Frenzy over camping in Malibu hits fever pitch

MARC CHOQUETTE
Perspectives Editor

One of the first signs many see upon driving into Malibu is not just the “27 Miles of Scenic Beauty,” but also the less-noticeable warning of “no camping within city limits.”

That sign actually refers to camping in non-permitted areas and for those wishing to sleep in their vehicles. Camping is, in fact, currently allowed in Malibu — but not if the Malibu City Council and a small group of opponents have their way.

Last fall, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) unveiled a plan to put in a small number of tent camping sites in various parks within city limits, including Charmelee Wilderness Area, Solstice Canyon and Ramirez Canyon. Under the plan, each campground would have on average 30 sites, which pales in comparison to the hundreds at the following parks, all of which are outside city limits.

Currently, the only areas to camp within the entire Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area are Point Mugu State Park, Leo Carrillo State Park and Malibu Creek State Park.

But as many campers like myself know, getting a site at these campgrounds without making reservations months in advance (at a hefty fee) is near impossible during most times of the year. As the SMMC spokesperson at the City Council meetings, Joe Edmiston, said, there is a shortage of available camping in this very high-demand area.

But since the wildfires hit Malibu, much of the space reserved for reader letters in Malibu’s local papers were chock full of outrage that such a plan to allow camping (and, thus, campfires) would be permitted in such a fire-prone area.

While Edmiston countered that increased patrolling, installation of hydrants and other fire protection measures, and the closure of the campgrounds on red flag days would ensure that a campfire would not start a conflagration. Residents did not buy it and argued fiercely against the plan.

The proposal was presented to residents for discussion and a vote at the Dec. 5 City Council meeting. Fresh off Malibu’s third wildfire of 2007 and with Santa Ana winds in full effect outside, residents and the media showed up in droves to see for themselves what would transpire.

The meeting got out of hand quickly, with very vocal opponents jeering supporters of the plan and often rudely interrupting to voice their displeasure. The meeting was so out of control at times that Council member Ken Kearsley was quoted in the Ventura County Star as saying, “There was screaming and yelling. It was civil war, not civil discourse. As Thomas Jefferson said, ‘it was a mobocracy.’”

The opponents, who were whipped into such a protectionist frenzy that some even recommended impeaching council members who refused to oppose the plan, eventually got their way and the plan was voted down by the City Council. But as of last week, it was reported that, through a technicality, the SMMC might be able to go ahead with the plan anyway.

The major problem with regards to this issue is the lack of debate. All of the pressure for the City Council to act came from, as Publisher of the Malibu Surfside News, Anne Soble, said, “a small but vocal group that maintains that Malibu would be wildfire safe if no more legal public camping is permitted in its midst.”

It is supposedly this crazy fear of more wildfires that is driving this opposition, even though some, including Kearsley, see the argument as a red herring — disguising some residents disdain that outsiders would be able to camp in our figurative backyards.

Sadly, it is the campers who are the voiceless in this discussion. The only ones representing the views of the millions that visit and camp in the Santa Monica Mountains are the park rangers, like Edmiston, who were met with incredible levels of needless hostility while trying to present their case.

Why should we let these extreme activists, who insist that there is a distinct connection between camping and wildfires when no scientific evidence of such exists, dictate the debate? Camping in Malibu is not for the City Council to decide. It is not for the SMMC or any other of their branches to decide. It is not for a small group of opponents to decide.

No, the only true democratic way for us to solve this issue is to let the voters decide. There are at least 12,000 other people in this town who are not afforded their five minutes at the City Council podium like all of the opponents were.

If there is truly a major concern with campers starting fires within city limits, then all 13,000 in Malibu should have their say. It would, once and for all, settle this bitter dispute that has needlessly eaten away at the effectiveness of the City Council and distracted us from more important concerns that need to be addressed in this town.

01-17-2008