The first meeting to introduce plans and seek public input for a new two story driving range with 50 stalls at West Seattle Golf Course was held Aug 4 at the course located at 4600 35th Ave. SW. Another meeting is planned in approximately four weeks that will reflect input gleaned from this first discussion. The project is slated to be operational in the spring of 2012.

The initial plans show some impacts on views, the environment, and the occasional errant golf ball but it was made clear that these early plans are subject to change and some of the effects might be seen as more impactful than they will be in the final product. Comparisons were drawn to the range at Interbay which is shorter but wider and which uses "limited flight balls."

The range would be located, essentially on the same site the former range (built in the early 1950's and removed in the 1980's) occupied, near the entrance to the course and parallel to 35th Ave. S.W.

Within the last two weeks Seattle Parks hired what Garrett Farrell, Project Manager called," A really fantastic team," led by R.W. Thorpe & Associates, Inc, with OB Sports , GBD Architects, IConsult, DOWL and Pan Geo as key subconsultants.

Robert Thorpe, President of R.W. Thorpe & Associates and Todd Schoeder of iCon Golf Studio a Senior Golf Architect emphasized that the team of people working on this project have worked together in various capacities for close to 30 years. Most of the participants were in attendance and showed overhead views, and other parts of the plan that were consistent with the Golf Master Plan which was developed in 2009 with community input. R. W. Thorpe & Associates, Inc. are Planners, Landscape Architects, and Economists.

Impact on views
The range will have support poles for netting that will rise some 120 feet, around three sides and the range will be lit for nighttime use. At their highest point the poles and nets will be from 50 to 90 feet above the Rotary Viewpoint overlook (where the totem pole is located). The net is absolutely necessary to contain golf balls since as was pointed out, golfers typically "slice" their shots meaning right handed golfers will hit balls toward 35th and even at that height, golf balls will at times get over that net. For some of the residents on the hill the nets will impact their view of the city. The lighting proposed would be "down lighting" meaning no floodlights but rather low level lights that would illuminate the surface area and highlight the flight of the ball to minimize light pollution.

Impacts on the environment
In order to construct the range, some environmental impacts must be mitigated. The area adjacent to the roadway, "is a bench, with a slope that leads up to it and a flat area and another slope up to 35th Avenue." said Schoeder. The range would be 300 yards long and 260 feet wide which, "is actually very narrow for a driving range," Schoeder explained noting that typically they are 450 feet wide. Even at that narrow width they will have to cut into the hillside which poses seepage and water issues. "You may end up with an engineered wall," said Thorpe, and the surface of the area will not be flat but rather have "shape and character," Schoeder added.

Farrell spoke about the fact that Seattle Parks has done a lot of drilling of bore holes into the site to monitor ground water levels. The extra care is being taken "because once we bite into it, we need to chew on it, and deliver it," said Farrell.

The existing trees on the slope, 2nd and 3rd growth alder, are now leaning due to subsidence, would be removed and some would be replanted.
The range would in fact also cut into a small portion of the trail system at Camp Long but it was suggested that there are ways to mitigate that.
Impacts on nearby Longfellow Creek were also discussed but only minimally.

The range would most likely utilize artificial turf to save on maintenance costs and preserve appearance.

Other Impacts
Since the range might open as late as 11 PM in summer or 10 PM in other seasons nighttime operation will have impacts in terms of noise, and possibly even traffic. That was mentioned but a light at the entrance would not be added unless a study was first conducted and it was deemed necessary.

Sharon Meeks of the Fairmount Neighborhood expressed concerns about the views, impacts on the green buffer between the range and 35th and touched on the fact that parking on the site would also be impacted. Thorpe earlier told the Herald that the existing lot had recently been reviewed and redone but that he felt there were some alternative ideas worth exploring to deal with parking issues.

The West Seattle Golf Course Driving Range is the first element to be constructed as directed by Golf Master plan. The plan originally called for improvements to the Clubhouse, restaurant and other aspects of the facility but as the budget was scaled back those elements were put on hold. At the meeting it was emphasized that this project, being the first to get underway will serve as a model for the other Seattle Public golf courses, and if it is successful in terms of usage and revenue those improvements would be the first to come back into the plan.

"We're going to have some internal and public involvement that you're going to see roll up pretty quickly over the next few months. And then we'll have a stretch as we develop the design. We'll also have public meetings to give you an idea what that looks like, probably mid way through the design and prior to construction," said Farrell.

The total budget for the project is $3.4 million dollars and comes from 2010 General Obligation Bonds.

PROJECT SCHEDULE
Planning: March - May 2010
Design: May 2010 - May 2011
Construction: June 2011 - May 2012
Completion: June 2012