In response to ongoing ideas for Legacy Park enhancement:
I recall that the grass-roots effort expended years ago by the supporters of the Legacy Park to fund and acquire the land and to design and construct the park as it now stands — all on public land. This successful campaign represents a tribute to the devoted, hard-working citizens whose yeoman’s efforts overcame the pressures to construct commercial venues in the heart of Malibu and, instead, realized a beautiful natural site with native plants and wildlife.
To the delight of its supporters and the community at large, the park has been well received by many environmental concerns and artistic organizations, as recognized by the myriad awards and accolades bestowed upon it. I would be surprised if all those dedicated contributors would have made their sacrifices of time, energy and funding had the park plan included provisions to enable major modifications to the park’s presentation, philosophy and purpose just a few years after its inception.
I personally support the arts and would find a public display of such to add much culture and beauty to our city. However, there is a time and place for all such projects. If another organization desires to express their artistic creativity along such a theme, I suggest that they, too, begin a grass-roots campaign to acquire a new parcel of public land with which to display their creative expression. Perhaps another tact would be to approach the city officials that successfully acquired large parcels of land adjacent to the existing Malibu Bluffs Park and propose their ideas in that forum. Such a proposal seems to make logical sense, given that the use of the acquired land has yet to be finalized.
The timing of this process represents an ideal opportunity to suggest a unique, integrated artistic and recreational park to serve the community of Malibu and reflect the needs of its creative residents. As opposed to messing with an existing work of art, is it not more reasonable to begin a new painting using a clean, untouched canvas?
David Pepper