The Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy is pitching to Malibuites, neighborhood by neighborhood, its dream of land preservation in an effort to raise $10 million to purchase property, warding off impending development.
But on Thursday night, it appeared as if the MCLC was preaching to the choir at its second Point Dume community meeting with 15 people in attendance. Most at the meeting had already converted to the MCLC’s cause, aside from two members of the so-called Lily’s Caf Steering Committee, John Harlow and Doug O’Brien, who oppose the fundraising for open land.
The MCLC is composed of four executive committee members: Steve Uhring, president, Ozzie Silna, vice president, Gil Segel, treasurer, and Jay Liebig, secretary, and eight board members.
The MCLC plans to work in two ways to achieve the preservation goals it has in mind: independently gathering funds to acquire land, and through the $15 million open-land bond measure, which will be presented to voters on the November ballot.
Already, the conservancy has raised more than $1.5 million in just 30 days of fundraising.
“We are trying to have money to come to the bargaining table with,” explained Uhring.
Presently, economic development plans suggest the development proposed by various companies that own land in the Civic Center area are viable and sustainable. But the MCLC believes that a majority of Malibu residents think this scale of development will result in increased traffic and the projects as proposed are not environmentally sustainable.
But Uhring emphasized the MCLC is not a no-growth organization. “We are trying to find a balance between rational development and open space,” he said. “One million square feet of development in the Civic Center is not rational.
“The better way would be to either transform the land into permanent open space or allow land to be developed in such a way that enhances community values and design,” said the MCLC president at last week’s meeting.
“This moment in time for Malibu is crucial because developers are trying to exercise their right for development,” said Uhring. “We would like to try and find a way to preserve some of the land now.”
The MCLC also believes that if Malibu can gather funds to acquire some land for preservation, other public grants will be more likely to realize as a result.
The main property the MCLC has identified for conservation is the Malibu Creek flood plain area (Civic Center area), including the Chili Cook-Off site, which it envisions as the open-space centerpiece of Malibu.
The MCLC envisions a central park, which would include wetlands to purify creek waters before they reach critical watershed areas nearby, playing fields, community gardens, and outdoor cultural and recreational facilities constructed on fill removed from wetland areas.
Meanwhile, the opposition stands firm.
Doug O’Brien, a 30-year resident of Malibu who has been involved in youth sports for many years and was involved with building Bluff’s Park, does not agree with the MCLC vision.
“They don’t care about the kids or having ball fields and they don’t want them,” he said, stating that the MCLC only wants to acquire land for open space.
O’Brien said that, in fact, the Malibu Bay Company proposal to donate a 19-acre Point Dume property and $5 million to the city is more valuable than the bond issue and the private fundraising efforts to buy open space.
“They (the MCLC) haven’t shown to me that they have a clear-cut agenda,” continued O’Brien. “They have not shown me a graph of who is going to be in charge of the money and how much they will be paid.”
Aside from the two meetings in Point Dume, the MCLC had organized meetings at Serra Retreat and another meeting is already planned at the Trancas Swim Club in two weeks.