Calabasas : Golf Driving Range Operator Gets Reprieve

Calabasas officials have given a reprieve to a golf driving range operator who the city says has failed to comply with the terms of his conditional-use permits.

The city, which had threatened to close his business, instead has given him 60 days to bring it into compliance.

The Calabasas Planning Commission, at a meeting last week, decided to review the matter again tentatively on March 14.

Last January, Chang Ahn applied for city permits to open a 40-tee driving range and a 2,100-square-foot pro shop on an 8.6-acre parcel at 24914 Calabasas Road, according to city records. He received conditional-use permits to operate the range, which is in a scenic corridor.

He was allowed to open Calabasas Golf Driving Range before he had final approval from the city’s Community Development Department, officials said. In exchange, Ahn was to work on satisfying various permit requirements, including submitting a lighting plan and keeping lighting to a minimum.

But since the establishment opened Oct. 1, it has been so brightly lighted at night that people have been calling the city to complain, officials said. Ahn turned in a lighting plan earlier this month, officials said, but it was incomplete.

Ahn said in a recent interview that he planned to work with the city to correct the problem, in part by installing less powerful lights.

City officials have said that they hope the problem can be resolved without closing the driving range.