Cost to Move City Driving Range Spirals

Moving the driving range at the city-owned Los Robles Greens golf course is apparently going to cost about $629,000, more than twice the original estimate of $250,000.

Due to a lawsuit brought by an adjacent property owner who claims to have been knocked unconscious by an errant golf ball, Thousand Oaks has to redesign the popular driving range and build tall fencing to increase safety.

Now the consultant hired by the city to oversee a planned redesign of the entire 32-year-old course has estimated that the driving range work will cost quite a bit more than city officials’ original rough estimate. The City Council on Tuesday will discuss whether to allow city officials to seek bids and award contracts to perform the work.

“It is certainly much more expensive than the original estimate,” City Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski said. “This is going to require a complete redesign of the driving range.”

Landowner Al Dickens sued the city last year, alleging that golf balls were constantly flying around his office building. His lawyer, Jack Sweeney, said the driving range would make it impossible for Dickens to rent out the new offices because he could not ensure the well-being of his tenants.

Superior Court Judge Barbara Lane issued a preliminary injunction calling for the driving range to close down until the city could ensure that not a single ball would reach Dickens’ property. And despite protests from the city attorney’s office, she declined to withdraw the injunction earlier this year.

After both sides failed to come to an agreement, the preliminary injunction kicked in and the driving range was closed in March.

“This was a conflict that we should have avoided when considering the development of that office building,” Zukowski said. “Now we’re paying for that error.”

City officials are working on a plan to redesign the entire Los Robles Greens. More than 800,000 rounds of golf have been played at the course during the past eight years--making it one of the most popular municipal golf courses in Southern California--and city officials hope to relocate the driving range to fit in with the renovation, which they say is badly needed.

Under the new proposal, the driving range’s tee-off spot will be west of the old spot, which was next to Los Robles Inn--and ironically, golfers will hit their balls eastward, directly toward Dickens’ office building.

But the tee-off site will be 300 yards from Dickens’ building, golfers will be allowed to use only their irons and will have to tee off from the grass.

“This really is the most viable place,” said Councilman Mike Markey. “We can’t put it where it is now, and we can’t leave it closed, because we need the revenue it provides.”

The City Council agreed in March to move forward with plans to relocate the range and add new perimeter fencing. City officials estimated the work would cost $250,000. But the estimated cost of the driving range went up drastically after a city contractor actually began looking into what it would take to complete the redesign.

Architect’s plans for the driving range, prepared by the Halsey Daray Golf company with the help of irrigation and electrical consultants, determined the work would cost closer to $629,000.

The more detailed examination of the plan showed that site preparation and irrigation, as well as erecting the fences, would be more expensive than originally thought. Construction management costs were also not included in the original estimate.

“I’m not happy with it, but there really aren’t a lot of choices,” Markey said. “The question is, ‘Do we really want a driving range?’ I think we do.”

Zukowski said she is interested in finding out whether there are any alternatives to the proposal. She fears golf balls could strike unsuspecting motorists on the Ventura Freeway.

“We already have errant balls hitting cars on the freeway once in awhile, and that is also a serious problem,” Zukowski said. “No fence is high enough.”

The proposed fencing system will consist of a combination of wood and steel posts, and the fences on the north and south sides of the driving range will be 75 feet high. The north side faces the freeway.

Thousand Oaks is now considering whom to hire to run Los Robles Greens. The contract of the current operator, Angelo Ruggiero Inc., will soon run out. Under the new contract, the city plans to receive all revenue from the driving range, at least $200,000 a year. Under its current contract, Thousand Oaks received only about one-fifth, or $40,000--of yearly driving range revenues, with the manager taking the rest.