A panel of judges upheld a decision last week ordering a Malibu resident to remove obstacles near her home to allow for a third public access entryway along a 1.5-mile stretch at Carbon Beach, the Associated Press reported.
The Court of Appeals’ decision upholds a lower court’s ruling in favor of the California Coastal Commission, which originally ordered Lisette Ackerberg to remove a 9-foot-high wall and other obstacles next to her beachfront property in 2009.
The Coastal Commission requires beachfront property owners to portion part of their land for access ways to the beach in order to receive development permits. In September 2002, the Coastal Commission also approved a Land Use Plan for Malibu that included opening beach access ways every 1,000 feet along Malibu beaches.
Coastal Commission staffers also cried foul last year when it emerged that Ackerberg had agreed to pay the nonprofit group Access for All $250,000 in order to keep the pathway blocked off in exchange for opening up access on another part of her property, among other concessions. Access for All works to open up beach accessways by obtaining permits to create and manage easements. Steve Hoye, the director of Access for All, at the time called the criticism hypocritical.
“The Coastal Commission was horrified that I would make a negotiation with a homeowner,” Hoye said of the failed deal. “But it gave us the opportunity to open two access ways.”
Diane Abbitt, an attorney for Ackerberg, could not be reached for comment on the most recent ruling.
Ackerberg has 60 days to file a petition for a review by the California Supreme Court.
Homeowners at Carbon Beach have battled over public access to the beach for many years. In 2005, music impresario David Geffen was similarly forced to create an access path next to his home at Carbon Beach. The California Coastal Act, passed in 1976, protects public access for beaches.
Commission to reach consent agreement with Malibu residents
At its next meeting on Sept. 13, the California Coastal Commission is expected to approve an agreement with Malibu residents Barbara and Eric Linder, who violated Coastal and City regulations by developing unauthorized structures on an environmentally sensitive bluff, according to the Commission staff report.
If approved, the consent cease and desist form will require the Linders to restore part of the development to fit permit regulations they originally obtained in 1985 to build their residence.
“The violation involved unpermitted development on the lower bluff and the public beach below the residence, and included an unpermitted horse facility,” a staff report said.
Along with an unauthorized horse corral, some retaining structures for a preexisting path were also built without permit consent.
“They’ll be required to take out the development that was not permitted and restore the area of the bluff,” Coastal Commission staff member Renee Ananda said.
Upon the Commission’s approval, the Linders would have 60 days to submit a restoration plan that must include plans for removal of the unpermitted development, erosion control, revegetation, grating restoration and a drainage plan.
The coastal bluff is located “seaward of Pacific Coast Highway on the western end of Malibu,” according to the staff report.
Commission to consider $1-million trade-off with City
The Coastal Commission will also decide whether to amend a permit with a development agency backed by the co-founder of the Hard Rock Caf/ chain to waive a requirement that 20 percent of a site’s width to be preserved as a view corridor.
Carbon Beach Development, backed by Hard Rock Caf/ co-founder Peter Morton, is the subject of the agenda item, which covers two sites on Carbon Beach on Pacific Coast Highway.
Normally, a property owner must allow a 20-percent view corridor to the public for each beachside site. The trade-off allows Morton’s application to combine the two sites on Carbon Beach, in exchange for providing a third “off-site view corridor parcel” that is wider than the two view corridors would have been in aggregate and also provides public access to the beach.
The developer will also agree to make a $1-million donation to the City of Malibu for the development of Legacy Park in the Civic Center.
Staff has recommended approving the deal, which “would eliminate the requirement for the provision of public views of the Pacific Ocean from Pacific Coast Highway across the two project sites,” the staff report said. “The proposed monetary contribution would fund a significant portion of the development of Legacy Park to expand and enhance recreational opportunities and coastal access.”