Opposition from community members is heavy with threats of litigation.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
Perhaps the most controversial local issue since the Malibu Bay Co. Development Agreement of 2003 heads to the City Council on Tuesday when the municipal leaders will vote on a Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy parks enhancement plan that includes, among other things, the creation of 26 overnight camping sites in Malibu. With opponents to the plan mounting a heavy campaign against it, as well as threats of litigation, city officials will attempt to calm the scene three days before the council vote with a workshop session at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School on Saturday.
The official name of the proposal, which was unanimously endorsed last month by the Planning Commission, is the Malibu Parks Public Access Enhancement Plan. The major features include overnight camping sites at Ramirez Canyon Park (two for disabled visitors), Corral Canyon Park (11 for disabled, five regular) and Charmlee Wilderness Park (one for disabled, seven regular); a parking lot at the top of Winding Way with two handicap spaces and two spots for horse trailers; a 10-space parking lot off Latigo Canyon; improvements to local trails to create the Coastal Slope Trail, which will connect numerous parks throughout the city and unincorporated portions of Malibu, and improvements to the transportation systems connecting the parks.
A significant change in the plan since the Planning Commission hearing is that an 18-space parking lot at the top of Winding Way has been reduced in size. Although the commission had endorsed the plan, it had spoken against the 18-space lot after hearing from residents who said it would create more traffic on an already dangerous road. The smaller Latigo Canyon parking area is a new addition to the proposal.
“The pulling back of the parking spaces represents a good faith attempt at dealing with some of the issues that have been raised,” Joe Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, said this week.
Edmiston is well aware of the significant opposition to his project. At the Planning Commission hearing, 68 people spoke against the proposal. Only one person spoke in favor of it, a man from Calabasas. The major argument against the plan is the perceived fire risk, this despite the fact that campfires are prohibited and cooking is limited to propane stoves.
“Fires in these parks so close to the homes can start almost instantly and sweep down to Pacific Coast Highway before the Fire Department can even get their act together or bring in additional help from out of town,” said former Mayor Walt Keller at the commission hearing.
The SMMC says it has addressed the issue of fire safety with large water tanks at Ramirez Canyon and a staff trained in fire safety and rescue, as well as the use of vehicles equipped with water tanks. But this has done little to ease the opposition, which has raised its voice higher since the Canyon Fire that started Oct. 21. The Malibu Township Council has placed advertisements in the local newspapers and put up notices around the city announcing its opposition to the plan and its alleged fire risk while noting that the vote is coming shortly after Malibu’s largest fire since 1993.
This plan was first proposed last year. The original version did not require city review. When Malibu filed a lawsuit and the conservancy in turn threatened a counter-suit, the two entities’ staffs met to come to a resolution. A modified proposal was created that eliminated a previous call for overnight camping at Escondido Canyon Park and changed the venue to the city-owned Charmlee Park. Also, the City Council is allowed to vote on the plan, although since the plan is in fact an amendment to the city’s Local Coastal Program, the California Coastal Commission has the final vote.
Approval of the plan does not allow the conservancy to begin constructing campsites and adjusting trails, it only amends the city’s LCP to make those projects legal. The conservancy must apply for coastal development permits for all those actions.
Saturday’s workshop takes place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School, located at 6955 Fernhill Drive. The City Council hearing begins at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at City Hall, located at 23815 Stuart Ranch Road. The plan and the staff report to the City Council can be obtained at the city’s Web site, www.ci.malibu.ca.us. Click “City Council/Commissions” on the left side. Then click “City Council Agendas,” followed by “2007 Agendas” and lastly “November 13, 2007-Regular Meeting.” The plan is agenda item B4.