Soka/Bluffs Park deal closer to reality
The California Public Works Board voted to approve the deal that would allow the city of Malibu to purchase the portion of Bluffs Parks containing the ball fields and further lead to three state agencies acquiring the Soka University property, a 588-acre site located in the Santa Monica Mountains. The agreement has already been approved by the Malibu City Council and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Board, and has the support of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The state Public Works Board approval was the final government body needing to approval the deal.
According to the agreement, State Parks will transfer ownership of the 93-acre Bluffs Park to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. The city will then buy the 10 acres of the site that includes the ball fields, the Landon Center and a running path. The money (an amount to be determined by an appraisal) will go to State Parks, which will put it toward the Soka purchase.
Several state agencies and municipalities have raised the $35 million necessary for the Soka purchase. The money is in escrow, with the escrow anticipated to close later this month. The city will not be able to purchase the portion of Bluffs Park until an appraisal has been conducted.
Fish no longer trapped
The city of Malibu recently received a grant to redesign the bridge at Corral Canyon to facilitate the migration of endangered steelhead trout. The Department of Fish and Game recently notified the city that their grant request for $613,000 to replace the existing concrete box culvert supporting the Corral Canyon Road Bridge has been fully funded. The city will install a new open-bottom bridge, which will permit fish to access Solstice Creek.
Don’t toke and tan
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors last week unanimously voted to make the temporary ban on smoking at county-run beaches permanent, joining the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Malibu. All county-run beaches, including Zuma Beach and Mother’s Beach in Marina del Rey, are subject to the ban. Parking lots next to the beaches are not included in the ban.