Commission.

City officials say they hope that the applicant is willing to compromise on the plans, which critics say would mar the beauty of the area’s scenic corridor. One of the applicants, Steve Beaulieu of Azusa-based Golf Course Management Inc., said Wednesday that a compromise is possible.

“It depends on the input that the city gives us,” he said. “There is always room for negotiation and flexibility. I’m sure that wherever the city ends up, the applicant would be willing to meet them halfway.”

He and a partner, Tom Kogler, want to build the range on a 10 1/2-acre site on Calabasas Road just west of the Parkway Calabasas exit of the Ventura Freeway. The plan calls for removing 15 oak trees and installing three 40-foot-high light poles.

The applicants want to build three commercial buildings, including a pro shop. The range would be open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week for 12 to 20 years.

The hearing will be at 7:30 p.m. May 11 at City Hall. Plans for the project were initially unveiled at a Planning Commission hearing in February.

Environmentalists oppose removal of the trees and worry that lights burning late into the evening will disrupt the movement of wildlife.

Beaulieu said “there is a way to satisfy everyone’s concerns” on the lighting issue. As for the trees, he said, the applicant will “rehabilitate” some of the trees that are in poor health and plant new trees to make up for ones that are lost.

“If you look at alternative uses for the site, this is a very low-density project,” Beaulieu added. “It’s a community asset. It would provide programs for different youth groups. It’s aesthetically pleasing.”

Nine of the 15 trees, city officials said, are considered to be “heritage” trees, which means that they measure more than 24 inches in diameter at a point 4 1/2 feet above the ground.