As residents of the Lower Topanga area get ready to relocate by July, businesses along Pacific Coast Highway at Lower Topanga will be permitted to retain their function and locale for at least two more years. What remains to be seen is the decision on which edifices will be granted historical significance, which may allow certain businesses to stay permanently.
Russ Guiney, superintendent of California Department of Parks and Recreation, confirmed that virtually all businesses would get some breathing room.
“My understanding is that the issue of relocation of businesses along PCH will not be addressed for more than two more years,” said Guiney.
A public meeting is scheduled to discuss the Lower Topanga Interim Management Plan on Jan. 24 in Pacific Palisades. The discussion will include a plan to use eight residential structures for park staff housing, state park operations, offices and educational programs. There is also a proposal to remove non-native plants.
Some parking and picnic spots are also planned, but overnight camping or recreational vehicle parking will be excluded. An environmental impact report is being prepared; however, it will not cover the prospect of wetlands restoration.
Clay Phillips, chief of the Southern Service Center for State Parks, is working with a group of historians and archeologists who are responsible for constructing a two-year interim plan, as well as the eagerly anticipated General Plan Amendment.
“We are going to do everything we can to protect those businesses that provide a public service,” said Phillips. This being said, there is still the potential for independent factors to affect these decisions.
“If some agency [i.e., the Regional Water Quality Control Board] found that there was a health violation, it would change things,” said Phillips.
On the topic of historical significance, Phillips and his team have found further evidence to support their landmark approval for Wylie’s Bait and Tackle Shop and the Topanga Ranch Motel. The fate of the Reel Inn restaurant, at present, is up in the air.
Phillips said, “Further information over the past month has solidified our confidence in Wylie’s and the Topanga Ranch Motel. We still need to see about the Reel Inn.”
Consequently, Malibu Feed Bin may also lose out.
“We have very experienced historians doing the evaluation, following the criteria established by the secretary of interior,” said Phillips of the decision-making process.
Although nothing is set in stone, Clay and his team’s recommendations will be thrown into the think tank to create a General Plan that will ultimately be approved by the head of the department.
Residents of the Lower Topanga area are still required to relocate from the premises by July 1, and the due date for the two-year Interim Plan sticks to its June deadline.
The next meeting will “offer further refinement of previous presentations and will give alternative approaches that will be distilled down to one plan,” said Phillips.
The public meeting will take place in Pacific Palisades at 15601 Sunset Blvd., Temescal Canyon Gateway Park in Stewart Hall, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.