County Announces Stakeholder Meetings for the Golf Course Improvement Project

Here’s an outline of the County’s path forward after last week’s meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board:

Golf course plans will be presented at the next Open Space and Parks Subcommittee meeting on January 4, 5:30 PM at a location to be determined. This will simply be a summary of the options and actions taken to date, but it is an opportunity to offer suggestions on the options and how they might impact open space.

(I’ve asked that the County use the term open space advocates instead of “trail people,” neighbors, “tree people”, mountain bikers, etc. I think all of these groups and individuals a have common set of goals.)

Andy Staples, golf course architect and consultant for this project (http://andystaplesgolf.com/), will be in town January 10 and 11 to meet with stakeholders. He will be accompanied by Scott Morrison, a GEO Certification advisor (the recognition for sustainable golf courses). Check out Morrison’s blog at http://turfhugger.blogspot.com/.

Staples and County Project Manager Bryan Aragon will conduct small-group meetings with open space advocates and golfers on January 10, followed by a summary-of-findings meeting on January 11. Those meetings, maybe with some flexibility, will take place during the work day. The purpose is to gather all points of view in a small group setting that focuses on details, summarize the findings, and then refine the options to better align with community values and goals.

I have been tasked with bringing about 30 open space advocates to the table in groups of 10 for a series of one-hour meetings. Randy Smith, the Recreation Division Manager, will assemble other groups focused on the golf course itself.

I believe this is a well-conceived path forward that will permit continuing the dialog started at the Parks and Rec meeting, but will focus the conversation on specific design criteria and features that maintain the character of open space while addressing improvements at the golf course.

I encourage everyone who has the time to participate in one of the January 10 small-group sessions. Please let me know that you can join one of the meetings by sending me an email at craig.martin@lacnm.us, calling me at 663-1776, or mentioning it to me on a trail or at the grocery store. Please indicate what time of day would work for you.