OJAI : Golf Course Foes Seek Court Rehearing
Environmentalists opposed to a new golf course in the Ojai Valley are refusing to give up their fight.
Board members for the Environmental Coalition of Ventura County voted unanimously Monday to petition the 2nd District Court of Appeal to rehear their case against the Farmont Corp. of Pasadena.
Last week, the court upheld a lower court ruling when it rejected the coalition’s contention that the golf course will use too much drinking water.
Coalition members concede the chances of a rehearing are slim, but insist a rehearing is necessary to clarify county water policy.
“County policy says new golf courses must not impact drinking water supplies,” said Alasdair Coyne, a coalition member. “Farmont wishes to build a golf course on land that has never been irrigated and at a time when the local ground water basin has already been over-drafted. We simply want the county to uphold its own policy.”
Farmont’s proposed 204-acre golf course and 19,000-square-foot clubhouse on land off California 150 near the Rancho Matilija subdivision have been delayed for more than two years by environmental lawsuits. The coalition maintains the golf course would violate county water policy although the county has already approved the project and declared it consistent with county laws.
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