OJAI VALLEY : Panel Will Review Planned Golf Course

A private golf course proposed near Lake Casitas, the scaled-down dream of a Japanese broadcasting tycoon, will be reviewed today by an Ojai Valley citizens panel.

Farmont Corp. President Kagehisa Toyama, owner of Japan’s largest radio station and an avid golfer for 30 years, is seeking a special permit to construct an 18-hole course and 20,000-square-foot clubhouse on 203 acres of rolling land along California 150 west of Ojai.

County supervisors rejected Toyama’s original proposal in 1987 for a 50,000-square-foot meeting hall and two dozen bungalows for golf club members. The debate sparked a yearlong revision of the county’s rules limiting overnight lodgings and other uses of land zoned for open space.

Architect Pete Dye designed the 90-acre Farmont course to feature computerized irrigation, recirculating drainage and drought-resistant turf. However, water use is still expected to be a critical consideration for project approval, said Steve Chase, administrative aide to County Supervisor Susan K. Lacey.

Ojai Valley residents interested in the environmental review for the proposal will have their first opportunity to comment today.

The Ventura River Valley Municipal Advisory Council, a panel of five citizens who advise county officials on planning matters in western Ojai Valley, will discuss which issues should be studied in Farmont’s draft environmental impact report at a public meeting in Oak View.

The county planning division has determined that the golf course could have a significant effect on the environment and said the draft report should closely look at area traffic, air quality, water and biological concerns.

The topic will follow a presentation by Ventura County Air Pollution Control District staff on transportation control measures to reduce vehicle emissions in the county.

The council’s meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Oak View Community Center.