Need to keep informed

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    Many of the California Coastal Commissioners fully embraced, without any public discussion, the idea that most Malibu open spaces should become ESHA and that this was non-negotiable with the City, its residents or visitors. Such designation stands to eliminate rose and other flower gardens, fruit trees and other orchards, horses, and even pets from many existing and dreamed for locations in Malibu.

    Malibu citizens, children and visitors deserve to have the full, objective story of these controversial re-designations by the California Coastal Commission of thousands of their acres, home yards, and home sites as Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHA). The CCC staff position paper written to justify all Malibu areas containing coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and even open spaces with invasive weeds as ESHA has been published in detail elsewhere. What was left out was the equally important scientific evaluations of these extremely unique and entirely new definitions by the City of Malibu and the County of Los Angeles biologists.

    Please offer equal space to their analyses. And in the meantime, let the people know they can read these reports via the City of Malibu web site, www.ci.malibu.ca.us. Also, the city attorney’s analysis of the ESHA issue and how it will adversely affect Malibu residents and visitors is available.

    It would also be informative to publish the January CCC color maps showing residents all the newly proposed ESHA compared with the 1986 CCC ESHA maps for Malibu. I am sure that you will agree that Malibu Citizens need to be fully informed about these very significant and unique new definitions for ESHA.

    Jeff Harris