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Topgolf proposal in Sacramento tees off South Natomas tensions ahead of public vote

Some people are teed off about a proposed new Topgolf in Sacramento.

Next week will be the first public vote on plans to open a location in the South Natomas neighborhood.

"I was absolutely shocked that they would put a Topgolf in the middle of what I consider a neighborhood," said South Natomas homeowner Alan Hattey.

Hattey lives just down the street from the proposed new Topgolf location, and he's opposing the plan.

"This doesn't seem like a great location to me, to my neighbors and pretty much everybody I speak to in the whole area," he said. "The traffic is already really, really tough."

The location is on vacant land just west of I-5 near the West El Camino Avenue interchange. More than 50 trees would need to be cut down.

Topgolf says the two-story driving range would have 80 golf bays and have lights so people can play at night. It would stay open until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

"I'm kind of shocked,' Hattey said. "The fact that the posts are going to be 165 feet high with the lights on them, and we live there, that's going to be hard to get used to if it does go."

Many other people were supportive of the project when it was first announced last year.

"People are very excited to have family-friendly entertainment," said City Councilmember Karina Talamantes.

Talamantes said the business could attract 250,000 visitors a year, but she said the traffic impacts won't be that bad.

"It actually produces less traffic, or comparable to a grocery store," she said.

But Hattey said this type of entertainment venue shouldn't be built so close to homes.

"It's going to be swamped for the first two or three months," he said. "It's going to be a zoo."

The planning commission public hearing will be next Thursday at 5:30 p.m. inside Sacramento City Hall.

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