At the June 11th City Council meeting, Beverly Taki and Tom Sorce, two of the founding members of the Corral Canyon Safety Committee, congratulated the Malibu City Council Members and the Malibu Public Works Department, offering special thanks to the Public Works Director, Mr. Chuck Bergson, for their diligent work in successfully obtaining emergency relief funding from the County and State (Office of Emergency Services) for a long-term repair solution of Corral Canyon Road.
Corral Canyon Road is the only method of access for the over 600 residents living in Corral Canyon. The road failed during the recent spring rainstorms and has been reduced to a single lane road along a several hundred-foot section just uphill of the Malibu RV Park. The failed section is located within the Malibu city limits.
For the past two years, the CCSC has been politically active in attempting to secure a real solution to the failing portion of road in the lower Corral landslide area. The previous City Council, in the spring of 1999, voted for a solution, which would have made the lower section of Corral Canyon Road into a permanent single lane road. The CCSC pointed out that a single lane road violated City, State and National Safety Codes and would inherently endanger the residents and recreational users of Corral Canyon. The citizens of Corral Canyon successfully changed the attitude of the City Council members with a vigorous campaign that included repeated presentations to the City Council, a close alliance with the LA County Fire Department and assistance from Zev Yaroslavsky’s office.
A new road alignment above the landslide area has been the preferred solution but a lack of City funding has delayed the construction while temporary repairs, costing the City of Malibu several thousand dollars a month, kept the road passable until the road failure this Spring.
The City Of Malibu declared the road an emergency in March of 2001 when the lower portion of the road failed and set aside funding for repair of the road to the original, legal, non-conforming standard. (The minimum required by law.) At the March 2001 City Council meeting, the CCSC spokesperson, Tom Sorce, requested that the City Council and Public Works Department consider a long-term solution and look into possible assistance from the county and state for funding the permanent road realignment above the landslide area. Mr. Bergson, the Director of Public Works, took on the task and orchestrated a successful campaign by pursuing financial assistance from the OES, MTA and County under the Natural Disaster Assistance Act. Mr. Bergson was able to convince the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES), the MTA and the County of Los Angeles to assist in providing funding for the cost of the repair estimated to be between $500,000 and $800,000. After a formal bidding process, the Malibu City Council awarded the construction contract to the successful bidder at their June 11th meeting.
The CCSC, in a continuation of its’ grass roots activism, is now requesting that the City of Malibu and Public Works Department pursue an emergency permit from the Coastal Commission in order to avoid a costly, several month delay on the construction of the new road while the Coastal Commission requires a three month Coastal permit process. The CCSC has pointed out that fire season officially commenced on June 1st and that Corral Canyon is in a Zone 4 fire hazard area. As the CCSC spokesperson Tom Sorce pointed out to the City Council, “The City, County and State have declared this situation to be an emergency as the road is the only method of ingress and egress for the residents of Corral Canyon. Hopefully the Coastal Commission will see the merit in agreeing with one or all of the governmental entities and grant the City of Malibu an emergency permit to begin the road construction in Corral Canyon.”
In closing, the CCSC and residents of Corral Canyon would like to once again thank Mayor Joan House, the City Council members, the Malibu Public Works Department and especially Mr. Chuck Bergson for all their efforts in obtaining the funding for the permanent realignment of Corral Canyon Road. This is a success story because people chose to work together for the common good and looked past the political boundaries. Let’s hope the California Coastal Commission can also see the common good and expedite construction approval under the emergency permit process.
Let your opinion be known. Contact the Coastal Commission and press them to understand that the emergency permit process is in place for exactly this type of situation. The residents and recreational visitors of Corral Canyon are at serious risk until a new two-lane road is completed. The City of Malibu has done their job, now the start date for the construction of this road will be determined by the Coastal Commission.
Beverly Taki & Tom Sorce
CCSC Founding Members