Over 40 Malibu residents turned out Saturday morning for a tour of Charmlee Wilderness Park offered by city officials. The city is considering whether to swap the city-owned 532-acre wilderness park to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) in exchange for the agency’s 83 acres of Malibu Bluffs Park.
The tour primarily included a look at three areas where SMMC officials said they would install seven overnight camp sites, all of which are outside the Malibu city limits, as well as a look at the existing visitor’s center. Many who attended the tour live in the vicinity of Charmlee Park near Encinal and Decker Canyon Roads, and voiced serious concerns about the public safety issues and fire risks of unsupervised overnight camping.
City Manager Jim Thorsen and City Councilmembers Laura Rosenthal and John Sibert said that the park swap idea was a preliminary proposal. They said no action would be taken until studies are completed to determine the feasibility of constructing additional ballparks and other facilities on the 83 acres of Bluffs Park that the city would receive in the swap.
Over 40 Malibu residents turned out Saturday morning for a tour of Charmlee Wilderness Park offered by city officials. The city is considering whether to swap the city-owned 532-acre wilderness park to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) in exchange for the agency’s 83 acres of Malibu Bluffs Park.
The tour primarily included a look at three areas where SMMC officials said they would install seven overnight camp sites, all of which are outside the Malibu city limits, as well as a look at the existing visitor’s center. Many who attended the tour live in the vicinity of Charmlee Park near Encinal and Decker Canyon Roads, and voiced serious concerns about the public safety issues and fire risks of unsupervised overnight camping.
City Manager Jim Thorsen and City Councilmembers Laura Rosenthal and John Sibert said that the park swap idea was a preliminary proposal. They said no action would be taken until studies are completed to determine the feasibility of constructing additional ballparks and other facilities on the 83 acres of Bluffs Park that the city would receive in the swap.