Miniature golf course a big point of contention

FAMILY FUN, OR RECIPE FOR DISASTER?—An artist’s rendering of one of the 54 holes of miniature golf the park district wants to build at Sinaloa Golf Course. The course, which has been under fire from neighbors, is to be patterned after national parks. The Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District has been fighting an uphill battle with residents for nearly three years over a proposal to revamp and expand the Sinaloa Golf Course to include three 18-hole miniature golf courses.

Joe Schmidt is one of those residents who’s concerned about the impact of the project on his neighborhood. He lives near Sinaloa Lake, which is just east of the project site on Madera Road.

The longtime Simi resident fears the project will increase noise, traffic and crime in the area and decrease property values. He’s also worried about the sale of alcohol on site and the latenight hours that are proposed.

“To me, it’s Candlelight revisited down here,” Schmidt said, refering to the bar on Simi’s east end that’s been plagued with neighborhood complaints. “It’s the wrong project in the wrong location.”

Faced with relentless opposition from a group of neighbors, the park district has revised the project plans several times since they were first unveiled in late 2006.

Initially, the proposal to transform the public golf course into “Sinaloa Park” included a 2,400square-foot arcade and a 5.3-acre water park. But the resulting outcry eliminated those elements in December 2007.

The park district then proposed more “passive” features, including walking paths with bridges, streams and lakes and a rubberized children’s splash pad similar to the one at Rancho Tapo Community Park. A golf teaching area that will include a practice putting green, pitching area and sand trap was also added.

But about a month ago, the park district decided to make another change, this time removing the splash pad, which residents were concerned would attract too many people.

“We decided we just don’t want to have any element in there that is going to cause any concern for those close-in neighbors,” said Robin Walker, administrative analyst for the park district.

Under the current plan, the existing 18.9acre, ninehole pitchand-putt golf course will remain, with three of the holes reconfigured. But the driving range—which does not meet safety standards—will be eliminated.

The plan still includes three 18hole miniature golf courses, to be themed after national parks; a 5,800-square-foot clubhouse building with a pro shop and a concession area; picnic pavilions that may be reserved; a 5,100squarefoot community room that can be used for meetings and special occasions; and a plaza square.

There will also be a 3-acre park area with a sand volleyball court and children’s playground.

Two connected parking lots will provide 304 parking spaces—109 for the community room and 195 for the golf and park amenities.

Despite changes to the project, some are still concerned.

“They’ve lessened the fears of it being a teen hangout, but the fear we still have is it’s going to bring in three times the traffic, excessive noise and it’s a commercial endeavor in a residential neighborhood,” Schmidt said.

The portion of land occupied by the golf course is already zoned as community park. The remaining acreage to the south is zoned open space and residential low-density. In order to develop that land as an outdoor recreation facility, the district has applied for a General Plan amendment to change the zoning to commercial recreation.

Though he admits the renderings of the proposed project are “gorgeous,” Schmidt is not convinced that today’s kids will use what he called an “adult-themed” miniature golf course.

“It’s not a skate park; it’s not BMX; it’s not stimulating for kids today,” he said. “All the holes are going to be patterned after national parks. If they make this miniature golf course very adult-oriented, nobody’s going to use it.”

But Walker disagrees, noting that the district’s proposal is a response to requests from the Youth Council for more activities for teens in Simi.

“Miniature golf is a fun, family game. You can take Grandma, you can take a 4-year-old,” she said. “It brings a diverse activity that wasn’t there before. It broadens the type of people that will be able to come and enjoy this type of facility.”

She added that the district’s market study shows that pitchandputt and miniature golf are very compatible and that about 20 percent to 30 percent of guests will use both amenities.

The project would be built in three stages. The total cost for the project is estimated to be $18.8 million. The first phase—which includes realigning the golf course and building the miniature golf courses, clubhouse, plaza square and one parking lot—will cost $12.4 million and should be finished by July 2012.

Walker said the first phase would be paid for with cash through the district’s Golf Enterprise Fund, which taps profits from the Simi Hills and Sinaloa golf courses.

Although Schmidt doesn’t believe the park district can fund the project through the revenue from its two golf courses, Walker says that plan is well-founded.

“We have money in the bank toward this project and we will continue to put money in the bank toward this project over the next two years,” she said. “We don’t plan to borrow any money or take out any bonds to pay for this project.”

She said that once the miniature golf courses open, the district would have revenue from both the pitchand-putt and the miniature courses, which would enable it to pay for the second and third phases.

For more information on the project or to view the recently released business plan, visit www.sinaloapark.com or www .sinaloapark.info.