Plans are in place for dogs, sports fields and more.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
The city has issued a request for proposals in search of a firm to design practice fields and a dog park on a 13-acre city-owned property along Trancas Canyon Road. An April 17 deadline has been set for candidates to submit proposals for the estimated $3.1 million project, and the City Council is scheduled to vote on a contract May 29.
A plan is already on the table for a two- to three-acre park to be built on the property. According to the plan, baseball and soccer practice fields could be built there along with a basketball court, a dog park, picnic shelter and tables, play area for young children and restrooms. An environmental impact report is being written for the project at this time, and the Parks and Recreation Commission is expected to hear an update about the EIR progress at its next meeting later this month.
Although the development of the park would not answer the demand for playing fields in Malibu, Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Dermot Stoker said it would be helpful because there are limited places for the sports teams to practice.
“It will give the Bluffs Park a hell of a rest, and it will take a burden off the high school,” Stoker said.
Councilmember Sharon Barovsky said the proposed one-acre dog park would also be an important addition to the city.
“A dog park is one of the crying needs in this city,” Councilmember Sharon Barovsky said. “I think I get requests for dog parks more than anything else, except maybe ball fields. There’s a huge need [for] it. There is no place for people to take their dogs. People are almost forced to take pets on the beach. And that’s illegal.”
Malibu resident Mona Loo has been active for several years in trying to get a dog park built in Malibu. She heads a grassroots movement of dog owners who have been demanding Malibu build a one. Loo said she envisions a gated park with entrances for the dogs, watering fountains for the animals, along with benches and tables. She said she and her friends would help the city with fundraising for the project.
“The people with dogs are happy that there is something going to be there soon,” Loo said. “There are a lot of people who are interested, because the closest dog park, for now, is up in Calabasas.”
So far the city has $665,000 in the bank toward the project. At a meeting in February, the council instructed city finance head Reva Feldman to examine how the city could come up with the additional $2.5 million. The council members proposed some of their own ideas at that meeting, including taking money out of the city’s General Fund and issuing certificates of participation, which are similar to bonds. The city raised most of its money to buy the Chili Cook-Off site by issuing COPs.
The Trancas property previously was home to a football field, built nearly 40 years ago in memory of a young Malibu resident who died in the Vietnam War. But as the demographics of the city changed in the ’70s, with the city’s young population mostly disappearing, the field began to decay due to disuse. Various owners considered it for development, but it was determined that building there would be difficult. The property was donated to the city in 2003.
This Trancas property is not part of the nearby 35-acre site owned by Trancas PCH that has been the subject of various lawsuits and attempts at ball field development.