In light of the ongoing land use lawsuit involving residents of Sycamore Canyon and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC), questions have been raised concerning the connection between the SMMC and the Mountain Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA).
To many in Malibu, the two organizations are synonymous—but this isn’t exactly the case.
Both organizations share the same office space and the same executive director, Joseph T. Edmiston, but they were designed to serve distinct purposes.
The SMMC, a state agency funded by taxpayer money, commissions the MRCA, a public agency, to provide and manage its property. Managing the property includes general upkeep, such as paving and preservation of land, in addition to collecting the rental fees the SMMC receives for weddings and photography.
The SMMC and MRCA are connected under a joint exercise of powers agreement contract, along with the Conejo Recreation and Park District and the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District.
The contract outlines and acknowledges the MRCA as a local agency, separate from the individual entities that make up the agency, with the ability to “acquire, develop and conserve additional park and open space lands with special emphasis on recreation and conservation projects, the protection and conservation of watersheds, and the development of river parkways,” according to the contract.
One business law expert reached by The Malibu Times described the contract as a “catch-all,” ostensibly designed to allow the two organizations to work very closely together.
“They are reserving the right to authorize other monetary transactions between them in addition to the exchange of services and personnel as long as it is in compliance with state law,” Pepperdine Business Law professor Brian Link said when asked to review the contract. “Maybe there is not a lot of meat there, but I think it’s more of a ‘catch-all.’”
Link said such contracts can be fairly common in the state of California. Although contract names may vary (sometimes called “joint exercise of powers,” “joint exercise powers authority” or “joint exercise of powers administration”), they generally work in one of two ways:
“It’s either them [all parties in the agreement] agreeing to exercise as an authority together in this overlapping sphere or [it is] to set up a separate legal entity to manage these overlapping activities,” Link said. “So, ‘joint exercise’: working together and authorizing as an authority or establishing an entity to do so.”
What the MRCA and
SMMC do
While the joint powers of authority contract states the MRCA is a separate entity from the SMMC, both parties have agendas that may overlap from time to time.
The MRCA is a local government public agency that was created in 1985 to act as “a local agency … to acquire, develop and conserve additional park and open space lands with special emphasis on recreation and conservation projects, the protection and conservation of watersheds, and the development of river parkways.”
Elena Eger, the MRCA’s deputy executive officer of construction, told The Malibu Times the statewide environmental law, CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), requires the MRCA to publicly disclose the environmental impact of all projects underway; the public is encouraged and invited to respond to any project within environmental or scoping concerns.
The SMMC is a state agency that works to preserve, protect and maintain Southern California’s “urban, rural and river parks, open space, trails, and wildlife habitats that are easily accessible to the general public,” as stated on its website.
Of the three agencies in the joint exercise contract, the SMMC is only the agency that was established by legislature. The other two agencies, Conejo Recreation and Park District and the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, are both “local park agencies established by the vote of the people in those communities,” according to the MRCA website.
Although the MRCA is a public agency and the SMMC is a state agency, Link said the terms are used interchangeably. And that it is legal for a state agency (such as the SMMC) to receive funding from a public agency (like the MRCA).
As stated on the MRCA website, for over 25 years, the MRCA has worked with the SMMC, the County and City of Los Angeles, nonprofit groups, and various community-oriented organizations in effort to create the Urban LA Project: “a continuous greenway along the 51-mile Los Angeles River and its tributaries.”
In addition to pursuing community-based projects, the MRCA is also still facing a lawsuit brought onto them by Sycamore Canyon residents.
The board
Section 10.1 of the contract gives Edmiston the legal capacity to serve as director of both organizations.
While the SMMC has 11 conservancy members, the MRCA board consists of four representatives: one representative for Conejo Recreation and Park District (George Lange), one for Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District (Dan Paranick), one for the conservancy (Irma R. Munoz) and one member-at-large representative (Jim Hausenauer). Lange also holds the position of treasurer for the MRCA. This position holds the responsibility to do all the financial reporting that is required by the state government.
No conservancy members and no MRCA board members responded to interview requests for this story.