Golf Course at Big Tujunga: Ecology vs. Jobs

After hearing both sides of the argument, Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs has promised to make a decision by June 10 on whether to support a proposed 18-hole golf course in Big Tujunga Canyon.

The 350-acre project, proposed by property owner Cosmo World Corp., has been controversial since a more elaborate version was first offered in 1987. A less ambitious plan has now been proposed, but environmentalists still argue that the golf course would ruin a sensitive plant habitat that includes the endangered slender-horned spineflower. But for many residents of nearby Sunland-Tujunga, this project is what they have been waiting for.

The decision by Wachs, who represents the area, is key because the City Council is expected to defer to his judgment.

Should a golf course proposed for Big Tujunga Canyon be approved?

Kathy Anthony, president of the Sunland-Tujunga Chamber of Commerce:

“Absolutely. . . . Those people are so concerned about the spineflower and about it becoming extinct. But . . . if we don’t get new business in town, we’re going to be an endangered species. We have done surveys in the town and it has been 90% in favor of the golf course. . . . It’s a small percentage of the community that doesn’t want it . . . I think it will be devastating if we are not permitted to build the golf course because we’re going to end up with a gravel pit.”

State Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles):

“It violates the state endangered species laws. . . . I also think that what you’re talking about here should be considered a resource in the restoration of the Los Angeles River, and there are also fiscal issues because if you put a golf course in a flood plain and the Army Corps of Engineers has told you of the danger of a flood, future taxpayers are going to be put at risk for this decision. . . . There’s something wrong if the economy depends on Los Angeles building golf courses in the middle of ecologically fragile areas and flood plains.”

Sandy Wohlgemuth, conservation chair of the Los Angeles Audubon Society:

“We’re against it for a number of reasons. First of all, it’s a unique habitat. There is nothing like it in Southern California. . . . People who are opposed to this say it’s not worth saving, it’s a dump and it’s ugly. But we walked through that thing and everything that was a dump was on the edge. The meat of the place was clean. If these people are unhappy with the trash . . . they should get the property owner to clean it up. . . . It’s a great, big place. One of the things we are losing is our open space and wild space. We’re losing it all, bit by bit, to development in the city of Los Angeles.”

Dick Starr, honorary mayor of Sunland-Tujunga:

“It would be a major lift to the area. . . . It’s kind of split the community a little bit. . . . I live in Shadow Hills and some of the people here are very angry. But when they are riding their horses on the property, they forget it’s someone else’s. . . . I think this will bring some jobs for people. . . . We need a lot of help in Sunland-Tujunga. We don’t get help from downtown Los Angeles. We’re kind of all forgotten.”