Golf Course Foes to Discuss Impacts

A panel of natural resources advocates will discuss the environmental damage that could be caused by the proposed Hill Canyon golf course at a Monday public forum.

Sponsored by the Environmental Defense Center, a nonprofit law firm with offices in Ventura, the event will feature presentations by members of the Conejo Valley chapter of the Sierra Club, the Conejo Valley Audubon Society and the California Native Plant Society.

Botanists, bird-watchers, biologists and ecologists will inform the public about what they consider a delicate ecosystem worth preserving in its natural state.

Photographs of the rugged, undeveloped canyon traversed by Conejo Creek will be on display at the forum, scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Thousand Oaks Public Library auditorium.

Two weeks ago, an impromptu group hike to survey the canyon’s green slopes, meadows and wetlands inspired Environmental Defense Center staff to schedule the forum.

The city of Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Recreation and Parks District are partners in developing the $20-million Hill Canyon Regional Recreational Facility, which includes an 18-hole golf course, clubhouse and banquet center, a nature center and a system of hiking and equestrian trails.

Patrice Nadeau of Golf Dimensions, the Irvine-based company overseeing the project, said a draft environmental impact report is being revised to address concerns submitted during the document’s public review period. The revised draft will also be circulated to the public, she said, and people will have an additional 45 days to respond to the new document.

At the same time the revised plan is released--probably later this month--revised permit applications will be sent by Golf Dimensions to state and federal regulatory agencies. The California Department of Fish and Game, for instance, must approve a stream bed alteration agreement.

“We are redesigning the golf course configuration to minimize impacts to natural resources,” Nadeau said.

The new environmental document will include an expanded report on water flows and a more detailed discussion of what the project could do to wetlands adjacent to the creek.