Report Clears Way for New Golf Clubhouse

An environmental impact report prepared by the city Department of Recreation and Parks has cleared the way for the construction of a permanent clubhouse and other facilities at Woodley Lakes Golf Course, officials said.

The report concludes that there would be no “significant environmental impact” from the project, which would replace temporary facilities built after the original clubhouse was destroyed in an airplane crash more than 20 years ago.

The department will accept written public comments about the plan--which still must be approved by the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners and the City Council--until Jan. 9, officials said.

The project calls for the construction of a 9,439-square-foot building to house a pro shop, restaurant, bar, lounge, meeting areas and restrooms. A smaller structure would serve as storage area for golf carts and driving-range balls.

One of three public golf courses in the Sepulveda Basin, the 200-acre Woodley Lakes course was closed due to rain on the morning of Feb. 8, 1976, when the pilot of a chartered DC-6 failed to reach Van Nuys Airport and crash-landed his stricken airplane there.

The fiery crash killed three of the six people on board, including the pilot and two others in the cockpit. The plane skidded over grass and trees before plowing directly into the clubhouse. Officials said at the time that the rain almost certainly spared the lives of others who would have been playing golf at the time the crash occurred.

To find out where to review a copy of the environmental impact report, call the Department of Recreation and Parks at (818) 756-9404.