The Serra Canyon Property Owners association has hired an attorney. Association President Geoffrey Gee says litigation might be unavoidable.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
California Coastal Commission enforcement officer N. Patrick Veesart issued a notice dated Friday to Geoffrey Gee, president of the Serra Canyon Property Owners Association, warning that swing-arm gates must be removed from Serra Road by the end of the month or the property owners association could face severe fines. Gee said the gates were legally built and that coastal staff was trying to change the rules.
Three swing-arm gates were constructed in June next to a guardhouse on Serra Road at the entrance of Serra Retreat off Pacific Coast Highway. The property owners association received a coastal development permit exemption from the city because of a clause in the Malibu Local Costal Program that allows exemptions for “improvements to any structure other than a single-family residence or a public works facility.” But Veesart wrote that the gates do not qualify for the exemption because they are not directly attached to the guardhouse and they “involve a risk of adverse environmental effect [and] adversely affect public access,” which the LCP states would make them noncompliant with the exemption.
In a litigation settlement in 2003 between the property owners association and the Coastal Commission that gave the property owners association an after-the-fact permit for the guardhouse, it agreed not to do anything to disturb public access to the route through Serra Canyon that begins along Serra Road and is owned by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. In his letter, Veesart wrote that the swing-arm gates violate the public access because they stretch along the entire Serra Road entrance of Serra Retreat, which he wrote is also a violation of the exemption clause in the LCP.
Veesart said in an interview this week that coastal staff was planning to send a letter to the city asking it to rescind its finding that the property owners association did not need a coastal permit. Malibu Community and Development Director Vic Peterson said, based on the information he has, the city made the correct decision.
Also, Veesart wrote that the property owners association needed to get permission for the gates from the Coastal Commission as an amendment to the coastal permit it received for the guard tower. The property owners association had applied for that amendment, and a hearing was scheduled for the June Coastal Commission meeting with a staff recommendation of rejection. But the property owners association withdrew its application before the meeting.
Gee said on Tuesday that the situation was frustrating. “You try to do everything by the book and then they change the book,” he said.
If the gates are not removed by Aug. 31, according to the Coastal Act, the property owners association could face fines of up to more than $20,000 per day. Veesart said he doubts the situation would immediately turn to that. “Our hope is that we can work this out amiably and not have to go to extreme measures.”
The property owners association has been instructed to respond to Veesart’s letter by Friday. It has hired an attorney. When asked if he thought the situation would lead to a lawsuit, Gee said, “We always hope to avoid litigation. But it seems that is the only way you can solve things with [the Coastal Commission].