More than four years after a heated dispute developed between the City of Malibu and the California Coastal Commission over the Point Dume headlands, the two agencies came together Friday morning at the dedication of the Point Dume Natural Preserve.
The Coastal Commission and the city were once at loggerheads “in a costly legal struggle” over the city’s alleged violations of the Coastal Act of 1972, which resulted in diminished public access to the Point Dume coastal area.
As part of the costal access improvement, the City of Malibu will fund the “Nature Bus,” a shuttle, which will be available daily to transport residents and visitors from Westward Beach to the Pointe Dume Natural Preserve free of charge.
The cost to operate the bus per year, for the first two years, is $50,000, according to city officials. At the end of two years, the contract to operate the bus is to be renegotiated, which may or may not result in higher costs.
The total cost of the designated work at the Point Dume Natural Preserve and adjacent area is approximately $200,000, according to city officials. The California Coastal Commission, State Parks and the City of Malibu jointly funded the project. The California Coastal Commission’s approximate contribution is $100,000, while State Parks contributed approximately $50,000 to the effort.
A Point Dume resident celebrated the revitalized preserve Friday, noting that protected land secures the tranquil site from being purchased by developers, while another resident bemoaned the installation of a shuttle bus in particular, fearing it will bring in “more transient traffic to the community.”
Rusty Areias, director of California Parks and Recreation, praised the community, the City of Malibu, the California Coastal Commission and the work of State Parks for their “passion and for answering our call to resolve these issues” before a crowd of community residents, participating concerns and local government.
In 1997 the City of Malibu received a cease-and-desist order from the California Coastal Commission directing it “to remove all parking restrictions, signs and boulders, and to restore the shoulder along Cliffside Drive’s south side between Birdview Avenue and Dume Drive, adjacent to the Point Dume Preserve.” The order reportedly ended when the city and the commission agreed to work together to provide public access improvements to Cliffside Drive and the bordering preserve.
Areias, who mediated the settlement agreement between the city and the Coastal Commission, added, “We had some spirited conversations and meetings, traded a lot of ideas and concerns, but in the end, we were successful and we achieved our goals.”
Sara Wan, chair of the Coastal Commission, acknowledged Areias’ vision in bringing the City of Malibu and the commission together stating, “Each of us compromised a little bit. In the end, the public, the residents of this area and the citizens of this state are the big winners.”
Specific improvements to enhance the preserve and provide better public access now include 10 parking spaces, restoration of preserve vegetation, boulder removal, the installation of a decomposed granite walking path now surrounded by a new boundary fence, and the implementation of the shuttle.
It is hoped that the shuttle will reduce traffic in addition in providing access to the preserve.
As to the commission’s views on monies allocated to this project, Wan said, “State money is spent to purchase property like this to keep it maintained and to restore it. We cannot expect the state to expend funds without giving the public an opportunity to use that land. Public access and coastal protection go hand-in-hand. If you don’t have the money set aside for coastal protection, you wind up with an area like this being developed. I don’t think anyone here wants to see that happen.”
The Point Dume Natural Preserve is designated a state historic landmark by State Parks.
The area is also said to contain a significant Chumash Indian site and, accordingly, Alan Salazar, of the Malibu Native America Cultural Resources Advisory Committee, conducted a Chumash blessing.
Areias reported that California State Parks has assigned Craig Sap, a State Parks lifeguard, to work at the Natural Preserve full-time, whom he said, “has already developed a team of 63 volunteers who have begun caring for the preserve by working on trail improvements and native plant restoration.”
The Nature Bus will operate seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the summer, shuttling from Westward Beach to the Point Dume Preserve, and is scheduled to run 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. weekends and holidays during the fall and winter.