Nearly two years after a deal was unofficially reached for the city of Malibu to take ownership of the ball fields on Bluffs Park, Malibu late last week became the owner. The 10-acre portion of the 93-acre property that is now city-owned land also includes a running path and the Michael Landon Community Center building.
In January 2005, a deal was announced that included the California Department of Parks and Recreation giving the Bluffs Park property to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. In turn, the SMMC would sell a portion of the land to Malibu for $2.5 million. But disputes among various state agencies on the technicalities of the detail led to the lengthy delay in its finalization.
“I never doubted once we made the deal that this would happen, but things in Sacramento happen on a glacial pace,” said Councilmember Sharon Barovsky, who pointed out that the deal was first approved when she was mayor, and Malibu has had two mayors since then.
Barovsky said a ribbon-cutting ceremony would take place soon on the Bluffs property.
-Jonathan Friedman
Assistant Editor