Expansion of Malibu Lagoon State Beach could mean more visitors in the center of Malibu. The plan could conflict with land-use plans of the Coastal Commission and other agencies.
A new General Plan for Malibu Lagoon State Beach would include the pier, Bluffs Park and a portion of Serra Retreat and would feature more visitor-serving amenities. But conflicts with the land-use plans already adopted by other agencies for this central area of Malibu may influence State Parks’ vision.
Potential problems regarding parking capacity, traffic circulation, health hazards such as surface water runoffs, and impacts on endangered species are also being looked at.
The new plan, preliminarily drafted by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, would feature a visitor center, restaurants, sports fishing facilities and a restored old barn, and would require locals to make way for some visitor-serving facilities in the Civic Center area of Malibu.
State Parks is preparing to amend the plan because the original plan, drafted in the 1970s, is out of date.
This revised plan, according to a notice of preparation statement released by State Parks, could also impact a ball field deal at the Bluffs Park, as it may conflict with land-use plans adopted by other agencies for the area.
Patricia Autrey, environmental coordinator for State Parks, said the notice of preparation is “ultra preliminary.”
As she referred to an environmental impacts checklist drafted by State Parks, which lists a large number of items such as water runoff, parking, noise and emergency access concerns, Autrey said, “We are looking at the worst-case scenarios, and not all impacts are negative.”
“We intend to prepare something but it’s premature to answer questions,” she emphasized, because the plan has not been written yet.
State Parks will have a team working on the plan and it will receive public input, she said.
But the ball field issue is already heating up despite the preliminary status of the new plan.
While Malibu’s children use Bluff’s Park to play ball, the state wants to restore the scenic vista concept it has had in mind for a long time and build a visitor center. In order to mitigate that problem, State Parks wants to take into consideration a development agreement between the City of Malibu and the Crummer Trust, a nearby property owner, so alternate ball fields can be provided.
However, this idea conflicts with the California Coastal Commission’s draft land use plan for Malibu, which would completely eliminate any ball fields at the bluffs.
In order to make the layout work, State Parks would deed a small portion of property to the city to develop a pony field. That field is currently located in Bluffs Park where the existing Little League fields exist.
“But all this is contingent on the Environmental Impact Report (for the Crummer Trust proposal),” said Hayden Sohm, State Parks superintendent for the Malibu sector.
Thereby, a fault line may stand in the way. The state originally declared a fault that traverses the Crummer property as active. And while Crummer, who wants to build some houses on a portion of the property, hired a geologist who determined that it is not an active fault, the state, the California Coastal Commission and the city have to agree with that. So now a third geologist is working on the matter.
Aside from the Bluffs, the State Parks amendment discusses the addition of the Malibu pier to the park. The pier is undergoing a face-lift and once completed, it will offer a variety of concessions and preserve its historical characteristics.
The northern portion of Malibu Lagoon would be included in the new park zone and State Parks may want to rebuild some old historical structures that were destroyed in fires in the 1990s.
But a lawsuit by the Serra Retreat Homeowners Association placed severe restrictions on what State Parks can do with the property it owns in that area and usage will be limited.
Before any of these changes can take place, State Parks will host public meetings and the amendments will need to be approved by the State Parks and Recreation Commission.
“While we submit this amendment, it still has to go to the commission for approval and that would occur in late summer or early fall,” concluded Sohm.