The committee will include representatives from the city, the National Park Service and state parks. The city manager said the goal is to acquire the nearby Crummer property.
By Jonathan Friedman/Staff Writer
Mayor Ken Kearsley announced at Monday’s City Council meeting that a new committee is being formed to settle the city’s dispute with the California Department of Parks and Recreation over the ball fields at Bluffs Park. The committee will be composed of representatives from the National Park Service, state parks and the city. City Manager Katie Lichtig said the goal is to move the ball fields to the Crummer property located next to park.
“The indication is that Mr. Crummer is a willing seller,” Lichtig said.
Lichtig said the city has applied for a grant that would cover the cost of relocating the ball fields. If Malibu receives the grant, it would have to put up $750,000, and then would receive $2.8 million from the state. She stressed that the city does not know if it would receive the grant.
The state told Malibu it must vacate Bluffs Park several years ago. The city has managed to get state parks to allow it to keep the ball fields there until a new location could be found. For the past year, city and state officials have had discussions about reaching a solution. This will be the first time an actual committee is being formed dedicated to the matter. Lichtig and Malibu’s Parks and Recreation Director Paul Adams are expected to be the city’s representatives on the committee.
Also at Monday’s meeting, the council approved a new Trails Master Plan, consisting of a map and inventory list of where all the city’s designated trails exist. The council had approved one at a meeting in July 2002, but several changes were made. Among them was a re-designation of several trails that go through people’s private property. For those trails to become official, the property owners would have to voluntarily give up an easement. Councilmember Andy Stern declined to approve that portion of the plan because it brought up legal issues. Mayor Pro Tem Sharon Barovsky said she was also uncomfortable with it, but supported it after City Attorney Christi Hogin gave assurance that it was legally sound.
Also, the council removed all trail designations from Point Dume. Two Point Dume residents said the area’s residents did not want trails. They also expressed a concern that if there are any trails dedicated in Point Dume, it will appear in a magazine or on a Web site as a place people should come to see movie stars. Nobody spoke at the meeting in favor of designating trails in Point Dume.
This does not affect the Safe Routes to Schools Grant, which, if approved by the council, will pay for a Point Dume pathway to allow children to walk to the local school. The council said that is a public works improvement project, not a trail.
Also at the meeting, John Mazza complained about filming that took place on a recent Friday afternoon that shut down a portion of a lane on Pacific Coast Highway. Since Caltrans issues the permits for filming on PCH, the city is unable to deny the filmmakers from receiving a permit. But city officials said they might be able to have some input into the permitting because it affects private property along the highway. They said they would look into that possibility.
Lastly, the council voted against a staff recommendation that would have designated the California Wildlife Center as a primary responder for wildlife rescuing, while WildRescue would have been a secondary responder. That would have meant WildRescue would only be able to respond, regardless of the circumstance, if the Wildlife Center could not.
“This is so distasteful that it is before the council,” Stern said.
The two wildlife rescue organizations have had bad blood between them for several years. Last summer, the Wildlife Center tried to prevent WildRescue from having the ability to be a responder at all. The council also rejected that unanimously. Several councilmembers said the two organizations need to learn to get along.