With a July 1 deadline looming, several residents vow to stay as long as they can. Some have lived in the area for as long as 30 years.
By Tracy Marcynzsyn/Special to The Malibu Times
They’ve fought fires and floods together. They’ve maintained their common road and bridge together, often eaten together and served as a neighborhood watch for one another. Now, many of the Lower Topanga residents are ready to fight together in court for their rights to remain in their Topanga Canyon homes as long as possible.
Bernt Capra, co-chair of the Lower Topanga Community Association, has lived in the area for more than 20 years, raising his two teenage children there.
“I have a very nice lifestyle,” Capra said. “I live on an acre of land, I have two guest houses, volleyball and live by the beach. I’m not ready to reduce this to life in a trailer park. This is a paradise.”
Vince West, a 17-year resident of Lower Topanga, echoes Capra.
“The times are changing and the free spirits aren’t allowed to live like this anymore,” said West, who lives in a beach cottage behind the restaurant Something’s Fishy. “There’s a whole lifestyle that’s being wiped out.”
California State Parks recently bought the 1,649 acres of land that includes the homes of Capra, West, and 75 other Topanga Canyon households that are being vacated so the land can be turned into a state park for public use.
So far, 48 of 77 households have been issued notices to vacate in the form of eligibility of funds letters, which, in accordance with the Relocation Act, inform residents of the maximum amount of money they qualify for from the state in order to find another place to live. The Relocation Act also dictates that offers of replacement housing be given to the residents.
Several residents who have received notices to vacate have not found replacement housing, and despite the looming July 1 deadline for vacating, some are not going anywhere soon.
They’ve hired attorney Craig Dummit, who won Crystal Cove residents the right to live 20 more years in their homes, to represent them.
Dummit filed a grievance with the state of California based on the Relocation Plan.
According to Capra, the state is not following the rules and regulations set forth by the Relocation Plan, and the real estate data being used is not truthful.
“They [state officials] say there are enough vacancies to absorb all of the tenants,” which is not the case, said Capra.
While some of his neighbors have purchased homes with the money provided to them by the state, several of them have bought houses out of the area, according to Capra, who said residents bought homes in North Carolina, New Mexico and Hawaii.
Others have purchased trailers or are moving into smaller apartments until they can find something more permanent.
Sara Fay, a 14-year resident of Topanga Canyon, is moving from her three-bedroom house into a one-bedroom apartment in Marina Del Rey.
“Even though I received relocation funds, it’s sad, stressful and unfortunate for all concerned,” said Fay, who said she is sad to leave the home in which she raised her children and spent years maintaining and improving.
Capra said he is hoping the demand for housing will decline after the summer.
“But as long as the grievance is in process, we can stay,” he said.
He noted the next step is for the state to form an independent committee to deal with the grievances filed.
According to David Richman, property manager of Pacific Relocation Consultants, the organization in charge of issuing the notices to vacate, 31 of the 48 Lower Topanga residents who were issued letters of eligibility of funds, along with letters of replacement housing, are in escrow or have moved.
“The majority of residents are taking advantage of the situation and buying homes,” Richman said.
Should they be unable to locate a suitable housing arrangement after 90 days of receiving notice, State Parks will begin eviction procedures, said Richman, who noted that recipients of funds have up to one year to claim their benefits.
Robert Dick, owner of Custom Surf Design, who’s lived in Topanga Canyon for 32 years, considered buying land and building a home in Malibu with his relocation funds, but worried his time would run out before he could use his benefits.
“It became frightening to do it [build a house] with the time limit on the benefits,” he said. “It takes a minimum of one year to get a building permit in Malibu, and you might not get it in time”
Dick is hoping to buy a house, but has not found a place yet.
“It’s a nice entitlement,” he said. “I think they’re being fair, but it’s a really tough time to be putting people out there. It would have been nice to let us buy these houses and bring them up to code.” Dick said he will miss his unique lifestyle in Topanga Canyon and the community he’s lived in “all of my adult life.”
“I wish others could experience it,” he said. “If rent is low, there’s not a lot of pressure to work so much. You’re free to do other things, like travel. It gives you a different perspective and has afforded people a different kind of life.”
Dick has earned a living making surfboards out of his home since 1967.
Carol Winter, also a 32-year resident of Topanga Canyon agrees.
“There was an opportunity to live a life that wasn’t focused purely on the accumulation of wealth,” she said.
She said she made banana bread cookies during the ’60s and ’70s.
“It allowed me to do my Thoreau thing,” she said. “Topanga was my Walden pond.”
Scott Dittrich, co-chair of the Lower Topanga Community Association, believes the state shouldn’t be in such a rush to oust his neighbors.
“There’s no reason to get people out so fast,” Dittrich said.
“The place will sit for years,” he added, pointing out that at Topanga Beach 120 homes were bulldozed and replaced with a few parking lots. “The state could have made a lot of money on renting the houses. It’s not a good use of funds,” he said.
And many residents feel there isn’t another community like Topanga.
We have always been a tight-knit community,” said Dittrich.
“We looked out for each other and each other’s kids. We are a neighborhood that relies on each other, especially the older people,” he said.