The local Realtor says the city is taking too long to decide if it will buy the Crummer Trust property next to Bluffs Park.
By Jonathan Friedman/Assistant Editor
A local Realtor said the city has been taking too many years to decide if it will buy the 24-acre property owned by the Crummer Trust, and called the latest idea to build a dog park on the site “a joke.”
Coldwell Banker’s Paul Grisanti is the Realtor for the property, which was put on the market last summer for $26 million. His comments were made in a telephone interview on Tuesday, and were in response to a meeting that took place on Monday hosted by Mayor Sharon Barovsky and Mayor Pro Tem Andy Stern at which community activists discussed forming a city commission in charge of raising money to buy land to build a dog park and ball fields. Grisanti did not attend the meeting.
Stern, who is also a Realtor, said on Tuesday that he understands why Grisanti is frustrated, but he said the city wants to buy the property as much as Grisanti would like it to be sold. Barovsky said on Tuesday that she would like “to sit down and find out what the Crummer Trust is thinking.” Grisanti said the Crummer Trust will listen, but its stance has not changed.
“They [Crummer Trust] have always been willing to sell their property to the city,” Grisanti said. “But they are not going to wait and do nothing while people talk about whether they will buy the property. How many years are you supposed to wait for people to make up their mind?”
Another example, Grisanti said, of the city acting slowly is that little has been done with the 15-acre Trancas property that was donated to Malibu in 2003. City Manager Katie Lichtig said Tuesday that the city is working diligently, but there is a process that takes some time, including laws and regulations with which the city must comply before anything can be built. She said the property could only accommodate one practice field. Parks and Recreation Director Paul Adams said at Monday’s meeting that the infrastructure for any kind of park on the Trancas property must be built, while the framework is already there at the Crummer site.
Grisanti said he has gotten several legitimate offers to buy the Crummer property from private sources. The property is zoned by the Local Coastal Program for residential and recreational development.
For several years, the Crummer property was eyed as the eventual destination for ball fields once the state kicked Malibu Little League and AYSO off Bluffs Park. Now it appears those organizations will not be forced from the property because the city will be taking ownership of the portion of Bluffs Park containing the ball fields within the next few months, if nothing goes wrong with a recent agreement that was made with the state. Nevertheless, the Crummer property remains a hot item because many people say the city needs to build more ball fields. Grisanti said Monday’s meeting was not a good path toward achieving that goal.
“I’m frustrated that they’re wasting time jerking off the dog lovers and telling them that they’re going to spend a lot of money to do a dog park when the real issue should be how to get more ball fields for the kids,” Grisanti said. “The city needs to get its priorities straight.”
Grisanti said if the city “got its act together,” he did not care if it meant those wanting ball fields must join forces with those desiring a dog park to make raising the necessary funds a reality. But he said he did not believe the community would rally around the idea of bringing a dog park to the Crummer property.
Stern said he wished Grisanti had come to Monday’s meeting to express his feelings. Had Grisanti attended the meeting, he would have heard Stern say he believed only about $14 million needs to be raised to buy the Crummer property, despite its $26 million price tag. Grisanti said on Tuesday that he had no idea where that number came from. Stern said on Tuesday that he was basing the number on a 2003 letter sent to the city from Crummer attorney Perry L. Hirsch, who wrote Crummer Trust was willing to sell the property for $13 million. Stern faxed a copy of the letter to The Malibu Times. Hirsch did not immediately return a phone call about the letter.
Stern said he did not intend to imply he believed Hirsch’s 2003 offer was still on the table, but rather he was pointing out there was proof the Crummer Trust was willing to go to a lower price than is currently on the market.
About 20 people attended Monday’s meeting, most of them interested in a dog park. Several attendees said they were enthusiastic about forming a city commission that would lead an effort to raise money for a Crummer property purchase. They planned to meet again later this month. Planning Commissioner Pete Anthony and community activist Laura Rosenthal, who are leaders in the quest to find land for ball fields, also attended the meeting. Anthony said several other parents involved in Malibu Little League wanted to attend the meeting, but could not because of a game.
The commission concept was supposed to be on the agenda for the City Council meeting that took place later on Monday. The item was postponed until the April 27 meeting. The proposal is for a 10-member commission appointed by the council that will be in charge of raising the funds for a municipal purchase of property for a dog park and ball fields.