La Costa residents are told the private road will expand firefighter,
paramedic and other emergency access.
By Vicky Shere / Special to the Malibu Times
Seeking to shore up support before plans are submitted to Malibu city officials, Rambla Pacifico homeowners on Saturday briefed their La Costa neighbors about a proposal to repair Rambla Pacifico Road, constructing a partial new road, and making it safe for emergency vehicles.
Board members of the Lower Rambla Pacifico Road Owners Association, Inc. explained that the new road was necessary to enable firefighters and paramedics to reach residents in case of fire or medical emergencies.
Beginning at Pacific Coast Highway immediately west of Las Flores Canyon, Rambla Pacifico originally led to the top of the bluffs adjacent to the La Costa subdivision. However, landslides, which began in 1978, undermined part of the road in 1984 and a half-mile loop of the lower portion has been closed ever since.
“The Fire Department tells us that they will not send resources because there is no way in and out of Rambla Pacifico,” board president Scott Dittrich told people who attended the La Costa Beach Club briefing.
A declaration from fire official Neil Petzing distributed at the meeting buttressed Dittrich’s claim.
“It is proper fire-fighting procedure to have two or more access routes-a way in and a way out-before committing personnel to combat a fire,” Petzing wrote about the 1993 “Old Topanga” wildfire, which, at the time, had the largest deployment of firefighters in the history of California. “It is completely improper to box yourself in or commit personnel in a situation where no escape route is available.”
Although residents must drive an extra four miles on a narrow, circuitous route west from Las Flores Canyon to get up to their homes above La Costa, “shaving commute time” is not the primary reason for getting the new road built, board chair Michael McCarty said. “We’re the first line of defense before La Costa.”
The condition of Rambla Pacifico is important to the city because emergency officials’ inability to access the road during the 1993 fire was the reason it spread to other parts of Malibu, according to a second declaration distributed at the meeting.
“When the fire came through the La Costa area there were relatively few structures engaged,” fire official Anthony Shafer wrote. “However, because Rambla Pacifico Road was closed above us, many of those houses on fire rained embers down onto the La Costa area. It was this fire rain that caused most houses in [La Costa] to catch fire and eventually burn down. With access to Rambla Pacifico Road, those fires could have been extinguished and the subsequent raining of embers prevented.”
The only reason Rambla Pacifico residents did not lose homes in last October’s “Canyon” fire was because of “daybreak and helicopters,” McCarty, who formed the Lower Rambla Pacifico Road Owners Association in 1994, said. “In Las Flores Canyon, there’s an unbelievable amount of fuel that has not burned. We are concerned about everyone’s property.”
The proposed 22-foot wide road, whose $1.5 million construction cost will be paid for by the 57 households of the association, would have two components: a main access route around and over the landslide-with gated entry at both ends for Rambla Pacifico residents-and a spur, emergency access, road connecting Rambla Pacifico to Paseo Hidalgo Street, available to emergency personnel.
The road could be built in three months, and both roads would be available to all residents in case of natural disasters, board members said.
Another reason for the road is to shorten response times for paramedics.
“Ninety-five percent of calls to the Fire Department are for paramedics and they can’t get through,” Dittrich said.
In a question-and-answer session after the presentation, La Costa residents expressed concern about land stability and traffic.
Would the new road damage the tennis courts [located in Las Flores Canyon, off lower Rambla Pacifico], Richard Davis asked.
“We all worry about stability of the landslide,” Leslie Barrett, an engineer and one of two board vice-presidents, said. “The city will not approve a project that will cause problems.”
Joe Yarman, the second board vice president, noted that drainage ditches, landscaping in slide crevices and moisture monitors should improve the area’s stability, since excess water is the main cause of landslides.
Resident Bill Miller and Davis wanted to know whether there would be a traffic buildup in times of emergency and from service vehicles and motorcyclists.
“This spur road is no use to us except in emergencies,” Dittrich said. “We don’t know which way the fire will go.”
Dittrich and McCarty pledged to consult with La Costa homeowners about road access and security.
Board officials also promised to distribute maps and other information in advance of hearings before city officials.
“We are pleading for your support,” McCarty said. “We pledge to communicate.”
More information on the Rambla Pacifico Road plan can be obtained online at www. ramblapacifico.com