At a recent debate, council candidates were asked for their position regarding Bluffs Park plans. Peak/Mullen/Wagner clearly showed their opposition to adding anything to the existing park. That’s unfortunate, because there are more than 2,000 residents who have given input to create the park that they want. Clearly, the slate doesn’t care about what the residents want.
The Community Outreach Program to expand the park, created by the Parks and Recreation Commission, chaired by City Council candidate Carl Randall, was brilliant. It began with six focus group meetings with residents and stakeholders in order to gather initial input for the Malibu Bluffs Parkland in May 2015 and was augmented by an excellent online survey available May — June 2015.
This resulted in the commission making design recommendations to council after which council approved a recommended list of design priorities. Three design alternatives were presented to the public for review, resulting in a preferred plan.
Now the slate says, “Stop the Swap,” in spite of what 2,000 residents have said. If the slate is elected, they will constitute a majority vote of council and, as promised, will kill any community-supported plans for Bluffs Park for the next four years. By then, the swap with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy will have expired and the conservancy will once again have ownership and control of Bluffs Park.
Most residents are unaware that in 2010, the Coastal Commission approved the conservancy’s plans to add 35 campsites to Bluffs Park. Therefore, by “stopping the swap” the “Band of Three,” commonly referred to as the slate, will have succeeded in eliminating much-needed sports fields and other recreational amenities for all Malibu and, instead, provided us with a regional campground in the heart of our beloved town. What a horrible thought.
So, voters, the choice is yours. If you do not want a prime location in beautiful Malibu to become a public campground, DO NOT elect the Band of Three to city council.
David Brotman