By Michael Travis
News Editor
It’s a classic case of David vs. Goliath.
Residents of the lower Topanga area have been asked to relocate after 1,659 acres of land was recently purchased by the California State Department of Parks and Recreation.
The department plans to turn the area, which extends 2 1/2 miles up Topanga Canyon Road from Pacific Coast Highway, into a state park.
Only businesses that have been declared historical landmarks will be allowed to remain on the property. They include the Topanga Ranch Motel, Wylie’s Bait and Tackle and the Reel Inn.
Everyone else, businesses and residents alike, are expected to vacate by July 1.
However, some residents have lived in the area for more than 30 years, and are not happy about having to move so suddenly.
“They aren’t going to give up without a fight,” said Jenny Wylie, owner of Wylie’s Bait and Tackle shop.
The community has drawn together to face the state bureaucrats, and regularly holds meetings to discuss the issue.
A petition drafted by the group, which calls itself the Lower Topanga Community Association, formally protests the state’s intended plans. It can be found in all the businesses that are slated for eviction.
“We the undersigned wish to express our support for a park in Lower Topanga that does not change the character of this area,” the petition reads. “We support keeping existing businesses such as the Historic Malibu Feed Bin, Topanga Ranch Motel, Wylie’s Bait Shop, Reel Inn, Something’s Fishy, Cholada, Ginger Snips & Topanga Ranch Market to serve the greater Los Angeles community and potential park patrons.
“We object to the devious plan of evicting these businesses and surrounding long term residents who live in the last affordable housing along the coast …”
The community also has other concerns about the land.
“Opening the area up to the public could be a bad thing,” Wylie said. “Gang activity, violence and vagrants are all problems that come with state parks.”
The non-profit American Land Conservancy (ALC) brokered the property from the Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAACO) for the California State Department of Parks and Recreation, which will purchase the land for $48 million.
The ALC’s contractor, Pacific Relocation Consultants, has been hired to manage the removal of the residents and businesses.
Controversy arose after the company sent out a letter last year, which stated that all residents of the area had to be out by Dec. 12 or they would be evicted.
The letter reportedly used “scare tactics,” residents charge, and implied that those who did not comply with its strict timetable would risk losing their relocation benefits. The president of the ALC, Harriet Burgess, denied that any illegal threats were made.
“There’s a legal standard the state has to follow,” she told the Santa Monica Mirror. “(The lessees) are going to get their just compensation.”
Despite the fact that only 3 percent of the purchased land is populated, the residents are still being asked to move.
According to the Topanga Interim Management Plan issued by the State Parks Department, the state is opposed to allowing current residents to remain on the land.
The reasoning behind this is because it “is contrary to several components of the State Park Mission.”
February 14, 2002