Beware of Conservancy power play
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy uses tactics reminiscent of a faltering political campaign: using proxies to level accusations of racism, class envy (evil rich people!), and the use of the handicapped or physically impaired as unassailable messengers of an emotional message. They used all three of these at the recent public hearing on their Publics Works Plan.
The Nov. 20 hearing on the Public Works Plan with the ridiculous plans for camping in residential neighborhoods at Webster School was something all neighborhoods in Malibu should take note of. By importing a group of minority “outdoorsmen” from urban areas to make accusations of racism at the longtime residents of Malibu, the conservancy and its supporters had hoped to paint the picture of the evil rich privileged class keeping the less-fortunate urbanites at arms length by denying them the right to camp at the end of their residential street. These nature lovers did not enhance the conservancy’s stature in the eyes of local residents by heckling local residents when they spoke.
On Nov. 24, the Los Angeles Times ran a cover story by Julie Cart about how the desire for people to camp overnight in all parks nationwide, including popular ones like Yosemite, has been declining steadily for the last 10 years (down 20 percent in the summer and 30 percent in the winter for Yosemite, perhaps the most popular park in the nation). In particular, the article states that amongst urban minorities there is much less desire than in the population in general to rough it in the great outdoors. This is on a backdrop of a dramatic rise in the overall population of the country during the same time period. The article states: “Most of the 390 Parks are begging for business.”
Although the article mentions that because of their close proximity to Los Angeles, the Santa Monica Mountains are popular, the overall statistics nationwide paint a clear picture that overnight camping as a national recreational activity is waning in popularity. This takes the wind out the argument proposed by many of the speakers at the meeting who talked of the need to put campgrounds in quiet residential neighborhoods.
For anyone who lives in Point Dume, Malibu West, La Costa, the Colony or anywhere else in Malibu, beware! If one of your neighbors is unsuccessful in selling their home for the price they want and wind up donating to the conservancy you may find a powerful, well-funded state entity that apparently answers to no one trying to leverage that acquisition into camping areas or places to host weddings and parties if it suits their needs. You can expect them to parade the wheelchair-bound and the “poor unfortunates” in order to get their way. They don’t want to have to follow the same rules as everyone else follows either. So what you can or cannot do in your neighborhood would have no bearing on what they can do with property under their control, if the conservancy gets its way.
There were some great arguments brought up by residents and public officials at the meeting. One resident noted that if camping is such a priority, why not have camping at the large former Soka University grounds? That area is a much better spot than Ramirez Canyon or the area near Escondido Falls for a variety of reasons. Clearly this whole plan is not about the dire needs for camping or even trails. The facts and statistics do not support that. This Public Works Plan is simply a Trojan Horse with fine print to enable the conservancy to circumvent the rules that all of us have to abide by here in Malibu. All because one man wants to have his office in Barbra Streisand’s former property. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
Rick Mullen