Hill Canyon Golf Project and Greens

I can’t, for the life of me, understand the no-holds-barred stance of environmental advocates as they attack the Hill Canyon Regional Recreational Facility.

Beginning with the hiring of Michael Hurdzan, nationally recognized as an environmentally sensitive golf course architect, and through the meticulous attention to detail in the environmental review, the Hill Canyon authority has gone the extra mile to address the concerns that have been raised. Seeking to provide a recreational facility with a broad appeal, including equestrian and hiking trails, a family nature center and picnic area and a public fee golf course, Conejo Recreation and Parks and the city of Thousand Oaks are fulfilling the expressed wishes of the residents for more quality opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.

In the 1994 community-attitude survey, 92% of the respondents listed attention to leisure activities as important. In fact, from a list of 27 possibilities, they listed more park and recreational facilities among their top 10, and further defined that to mean riding and hiking trails and more public golf courses.

Everyone knows you can’t make an omelet without breaking an egg. Neither can you improve or enhance a long-neglected canyon--which has been used as a dumping ground, target shooting range and remote trysting place--without turning a shovelful of dirt. Consider also the added threat of wildfires posed by the head-high, dry grasses following our El Nino year. Compare that with the safety of a natural firebreak provided by the golf course.

Those of us who support the Hill Canyon facility are not rabid environmental abusers. We just ask for a reasonable balance in the use of open space that has been accrued for the enjoyment and benefit of all of our residents, for the broad range of their recreational pursuits.

MARSHALL DIXON

Thousand Oaks

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I have lived in Thousand Oaks since 1970 and have played golf at Los Robles since 1964.

Once upon a time we had an outstanding golf course in a town of 30,000 residents. Along came The Oaks mall and seven of the best holes on the course were relocated.

Then came a suit by residents on the former fifth hole and another hole was redesigned for the worse. Another suit resulted in remaking the former ninth hole, a good par 5, into a dinky par 4. The par for the course over the years has dropped from 72 to 69, ranking it slightly better than Sinaloa and Westlake.

Some people have suggested that a new nine-hole golf course be built at Conejo Creek Park in lieu of the Hill Canyon location. These people are obviously not golfers. We who play the game do not want a nine-hole golf course anywhere. Location is irrelevant and I doubt that Conejo Creek Park is being seriously considered for a golf course anyway.

It has been at least 20 years since a second golf course has been proposed in this city. At the rate we are going, it appears that it will still be a fantasy 20 years from now. I doubt I have another 20 years to live!

There will always be environmental opponents to anything and I’d bet most of them moved here after I did. They don’t seem to equate their houses and cars to the environmental issues. I personally think the green landscape of a golf course is very environmentally friendly. I hate to think what would occupy the Los Robles Golf Course acreage today if the course, such as it is, weren’t already there. Another Oaks mall?

Let’s face it, if the original environmentalists, the Chumash, had their way this would be a very uninhabited valley. Times change and we must change with them. We need a second, real golf course and we needed it years ago. It is time for action.

DAVID MUELLER

Thousand Oaks