Environmental agencies say preserving land around Malibu adds beauty and value to the area. But some locals are concerned about fire danger and other issues facing homeowners with properties near parkland.
By P.G. O’Malley /Special to The Malibu Times
Thanks to the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area, Malibu is the only city in the country completely surrounded by parkland. And state and federal park agencies along with local environmental groups are hoping to keep it that way.
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the California Coastal Conservancy, the Mountains Restoration Trust and a new organization called the Nature Trust of the Santa Monica Mountains have recently added acreage around Malibu to the recreation area. All say they will continue to fill in gaps between developments on what was always meant to be parkland.
But not everyone in Malibu is enthused about the effort. Some residents worry that having public land close to their property increases fire danger. Malibu Road residents remember when a 1996 wildfire swept across what they considered inadequately cleared brush on state land at Bluffs Park, and Winding Way residents have gone through a series of altercations with park agencies about public access to parkland along their private road.
More recently, real estate agent Anne Hoffman, who is executive director of the Land Use Preservation Foundation, a property rights research and education group, worries that various government agencies and their allies among environmental groups are demanding too much of private property owners. Through the allied advocacy group the Land Use Preservation Defense Fund, Hoffman has been active in fighting the Coastal Conservancy’s Land Use Plan for Malibu, but she’s also concerned about the actions of state and federal park officials. The idea of requiring private property owners to provide view shed across their property to public land galls her and she’s worried about a state trail being planned up and down the California coast.
“Compensate property owners,” Hoffman says, “if you’re going to restrict the use of their land. Make it an arrangement that benefits both parties.”
Meanwhile, the public agencies and their allies continue to acquire property they think is crucial to protecting the mountains that many Malibu residents consider important to their lifestyle. Peter Ireland, president of The Nature Trust, says his organization is currently interested in preserving the Nicholas Canyon watershed at the west end of Malibu, which includes Encinal and Decker canyons. “Our goal is to protect a corridor from the beach up to Nicholas Flat in the mountains. Equestrian and hiking trails in the area will be lost if we don’t buy it.
“We only purchase from willing sellers,” Ireland continues. “Most of our money comes from grants and private donations.”
But Hoffman questions just what constitutes a willing seller. “If a property owner is hemmed in by government restrictions and they just decide to give up and sell because there’s nothing else to do, is that a willing seller?”
The Nature Trust is located in the former Malibu Riding and Tennis Club, where Ireland says his organization intends to offer eco retreats and wellness seminars. “There are lots of eco-tourism-like opportunities in this area like whale watching and the monarch butterfly migration; we just have to tie them together and give them focus.”
At the eastern end of Malibu, a combined effort of the California Coastal Conservancy, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Mountains Restoration Trust recently added almost 2,000 acres of undeveloped property in and around Tuna Canyon to the recreation area. The two parcels, the Mann Property west of the canyon and the DeJoria property in the canyon, combined with California State Parks’ controversial acquisition of the lower Topanga Canyon property near Topanga Beach, resulted in one of the largest parkland acquisitions in the Malibu area.
Jack Liebster, project manager for the Coastal Conservancy, explains the conservancy’s interest is in wetland recovery and restoration, but upper watershed protection is crucial to the health of resources like Malibu Lagoon. Of the DeJoria acquisition, Liebster said, “Once he saw the property, Mr. De Joria was impressed and wanted to leave it as a legacy.”
“People come out here for the beauty of the mountains and the beaches,” says former City Councilmember Carolyn Van Horn, long known as an advocate of environmental preservation. “And the county and State Parks are doing a better job about keeping the land cleared to reduce fire danger. Adding land to the recreation area increases property values because people out here want open space.”
But Hoffman isn’t so sure. “If you’re adjacent to parkland, you’re going to be limited to what you can do with your land, and this reduces the value of your property. Our organization just wants the public agencies to act in a moral and ethical manner. We want property owners respected as individuals.”