Coastal rules against beach sign; state to buy Carbon Beach property
By Jonathan Friedman/Staff Writer
Two separate actions were taken last week by state agencies involving public beach access. At a California Coastal Commission meeting on Dec. 10, the commissioners unanimously rejected Malibu Riviera One Homeowner’s Association claim that it had a vested right for a sign on the beach on a vacant parcel that stated, “Private property, no trespassing.” That same day, the State Coastal Conservancy voted to disperse up to $1,250,000 for the acquisition of a Carbon-La Costa Beach property.
The Malibu Riviera One Homeowner’s Association represents homeowners on Zumirez and Zuma View Roads. The beach property with the sign is located between Zumeriz and Ramirez Mesa Drive near Paradise Cove. John Mazza, president of the association, said the sign had been there since the 1950s, and was merely there for safety purposes to warn people that there is no lifeguard on duty and to give liability protection for the association. The sign states, “Private Property, No Trespassing, Malibu Riveria One Owners Only” and “No Lifeguard on Duty.” In the summer of 2003, the sign was removed for maintenance purposes. But the commission staff said the association did not have a vested right to replace the sign because it is near a public portion of the beach. The staff report read, “It purports to exclude the public from property that includes the public tidelands.” Mazza said the association was singled out to be an example.
“It appears they’re using us as an example for signs up and down the coast,” he said.
The association sent an attorney to the San Francisco meeting, where he asked for a continuance. Mazza said if a continuance had been accepted, then they could have possibly worked out new language for the sign.
“They sucker-punched us by bringing us all the way to San Francisco,” Mazza said, who suggested the commission never had the intention of listening to the association’s attorney.
Mazza said having the sign is important because the area is dangerous and it opens the association to liability issues. But he said it is unlikely the association will try to further fight for the right to have the sign because it has already spent $5,000.
The beach land that the Coastal Conservancy has set aside money for is located next to a controversial parcel from a few years back. The commission had granted Nancy Daly Riordan, Eli Broad and Chaim Saban permission to build three luxury homes along Carbon Beach in Malibu without the requisite 20 percent public view corridors if they purchased and transferred ownership of an equivalent 80-foot wide undeveloped parcel to the Coastal Conservancy.
The situation led to a series of court cases, with nearby homeowners complaining about the state not considering various issues that come with creating a public beach area such as trash and traffic. The state was finally able to acquire the land. Nothing has been built there yet. But the conservancy says there are plans to build a stairway there and fences and locked gates to keep people off during unsafe hours. But the conservancy says the soon-to-be-acquired land, which is about 300-feet long, would be used to increase public access, but more importantly to protect the view. The purchase is expected to occur sometime early next year. The land is currently owned by the Santa Monica Development Company.