State Parks urged to give away property

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The Malibu Pier is among the properties owned by the California State Parks and Recreation Department. A new report urged State Parks to consider ceding control of some properties to local governments and nonprofits.

With an overabundance of land and not enough resources to manage it, a new report urges the state to consider handing over more control of its park land to local governments and nonprofits.

The report, “Beyond Crisis: Recapturing Excellence in the California State Park System,” was published Monday by the Little Hoover Commission, a nonpartisan California government oversight agency.

California has “allowed its justly renowned park system to fall into disrepair,” according to the report, which cited an archaic centralized management system, severe loss of revenue and poor relationships with outside partners and supporters.

California State Parks’ 1.5-million acre jurisdiction is second nationally only to Alaska’s 3.3 million park acres. California State Parks was founded in 1927 and has grown to oversee 280 parks, reserves and historical sites. Although its land oversight has grown exponentially over the years, State Parks’ budget has not and its annual losses are staggering, the report found. And through its ceaseless expansion, the department “rested on its laurels” and ignored opportunities for investment and innovation, the report found.

The report thickens a dark cloud that first began swirling over State Parks last year when $54 million in hidden department funding was discovered at the same time the department threatened to close dozens of parks statewide, claiming a lack of money for upkeep. Public trust in the department sank once news of the hidden money surfaced last year, according to the report. That trust is something the department has to work on regaining.

Among its other recommendations to remedy the damaged department, the commission suggests State Parks allowing localized agencies to take over state properties primarily serving regional needs and lacking “statewide significance.”

Caryl Hart, the chair of the State Parks and Recreation Commission, estimates as many as one-third of State Parks’ properties could be handed over for local control.

State Parks oversees several properties within Malibu, including the Malibu Lagoon and Rindge Dam, but the Commission makes no specific recommendation in the study on whether the state should cede control of any properties in Malibu.

Reva Feldman, Malibu’s assistant city manager, said she was not aware of the city being approached by State Parks to discuss taking over any of its properties, and it was too soon to speculate what those talks could entail.

“It would all depend on are they asking us to take over something that’s $1 million a year [to maintain] or $10,000 a year,” Feldman said. “…There’s just such a variety of property and requirements and maintenance.”

Angeles District Superintendent Craig Sap said Tuesday it would be too early for him as well to speculate on how or if the report’s suggestions could affect the areas he oversees in Malibu.

“This is just preliminary,” Sap said. “It’s just an informational report and I think for the most part [the Commission] leaves that to State Parks to determine outcome and processes.”

Sap said he has yet to hear from the head of State Parks, retired Marine Corps Major Gen. Anthony Jackson, who came on as the department director in November.

A spokesman for State Parks told the Los Angeles Times that Jackson favored the idea of conducting a case-by-case review of which park properties local municipalities and nonprofits can take the reins on.

In addition to delegating out property management, the commission suggests State Parks overhaul its centralized management structure into one more “enterprise-based.”

“The new model should recognize that not all state parks can be treated alike, and that parks have different cost structures and different capacities for generating revenue,” the report states.

State funding cuts and revenue losses have also hindered the department from completing more than $1 billion in bathroom repairs, maintenance and roadwork. The commission envisions park closures and tourism revenue losses if changes are not enacted soon.

Hart plans on pursuing suggestions to reexamine how the department operates as a whole.

“This is a moment of critical transition for the department,” Hart told the Los Angeles Times.