The state agency wants to seize a portion of the property to build a fish ladder.
By Olivia Damavandi / Assistant Editor
In the ongoing restoration efforts to facilitate the return of steelhead trout to Solstice Creek, the California Transportation Commission has filed a lawsuit against the owner of the BeauRivage restaurant property.
The lawsuit would enable Caltrans to acquire a portion of the privately owned property by eminent domain. A pretrial conference is slated to take place June 24 at Los Angeles Superior Court, during which various aspects of the eminent domain process are expected to be discussed.
Meanwhile, Caltrans last week submitted an application to the City of Malibu’s Planning Commission, which includes a request for a coastal development permit to begin its Solstice Creek Fish Ladder Project.
The purpose of the project, according to the application, is to facilitate fish passage for the southern steelhead trout. The plans include the reconstruction of an existing Pacific Coast Highway bridge culvert and stream channel with rock weirs and step-pools totaling a length of 436 feet by 150 feet upstream from the culvert, 120 feet downstream from the culvert and 166 feet within the culvert.
The Planning Commission has not yet set a hearing date for the matter, but a notice will be mailed to residents once one has been set.
The state’s attempt to acquire part of the parcel has exasperated BeauRivage owner Daniel Forge, who claims the project would handicap his business by eliminating significant parking space and by shutting down the north entrance of the five-acre property.
Caltrans, however, asserts the project will in no way impact the property and that it has made numerous attempts to negotiate with Forge.
The court hearing will determine if Caltrans will be granted possession of a portion of the property. The court will also decide on the amount of Forge’s monetary compensation if he and Caltrans are unable to come to an agreement themselves. The court’s rulings will be final, unless Forge decides to appeal the matter.
Caltrans is seeking two easements: a permanent one to build fish ladders in Solstice Creek, and a temporary one along the banks of the creek that would allow construction to take place.
“The permanent construction easement will allow them access for maintenance purposes onto the fish ladders,” Steve Maller, deputy director and chief engineer for the California Transportation Commission, said in a past interview with The Malibu Times. “But that’s no big deal, a truck comes every few years and within a few hours they’re out of there.
“The entire property remains in the hands of the property owner,” Maller continued. “Not an inch of his property is being taken from him.”
But Forge says otherwise.
“In simple terms, they are stealing my property,” he said in a previous interview.
The project’s environmental assessment states the project would provide steelhead trout with a significant length of streambed available for spawning. Solstice Creek is 5 feet to 10 feet wide and, at most, could provide a mile of habitat for about 300 steelhead, according to National Park Service officials.
State law provides procedures for public agencies to acquire private property for public use. In this case, the power of eminent domain may be exercised to acquire the property for the proposed project if the following three conditions are established: the public interest and necessity require the project; the project is planned or located in the manner that will be most compatible with the greatest public good and the least private injury; and the property sought to be acquired is necessary for the project.
The question of necessity has become a hotly debated issue. Some say the expenses of facilitating the return of the steelhead outweigh the benefits, while others feel it is important to help the trout species survive.
Forge, however, is among many who say it isn’t prudent, given the current state of the economy, to spend millions of dollars for the sake of reinstating steelhead trout in multiple streams throughout the Santa Monica Mountains. The controversy extends far beyond the $1.6 million construction of a bridge crossing over Solstice Creek, a public works project funded through various state agencies, to which the city contributed about $239,000.
Many residents are outraged at the potential removal of the 100-foot by 80-foot Rindge Dam, erected in 1929 two miles upstream in Malibu Creek, an endeavor that could cost $72 million.
Meanwhile, a feasibility study of how to most effectively remove the dam was begun in 1999, and has increased from an originally estimated $2.1 million in 2004 to a current $3.9 million. The study is to determine what is the best alternative in removing, or altering, the dam to help with the reintroduction of the trout, and to improve the quality of the area’s watershed.