Final Council Vote Set on Wash Golf Course

The Los Angeles City Council will vote today on whether to give its final approval to a controversial plan to build an 18-hole golf course in Big Tujunga Wash.

The $12-million proposal by Glendale-based Foothills Golf Development Group won an important victory in June when the council’s Land Use Management Committee recommended full council approval. The recommendation came after Councilman Joel Wachs, whose district contains the wash, endorsed the plan.

The 354-acre development, which also calls for horse trails and 190 acres of open space, has been fiercely opposed by environmentalists, Native American groups and some residents who say the golf course will destroy the wash’s fragile ecology.

Of particular concern to environmentalists is the fate of the slender-horned spineflower, an endangered plant that thrives along the wash.

Supporters, however, say that the development will bring much-needed recreational facilities to the Valley, provide jobs for area residents and clean up garbage and graffiti that currently exist in the wash.

Developers have been trying since 1987 to build a golf course in the wash, but their efforts have been stymied by concerns about flooding and the preservation of the spineflower.

Although the current proposal represents a scaled-down version of previous plans, opponents maintain the project would forever alter a unique piece of Los Angeles.

Because the city Planning Commission approved the plan last fall, opponents would need the votes of 10 council members to defeat the proposal.