Some say it’s unfair that the National Park Service can do what they like, while private land owners must suffer different building rules.
By Christie Lopez/Special to The Malibu Times
Construction efforts in Solstice Canyon by the National Park Service, close to the creek, have Malibu residents concerned over the environmentally sensitive habitat area (ESHA), especially in the light of building proposals for the Forge Lodge just across the street.
Originally approved in 1991, the Forge Lodge project, adjacent to the Beau Rivage restaurant, has not only been delayed for years, but was recently scaled down from 32 units to 28 in order to comply with ESHA set-back requirements. Some Malibu residents argue that conditional requirements placed upon the Forge Lodge are unfair, including the current stipulation requiring the owners, Daniel and Luciana Forge, to contribute a significant amount to a traffic signal at the Pacific Coast Highway and Corral Canyon Road intersection.
Malibu resident Frank Lawrie, in a letter to the editor, cited construction in Solstice Canyon State Park as more disruptive to the area than the proposed Forge Lodge. The park service “is currently constructing an amphitheater and restroom facilities requiring many septic tanks … It appears that a much higher volume of traffic is anticipated to the state park rather than to the 28- or 32-room Forge Lodge accommodations.”
Yet, he says, the Forges are required to contribute financially to the traffic signal; Lawrie argues this is unfair. Photographs taken at the Solstice Creek construction site have also disturbed residents. Lawrie also wrote, “Recent construction up the creek on the public park property had heavy equipment disrupting the land at the edge of the creek as well as in the creek bed. Trees were also removed from the area.”
National Park Service (NPS) officials confirmed that a building project is within an ESHA but has been approved by the California Coastal Commission under “special use requirements.” The recommended usage for the area involves replacing an unoccupied residential structure previously located within feet of the creek with structures designed to enhance the educational visitors center. These structures, including an open-air shelter and amphitheater, will be built from sustainable, “environmentally-friendly” materials.
Though federal exemption allows the NPS to build without obtaining a city permit, the park service presented drawings to the city for review and comment in an effort to work in cooperation with the City of Malibu, officials say.
According to National Recreation Area deputy Superintendent Ted Hillmer, the current work in Solstice Canyon is multifaceted and originally began as an effort to improve below-standard drinking water conditions in the canyon area. Besides improving water conditions, construction efforts include enhancements to the visitor’s center as well as the reintroduction of steelhead trout to the creek.
According to Hillmer, when the canyon was purchased from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in February 2002 the water problem already existed. (The NPS now owns 555 acres of Solstice Canyon.) Plans to remedy the problem began in May of the same year and are currently scheduled for completion at the end of April 2003, though Hillmer said the rain has caused some setbacks.
Residing in the affected area of Solstice Canyon are one permanent resident and 12 seasonal park service employees housed in a dorm facility owned by the NPS. The problem affects the “portable” water above ground, which is the water used for drinking by these residents. The current work is designed to ensure a water supply compliant with state and federal standards and involves replacing over-ground water lines with subterrain lines. The same will occur with all over-ground utility lines, which include telephone and power lines. Officials say burying lines below ground will not only create an uninterrupted scenic vista, but provide a safety precaution as well. In the past, dropped electrical lines have been cited to cause fires in Malibu.
In addition to burying utility lines, other aspects of the Solstice Canyon improvement project include upgrading visitor facilities. The NPS plans to re-design and expand the visitor parking lot from 35 to 42 spaces, add a public pay phone and drinking fountains, and replace old residential structures with an amphitheater, public restrooms and a shelter to be used by schools for educational activities.
In addition, the NPS has also started a building project to reintroduce steelhead trout to Solstice Creek. The plan is designed to allow the freshwater-born fish to swim downstream to the ocean where they mature, then return to the freshwater creek to spawn. Making the area amenable to the trout means making modifications to the stream, which including replacing the Arizona crossing–an “underwater bridge”–with a new bridge built over the stream. As Hillmer put it, “It’s not easy for fish to swim over concrete.”
Other citizens are concerned over the amount of money spent on the project, especially without assurance that steelhead trout will return to the area. According to Malibu resident Tom Moore, “There is not enough water to support the steelhead spawning. During the spawning season in the spring and fall, sand bars build up blocking access from the ocean to Solstice Creek.”
Building plans for the renovation project are available for public review at the NPS office at 401 W. Hillcrest in Thousand Oaks.