Amid calls from residents for more transparency on a controversial proposal to swap Charmlee Wilderness Park for Bluffs Park, city officials announced plans to hold public town hall meetings and conduct walk-throughs of each of the parks.
City Councilmembers John Sibert and Laura Rosenthal announced they would lead a town hall and walk-through at Bluffs Park at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23, and the same type of event at Charmlee on Saturday, March 9 at 10 a.m.
“Anybody who has any thoughts or interest in this should walk through with us so we can have more interaction,” Rosenthal said.
The council’s decision last month to pursue a possible park swap with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) has come under fire from local opponents who list serious fire danger and lack of trust in the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy as prime reasons for wanting to keep Charmlee under city control. Supporters of the swap argue that the new land would aid a glaring lack of access to recreational sports fields for Malibu children.
Under the proposed deal the city, which currently owns 10 acres of Bluffs Park, would receive the remaining 83 acres from the SMMC, while it would transfer its more than 532 acres at Charmlee to the conservancy and its sister agency the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.
Mayor Lou La Monte and Mayor Pro Tem Joan House also said they plan on walking through Bluffs Park this Wednesday at 1 p.m., but did not label the walk-through as a town hall meeting.
If it rains, the outdoor walk-throughs will be cancelled, Rosenthal said.
