The development of the $45-million Malibu Legacy Park Project has been no walk in the park for city officials and residents.
Preliminary stages of the project began in 2007 and completion is expected in October of 2010. Yet with the official start of construction Sept. 21 city representatives and project managers say they are delighted for what Legacy Park will bring to the Malibu community and to the environment.
“It’s [the] thrill of a lifetime to watch and be involved in this said Mayor Andy Stern. It’s an overwhelming tremendous opportunity.”
Environment and Community Development Director Vic Peterson shares the same enthusiasm.
“I have worked with the city for 15 years and this is the greatest project that’s come forward Peterson said.
The state-of-the-art project will transform the vacant 15 acres between Pacific Coast Highway and Civic Center Way into a central park that will benefit the community and its visitors recreationally and educationally while working to clean and preserve the environment.
According to Peterson, the city purchased the land to prevent commercial development in the area and to preserve the open space for future generations. The space is positioned in the heart of Malibu, and one of the goals is that it can bring together the community to enjoy passive recreation. Many components in the design and landscaping of the park are for the sole purpose of aesthetic pleasure.
With its close proximity to Pepperdine, University students will certainly have the ability to benefit from the use of the park.
I am thrilled to have a park there for everyone to enjoy and come to Stern. It will be a great place for students to drive down from Pepperdine and enjoy.”
The parks location is also critical environmentally. The Legacy Park site is at the outlet of the watershed that leads into Malibu Creek Malibu Lagoon and the world-famous Surfrider Beach. These locations have been continuously marked as some of California’s most polluted beaches — a marking which the Legacy Park Project aims to change.
Every year 12 million visitors are attracted to Malibu’s mountains and beaches. Pollutants are consistently exceeding the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements. The TMDL is the maximum amount of pollutants that a body of water can receive and still meet water quality standards.
The park will include a storm water detention system that will capture more than 2 million gallons per day of urban runoff and storm water. It will remove harmful bacteria from the water and recycle the clean water for irrigation purposes. Once irrigation needs have been met the pollutant-free water will be put back into Malibu Creek which leads into Surfrider Beach.
“The amount of bacteria entering Malibu Creek and ultimately Surfrider Beach is of critical importance Peterson said. The park will be a clean water machine.”
However some environmental organizations feel differently. According to an April 14 article in the Malibu Times the Surfrider Foundation the Malibu Surfing Association and Heal the Bay say the Legacy Park project will not be effective in solving the water pollution problem because it does not address wastewater in the area which they consider the primary issue.
The initial plan of the Legacy Park Project was to also address wastewater and sewage. However in 2007 the city abandoned this plan concluding that the park was not big enough for an additional water treatment facility. Since then environmental organizations have objected to the development of the park at all.
Proponents of the project such as Stern counter that Legacy Park greatly reduces water pollutants even without sewage treatment.
Stern says that these organizations have never tried to claim the park will be a harm to the environment and so their argument is of little validity.
The city has strict plans to implement a wastewater treatment facility by 2013 and has already set aside nearly $3 million for the project. With no halt in the construction of the park it seems the opponents have lost their battle against the city.
In addition to water treatment supporters say the park will advocate environmental awareness and education by restoring and creating river habitats and wetlands that once thrived in the Civic Center area before it became highly developed. It will rejuvenate Malibu Creek’s diversity of plant and animal species and provide an educational center to view and learn about six coastal habitats.
City Manager Jim Thorsen said this is a vital element of the project.
“I think the most exciting part of this truly and honestly is that it will be an educational experience for our children and our children’s children to learn how to protect the environment and why it’s so important Thorsen said. It will form an everlasting impression on the Malibu community and its visitors.”