The few remaining residents of the area say rangers are regularly coming through,
disturbing residents and videotaping the area.
By Cathy Neiman/Staff Writer
On a warm and sunny Friday afternoon, March 7, 10 California State Parks rangers marched into Lower Topanga with their guns, badges and a video camera, startling some of the residents who were hanging out with friends and drinking tea.
The rangers asked incessant questions to all the people who were present. They asked who was a resident and who wasn’t. They walked into peoples’ homes asking more questions such as what furniture belonged to whom, and who slept where. All the while, the rangers videotaped the grounds of Lower Topanga and vacant residences.
“The rangers made it seem it was against the law to have friends over to your home,” said one person who was there that day.
State Parks says it has the right to do what it is doing, being as it is the owner of 1,649 acres of land in the Lower Topanga area that was purchased more than a year ago. The few remaining residents of the area say they are being harassed.
Since the 30-plus residents and businesses of Lower Topanga have received eviction notices to leave by July 2002, some have decided to stay as long as they can. They hired attorney Craig Dummit, noted for his successful fight in getting residents of Crystal Cove in Orange County an extra 20 years to stay.
Dummit filed a brief stating that the Department of Parks and Recreation did not have in effect either the guidelines or the rules and regulations required by the California Relocation Assistance Act to enact a relocation plan. But an administrative judge recently rejected the brief.
Prior to residents receiving letters informing them of the rejection, Dummit said, in a phone interview, that he had a “high degree of confidence” the residents of Lower Topanga will have a long stay at their beloved home.
Dummit was out of town by the time this story went to press, and could not comment on the rejection.
Meanwhile, at issue is whether what State Parks is doing is legal.
In addition to that March 7 morning, several days later, on March 12, all the residents in Lower Topanga received a letter from the state of California saying there are “several issues of unlawful activity in Lower Topanga.” Some of these “issues” included “unlawful entry of vacated residences, storage of personal property outside the immediate areas of their residence, and modifying the Topanga Creek to facilitate automobile traffic.”
The letter also stated that the rangers would issue citations and/or make arrests to any “violators” of the order by Angeles District Superintendent against entry of vacant homes and “criminal trespassing.”
And, this past Friday morning, March 21, two rangers marched into the residences of Lower Topanga while many people were still sleeping, waking and startling them, and writing citations for furniture being in the “wrong place.”
Resident James Mathers was issued a citation for furniture being outside his immediate residence. He has a couch that sits near a bonfire pit in the middle of what is called Rodeo Grounds. Since the couch belongs to Mathers, and technically it is outside his residence, he was cited for this “unlawful activity.” The citation says Mathers has three days to remove the couch, if he does not, the state will seize it and store it.
Since the first visit by the rangers on March 7, there have been visits by at least one ranger about once a week, according to Mathers.
“I have become afraid to sleep and leave my home. These people (the rangers) have weapons and an authority to arrest me. I’m not hurting anybody. I have every right to be here until this whole ordeal is resolved.”
According to Dummit, the Departments of Parks and Recreations has never done this before.
“There is a right way and a wrong way to do things,” Dummit said. “The state shouldn’t be interfering or disturbing the tenants who still live there. Just because the state is inspecting the property doesn’t mean that they have to be heavy handed about it. The state is disturbing the people and it is improper and illegal.”
The rangers have also harassed 20-year resident Bernt Capra, who has been extremely active in the fight to stay in Lower Topanga.
“The worst harassment has been [this past] Friday and Saturday,” Capra said. “They are telling me that my furniture is too spread out. It’s ridiculous! Lower Topanga has never had property lines or plot lines. There is no way of knowing were one property ends and the next one begins.”
Hayden Sohm, State Parks Malibu sector superintendent, said in a phone message to The Malibu Times, he feels there is no harassment going on.
“We have the perfect right to ask people questions,” he said. “We are the landlords down there and I don’t think there has been any harassment going on.”