After months of delay due to conflicts among various government agencies involved in the deal, the city’s acquisition of Bluffs Park could be coming shortly.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
An Assembly bill that would allow the city of Malibu to acquire the portion of Bluffs Park containing the ball fields was presented to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last Thursday. A spokesperson for the governor said on Monday he expects Schwarzenegger will sign the bill, AB 1803, by the deadline July 18.
Early last year, a deal was announced that included the California Department of Parks and Recreation giving the 93-acre Bluffs Park property to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. In turn, the SMMC would sell a 10-acre portion of the land that included the ball fields, a running path and the Michael Landon Community Center to Malibu for $2.5 million. Originally, the officials involved in the deal said it did not need to be approved by the state Legislature, but the Department of Finance said it did, stalling the transaction.
The Bluffs Park acquisition was recently placed among many other items involving issues around the state on what is called a trailer bill, a type of bill that includes various financial items that the Legislature passes following the approval of the budget.
After Schwarzenegger approves the trailer bill, AB 1803, more paper work still needs to be done before Malibu is officially the owner of the 10-acre portion of Bluffs Park. Roy Stearns, spokesperson for State Parks, said the terms of the deal need to be adjusted so that the SMMC is no longer involved in it, and it is a straight purchase by Malibu of the land from State Parks. Also, Stearns said, language needs to be added that states the land must be used as a park in perpetuity.
Once the Bluffs Park transaction is finalized, it will bring to an end a dispute that goes back more than 20 years. The conflict over the property began in 1982, predating cityhood, when youth sports advocates had to lead the battle without a local government’s assistance. At that time, State Parks sought a permit from the California Coastal Commission to evict Malibu Little League from its ball fields at the Malibu Lagoon, which State Parks wanted to convert to native wetlands. Following a slew of lawsuits, a settlement agreement filed in August 1982 in Los Angeles Superior Court granted the Little League a home at the state-owned Bluffs Park through 2002.
As the end of the lease approached, State Parks made it clear it was not interested in renewing it. The city was able to persuade State Parks to allow the Little League to stay on the ball fields at the park until the problem was solved. Several times it was announced a compromise was in the works, but no agreements ever came to fruition until the current one.