Revised Plan for Golf Course, Theater Panned

Environmentalists Wednesday assailed a revised plan for a 16,000-seat amphitheater and golf course proposed south of town, once again saying the project would destroy wetland and cause significant air and noise pollution.

Under the new plan, the amount of wetland that would be affected was reduced from 48 acres to three through relocating the proposed golf course.

The county Parks Department, which is backing the plan, said it would create a new wetland to make up for the area destroyed.

“I want to make sure that this environmental document addresses the possibility of the area being a wetland, but not necessarily the same one,” said Bruce Smith, chairman of the county’s Environmental Review Committee.

The committee, made up of representatives from county planning, air quality, public works, agricultural, fire and environmental health agencies, is charged with determining whether the Ventura County Parks Department’s environmental impact report is technically adequate and meets the guidelines of the California Environmental Quality Act.

Two years in the works, the project is proposed for the 325-acre Camarillo Regional Park, situated between the Santa Monica Mountain foothills and Calleguas Creek.

In addition to debate over reduced wetlands, questions over the so-called fuel modification zone also surfaced. County fire officials require property owners to cut back natural vegetation to reduce the likelihood of a brush fire spreading.

“The design is very tight on this and we need to know if there are any potential problems now,” Smith said.

John Tiszler, a spokesman for the Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area, complained that the environmental document did not properly address the issue of automobile emissions of those cars that would visit the recreation facility.

“Many plants . . . have shown a strong physiological sensitivity to roadside pollutants,” he said.

But conflict between the fire district, the Army Corps of Engineers staff members and a Parks Department biologist prompted Smith to continue the debate until next Wednesday. The delay will give parks staff members time to research several biological concerns, including how to delineate the fuel modification zone and how to protect the Dudleya and Coastal Sage plants, which are unique to limited areas in the county.

“I was under the impression that the fuel modification zone was not clear cut and could be done a number of ways,” said Robert Amore, the county’s lease development manager who is overseeing the project. “Now, I’m hearing something different. But I’m confident we can get this worked out.”

But Tiszler and others argued these problems are not occurring because of miscommunication, but because the Parks Department is trying to push the project through for approval too quickly.

The outdoor concert theater and 18-hole golf course would be built and operated by private developers and are expected to bring in $500,000 per year in additional revenue for the Parks Department, an amount that backers say would grow after the first five years of operation.