Coastal Commission says it will not let deadlines for offers to dedicate remaining accessways in Malibu to expire.
By Tracy Marcynzsyn/Special to The Malibu Times
Plans to open another potentially controversial public beach accessway in Malibu are now underway after a unanimous vote by state Coastal Conservancy board members last week to accept an Offer To Dedicate a lot on Malibu Road, about one mile from the Malibu Colony.
The Coastal Conservancy voted on Aug. 8 to adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Malibu Road accessway project, which is located between 24034 and 24056 Malibu Road, and to disburse $375,000 to construct a staircase from Malibu Road to the beach. The Conservancy will then seek a local nonprofit group to manage and maintain the site.
The proposed accessway is located between two vacant lots, as opposed to the public easement to be opened on Malibu homeowner David Geffen’s property.
The City of Malibu recently joined Geffen in a lawsuit regarding a 9-foot-wide easement agreement made 20 years ago with the California Coastal Commission (CCC) when he received a permit to add on to an existing structure on his property. A local nonprofit group, Access for All, was given the authority by the CCC and the Coastal Conservancy to open and maintain the Geffen accessway, but in the lawsuit, Geffen claims the group is not qualified to do so.
Earlier reports stated the City of Malibu was against opening the new beach access on Malibu Road. However, city officials say the city simply needed more time to consider the proposal.
“We wanted to have our technical experts evaluate the site,” said City Manager Katie Lichtig, who said city officials attended the Coastal Conservancy’s meeting.
“We weren’t prepared to give our consent, but we’re not actively opposing it,” Lichtig said.
The Department of General Services, through the Public Works Board, granted approval of the Coastal Conservancy’s acceptance of the Offer to Dedicate on Aug. 9. The next step is to file a notice of determination for the mitigated negative declaration, followed by a 30-day waiting period, according to Joan Cordellino, project manager for the state Coastal Conservancy.
The funds for constructing the staircase will then be disbursed.
Once the stairway is built, a local nonprofit organization will likely manage and maintain it, Cordellino said. The Malibu Foundation, a nonprofit organization, which was involved in the project but did not feel qualified to develop it, may take over the maintenance of the site, Cordellino added.
The cost to maintain the site has not been determined, but would be minimal, entailing emptying a garbage can, and unlocking and locking a gate daily, Cordellino said.
The 100-foot wide parcel of land, currently owned by Serra Canyon Company, was earmarked for dedication as early as 1983 when its former owner, the Adamson Company, was required by the Coastal Commission to dedicate the lot for public use in exchange for a permit to expand a mobile home park near Zuma Beach, according to Cordellino.
“The beach is [now] private in the sense that it is not easily reached by the public,” Cordellino said of the approximately 1-mile long stretch of beach.
“A variety of beach experience is really important, and all of the coastline that can be traversed by the public, should be,” Cordellino said.
In fact, 14 easements along the Malibu coastline have been required by the Coastal Commission to be dedicated to the public, said Linda Locklin, public access program manager for the Coastal Commission. Of the 14 easements, 10 have been dedicated, and four more have yet to be offered for dedication, Locklin said.
“If offers to dedicate are not accepted within 21 years, they expire,” Locklin explained. “But we don’t intend to let that happen.”
The remaining four easements reach their deadlines for acceptance in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2010.
“If everything goes along smoothly, the [Malibu] project will be completed in maybe a year,” Cordellino said, noting that the concept design for the proposed staircase must be approved before it can be built by the state.
Cordellino said the mitigated negative declaration by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) had already been circulated and was available to the public for 30 days. The required process assessed the impact the project would have on the environment.