A consortium of agencies and professionals will present the Proposed Final Environmental Impact Report
The Topanga Lagoon Restoration Park project is making headway, with a proposed final environmental impact report now available for public comment and an online community meeting planned for Aug. 5. The proposed FEIR identifies a number of closely related alternatives considered for the project, as well as the preferred alternative.
Located on the eastern edge of the Santa Monica Mountains, the project site includes Topanga State Park, which is managed by California State Parks; Topanga Beach, which is owned by the county and managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors; and a Caltrans Right-of-Way along Pacific Coast Highway and Topanga Canyon Boulevard. The Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains manages the grant for the project.
Why the restoration project is being proposed
The project report is proposed to improve the quality of the lagoon and surrounding area for humans and other species. The report gives a nod to the Topanga Lagoon’s heritage, informing that the name Taopaa’nga means “where the water meets the rocks,” in the language of the Gabrieleno and Tongva tribes who once inhabited the location.
In the last 150 years, 95 percent of coastal wetlands in California have been lost to development. Topanga Lagoon was once 30 acres, but is only less than one acre and its mouth is artificially pinched by development, according to the report. Despite those strictures, the lagoon hosts a robust population of endangered tidewater gobies and a small reproducing population of endangered steelhead trout. The lagoon also supports a significant “run” (repeat appearances to spawn) of California grunion. At least 1 million visitors a year visit the beach.
The effort aims to restore and protect precious biological and cultural resources, create an integrated coastal access program, address responses to emergencies, add a visitors’ interpretive center and a trail system, and proactively address the effects of sea level rise in the lagoon ecosystem, one of the last Southern California coastal wetlands.
The restoration project aims to protect as well as to improve the biological, cultural, and recreational attributes of the lagoon by expanding it from 1 acre to from 7 to 10 acres, reconstruct the PCH bridge to accommodate a wider lagoon that will improve endangered fish passages to the ocean, and enhance coastal habitats and relocate Topanga Beach facilities and the helipad inland to protect them from wave damage. The project will also include placement of native soils in the nearshore to nourish area beaches, will protect two critically endangered fish and their habitats and will improve coastal access and visitor services while providing for more resilient beach areas.
The preferred alternative, which was selected after receiving extensive public, agency, land manager, and residents’ input, calls for restoration of the lagoon as well as restoring up to 15 units of the historic Topanga Ranch Motel.
The project will not impact the quality of surfing
Importantly, there will be no change to the surf break or beach berm and restoration evacuation will not occur on the existing beach berm that separates the lagoon and the ocean, according to the team that developed the project. Further, according to the team, “There will be no change to the natural breaching pattern, which is driven by storm events and the project is not expected to affect the existing cobble dominated shoreline which is responsible for the surf conditions.”
A morphological modeling study was conducted by Integral Consulting in cooperation with a surfing group to assess the potential of the project to affect the beach morphology and surf conditions. The study is included in the FEIR.
Proposed timeline for the project and approval and payment procedures
After the project’s environmental review phase ends, the design phase will begin and will last approximately two years as officials complete engineering design and complete permit applications. Construction will run from 2027 to 2032. An additional year will be required if sewer extension is selected as the preferred wastewater treatment option.
A technical advisory committee including representatives of all permitting agencies, local wetland restoration experts and landowners and managers is providing direction and setting constraints to ensure that the project meets all requirements. Moffatt & Nichol Engineering, Chris Nelson and Associates, and Environmental Services Associates have provided design, engineering, and modeling support. The National Park Service, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area provided technical support regarding special-status species issues. Other expert consultants were engaged to provide technical expertise and onsite biological and cultural resources and geological characteristics.
The project will be reviewed as mandated by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a process that will include the lead agencies, California State Parks and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, completing the required environmental documents that analyze the project’s potential and its various alternatives to affect the human and natural environment. The public and regulatory agencies have an opportunity to comment on the project during several parts of the process, including during the 60-day public comment period. The lead agencies will consider public and agency comments and will consult with the landowners involved, Caltrans and Los Angeles Department of Beaches and Harbors to finalize the document and approve a preferred alternative.
The project must be approved by the California Coastal Commission, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Regional Water Quality Control Board and Los Angeles County. The City of Malibu also maintains the project must seek and obtain its approval.
The City of Malibu’s comment letter
The city issued a comment letter concerning the project in April, noting that the project is required to comply with the City of Malibu’s laws as a portion of the project is within the city. Further, the letter noted the project must comply with Municipal Code Chapter 14.04 (Stormwater Management and Discharge Control) and Chapter 15.20(m) (Floodplain Management) because it is within a FEMA mapped Flood Zone that is administered by the City of Malibu.
One of the city’s recommendations was that the applicant should verify the local MS4 permit requirements as stated in the Watershed Management Plans. The comment noted that the project may need to meet the water quality discharge requirements set forth in the North Santa Monica Bay Watershed Management Plan, which covers the City of Malibu and Los Angeles County and Flood Control.
Malibu residents’ concerns
At its April City Council meeting, the council considered a letter from Lawrence S. Wiener, an attorney with RWG Law, sent on behalf of residents located adjacent to the western boundaries of the project site who feel they may experience negative impacts due to the lagoon restoration project.
The letter set forth various concerns, including that the project report must adequately analyze transportation and emergency access and evacuation impacts should Topanga Boulevard be closed due to mudslides. Further, the residents maintained that the report does not adequately analyze impacts to the adopted Evacuation Plan for the City of Malibu, which identifies Topanga State Beach Parking as a “Safe Refuge Area.” Temporary closure of the parking area for five years conflicts with the adopted evacuation plan, the residents asserted. The letter also maintains that the report needs to adequately address traffic concerns caused by the project that would impact residents and businesses during construction, which will last for a minimum of five years but might be quite a bit longer.
Finally, the residents’ letter expressed concerns that moving the existing helipad, which is located west of the lagoon on the Malibu side of the existing bridge, to the east of the lagoon places the helipad on the other side of the extended bridge from Malibu. The draft final environmental impact report, the letter asserted, should discuss impacts of the helipad relocation on Malibu-based first responders who would need to cross the bridge to access the helipad in situations where the bridge could potentially be obstructed due to an earthquake, fire, flood or landslide.
Public meeting scheduled
Residents are invited to learn more about — and provide input on — the Proposed Final Environmental Impact Report for the lagoon restoration project. To learn more about the project and to receive updates, visit topanga lagoon restoration.org.
A virtual community meeting will be held on Aug. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. To participate in the meeting, go to
www.TopangaLagoonRestoration.org. One can also dial-in by phone by calling (888) 788-0099, using webinar ID (849) 0708-2769. The meeting will be available on YouTube afterward. If residents have queries, they can email topangalagoonrestoration@gmail.com.