A former planning commissioner takes on a cause to show the California Coastal Commission that Malibu beaches are open to all.
By Rachelle Kuchta/Special to The Malibu Times
Ted Vaill wants to bring you to the Malibu coastline.
All 21.5 miles of it.
On Saturday, the former Malibu planning commissioner walked nearly half this distance and will finish the trek this coming Saturday to prove that one can walk from one end of the Malibu coastline to the other without any obstructions.
According to the January draft of the California Coastal Commission’s Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan (LUP) for the city, access to many Malibu beaches is restricted due to blockage by development, including gated communities or private compounds and unopened accessways.
Although Vaill did not come across such obstructions on Saturday when he trekked the 9.5 miles from Leo Carrillo Beach to Westward Beach, the five-hour journey left him skipping from rock-to-rock for a quarter of a mile, scaling a boulder, crouching through several alcoves in boulders close to the water break, and wading through a foot of the incoming surf at Lechusa Point.
Easy stuff for this 61-year-old avid rock climber, who, with video camera in hand, is ready to film where any private property owners have cut off access to the public beach either verbally by telling beach-goers they are trespassing, or with fences and signs.
“If there’s places where you can’t get through, I want to know that and I want it to be publicized,” Vaill said.
Vaill did come across signs such as those along Broad Beach, which read: “Private property line begins “X” feet toward the ocean from this sign.”
While the “X” varied from 20 to 65 feet at times, the portion of sand the Broad Beach private property surveyors claim you can walk on is “pretty much saying that you have to walk in the water some of the time” Vaill said.
In the June draft of the city’s Local Coastal Program Local Implementation Plan, lateral (horizontal) access is along the entire width of the property from the mean high tide line landward to a point fixed at the most seaward extent of development.
Vaill said with this walk he is putting people on notice with what they regard as private and public property.
“Nobody can own the beach,” said Darrell Genyard, a Broad Beach Homeowners Association security official.
But it’s basically Genyard’s job to make people aware of the public and private divide.
Genyard said he thinks the public just needs to use their common sense with respect to homeowners when coming to the beach.
During the week of July 9, the Coastal Commission will be meeting in Huntington Beach where it will evaluate the draft LUP.
In this meeting, Vaill said, the commissioners will offer direction to the staff, who will make revisions based on the testimonies and guidance of the commission.
A final Local Coastal Plan (LCP), which includes both the LUP and the implementing ordinances, must be adopted by the commission no later than Sept. 15.
Then, Vaill said, Malibu either accepts it or litigates.
He said if the commission adopts the staff draft as it exists now, “there will definitely be litigation, which could go on for many years and create a lot of uncertainty here in Malibu as to what may happen in the future for our environment.
“Hopefully, the Coastal Commission will be reasonable and will work out with the city a Local Coastal Plan, which will protect the environment, deal with visitor serving, and respect the property owners.”
But right now, Vaill said, “The commission gives only lip service to the environment and no respect for property rights.”
Another issue Vaill is addressing with this trek is the vertical beach access from Pacific Coast Highway to the beach.
According to the LUP, an Offer to Dedicate (OTD) an easement for vertical access is required in all new development projects causing or contributing to adverse public access impacts when adequate access is not available within 500 feet of the development site.
Vaill said with this statement the commission wants to have private property owners pay for this additional access if they want to develop or remodel their property.
“They just can’t take it and extort it out of the homeowners,” Vaill said.
The LUP also states that facilities to complement public access to and along the shoreline should be provided where feasible and appropriate. This may include parking areas, restroom facilities, picnic tables or other such improvements.
Vaill said he feels “there’s no provision on money to provide all of these services the public has come to expect.
“It’s a good idea and I’m not opposed to additional beach access but the state has got to pay for it and provide the support facilities.”
“The commission has never said that individual private property owners should bear the cost for opening and managing OTD public accessways,” said Sara Christy, the commission’s legislative coordinator.
“The cost and responsibilities for those activities fall to the entity who accepts the OTD.”
Christy said that is either in the hands of the State Coastal Conservancy, State Parks, the local government or a local nonprofit organization.
Although Vaill expected a handful of people to join him on his walks, he and this lone reporter were the only explorers on Saturday.
“There were some good intentions but it’s pretty intimidating to say you’re going to go all the way across Malibu,” Vaill said.
Vaill will begin his next walk near the Gray Whale restaurant at 10 a.m. on Saturday.