West Malibu residents say they were never told about plans for league play at the proposed Trancas Canyon Park.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
Mass e-mails are being circulated and phone calls are being made as West Malibu residents gather together an army to attend Monday’s City Council meeting to make sure the future Trancas Canyon Park does not allow league games. But this might not be necessary as three of the five council members say they plan to vote to limit the athletic use of the park to practices despite the April recommendation by the Parks and Recreation Commission for league play.
The city has been planning for a park on the 13.5-acre piece of land on the east side of Trancas Canyon Road since the property was donated to Malibu in 2003. The current proposal is for a two-acre multisports field, a dog park, children’s play area, picnic facilities and a walk/jog path. Monday’s vote is only regarding the use of the park. A vote will be taken on the final design and the environmental impact report next month.
Many residents in the area say they were always of the understanding the athletic portion of the park would be used for practices only, and the idea for league play never surfaced until the commission’s 3-1 vote.
“Not one person has come to either homeowners association (Trancas Highlands and Malibu West) to support a park with unlimited use,” said Scott Tallal, president of the Trancas Highlands Homeowners Association. “All we’ve heard is just the opposite. We’ve also heard the overwhelming choice is for no park at all if the other option is league play. The reason for this is because of noise, safety and traffic concerns.”
Following the commission’s vote, West Malibu residents came to a City Council meeting to denounce the decision. They received public assurances from Mayor Pro Tem Andy Stern and City Councilmember Sharon Barovsky that they had no plans to accept the recommendation. In interviews this week, Stern and Barovsky said their opinions haven’t changed, although both said their decisions were not final until they hear the public testimony at Monday’s meeting.
“I am utterly and completely opposed to league play at that park,” Stern said. “It would be horrible if we allowed it. We have always assured the residents there would not be league games. To even reconsider that at this point would be a horrible bait and switch decision.”
Councilmember Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner also said this week he will vote against league play. He took that stance a step further than his council colleagues, saying no public testimony could persuade him otherwise.
“Plan B is for me,” said Wagner, referring to a practice-only design selected by a majority of the people at a public workshop in August. “I’m sorry, but that’s what the people up there agreed to, and that’s what they wanted.”
If Barovsky, Stern and Wagner vote against league play at the park, it will be enough to kill the idea, regardless of how Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich and Councilmember John Sibert vote.
Conley Ulich declined to comment on how she plans to vote. But sources say she wants either league games or no park at all, preferring to use the $3.1 million estimated cost of the park for other projects. She made statements backing this sentiment in an e-mail she sent to a West Malibu homeowner earlier this year.
“I think what you are saying is that the city should expend over three million dollars for a small tot-lot, dog park, half-court basketball and practice fields only because games would adversely affect your neighborhood,” Conley Ulich wrote. “Another option would be for the city to use the funds in an alternate area that could be used for all purposes, then your neighborhood would not be affected at all by a new public park.”
Doug O’Brien, who sat on the Parks and Recreation Commission when it voted for league play, said he supports the idea of no park at all if the athletic use were limited to practices.
“They [West Malibu residents] want their own private park,” O’Brien said. “They shouldn’t waste the city’s money. If they want their own park, they ought to negotiate with the city to buy the land, and they can build whatever they want.”
Monday’s City Council meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. Also on the agenda is the proposed budget for the 2008-09 Fiscal Year and the final approval of Richard Weintraub’s Malibu Lumber lease with the city.