Golf Course Plan Will Be Debated

Golfers and environmentalists are expected to square off tonight at a meeting of city and regional park officials regarding plans for a $16.2-million golf course at Wildwood Park.

The 18-hole Hill Canyon Golf Course would include a driving range, a clubhouse with a banquet room and sports bar, a chipping green, a pro shop, a nature center and trails throughout the area.

The 284-acre project would use only reclaimed water to irrigate the links. The developer would designate 52 acres as open space and intends to plant more than 200 oak trees to replace the three dozen that would be be uprooted.

But critics cite the effect a golf course would have on the tract’s 28.4 acres of wetlands. They also complain about uprooting oaks and eliminating 75 acres of what they consider prime agricultural land.

“They talk about relocating wetlands and protecting environmentally endangered plants and animals,” said environmental activist Joy Meade. “But they’re also saying that they expect 65,000 people a year. How do you protect an endangered species of plant with that many people going through there?

“I play golf and I love golf, but I don’t consider a golf course to be open space. Environmentally, this is a disaster,” she said.

Other golfers, such as longtime resident Raul Gutierrez, said Thousand Oaks needs another public course to ease crowds at Los Robles Golf Course.

“I’ve been playing this Los Robles course since it opened, and it has always been busy--busier than any other golf course I ever played or thought about playing,” Gutierrez said.

Tonight’s meeting--during which a new environmental report on the project will be discussed--is being staged by the Hill Canyon Regional Recreation Authority, made up of members from the Thousand Oaks City Council and the Conejo Valley parks district.

The meeting is 5 p.m. at the Goebel Adult Senior Center, 1385 Janss Road.