The following letter was sent to Gov. Brown, Sen. Fran Pavley and Assemblymember Julia Brownley.
The residents of Malibu Road support Gov. Brown’s budget proposal to sell the Ramirez Canyon property in Malibu. The Ramirez property is inaccessible to the general public, requires extensive widening of an existing private access road, extension of a secondary access road, is at the end of a narrow canyon in a very high risk fire zone and generally not suited as an active recreation facility. The use of the site has been litigated for years and is currently subject to litigation brought by the City of Malibu and local residents. For the past 18 years, the property has been inappropriately used as offices for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s executive staff. At a time when state and local employees are losing their jobs, and essential state services are being drastically cut, it makes no sense to have state employees occupy a luxury residential estate. The state should not waste public funds maintaining this property, expanding its facilities and defending lawsuits for so little public access and benefit. The property should be sold and the money used to reduce the enormous state deficit.
Perhaps the 15 SMCC employees who are currently operating out of the Ramirez property could re-locate to their existing offices in Los Angeles or to their facility in Pacific Palisades. In addition, the Conservancy should abandon its push to increase campsites in other areas of Malibu as a non-critical waste of funds at a time when a significant percentage of our existing campgrounds and parks are being closed, and other critical services curtailed due to lack of funds. Please support the governor’s common sense proposal.
Bill Rhodes, President
Malibu Road Association