CHRIS SEGAL
Staff Writer
Conflict between the City of Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy has both sides defending public interest.
The SMCC submits a Local Costal Program application allowing overnight camping at Charmlee, Corral Canyon and Ramirez Canyon parks, while Malibu safety concerns conflict with public access to nature.
The Malibu planning staff will review the completeness of the application to determine if the approving body will hear the application. If approve the application will then have a public hearing, according to Malibu City Manager Jim Thorsen.
“The City of Malibu is considering overnight camping at the city-owned Charmlee Park as an amendment to their Local Coastal Program,” said SMCC Director of Public Affairs Dash Stolarz.
The three parks are located in the City of Malibu, within the conservancy zone of the SMCC and the jurisdiction of the California Costal Commission.
“The Park is owned by the City of Malibu and within our limits,” Thorsen said in an e-mail. “All activities are governed by our municipal code. Certain activities may require permits or approval from other jurisdictions such as the costal conservancy.”
The process to seek overnight camping approval began in January with the conservancy gaining approval from the California Coastal Commission but not from the City of Malibu, which owns the park.
The city has two lawsuits filed against the conservancy while the conservancy has one against the city. The application may end any legal actions.
The goal of the conservancy is not to supersede city governments but to allow entry to nature for the general public, according to the SMCC mission statement.
The SMCC was created by the state in 1979 to protect natural California habits and provide public access to the land through parks and facilities. The SMCC operates with a “conservancy zone,” which extends from Santa Monica to Malibu and inland about 50 miles.
The zone contains roughly 450,000 acres of which the conservancy currently oversees and operates 55,000 acres with 117 facilities. The conservancy seeks overnight camping permission from the City of Malibu to provide access to the general public.
The economic consequences of the application are unknown. The city or the conservancy may be required to add more facilities such as bathrooms, showers, first aid stations or supervision to make overnight camping a viable option.
“We will have to wait until their LCP application comes in to determine what the expectation will be and what they are proposing,” Thorsen said in an e-mail. “It is assumed that their [sic] will be a need to provide certain facility improvements.”
The conversancy wants to provide for the public with overnight camping while the interest of city officials and residents are providing some discourse. Residents living near these parks have been present and active at city council meetings.
The main opposition stems from a concern for fire safety. With the recent Malibu fire and the closing of the Pepperdine Fire Department many are worried about having open flames so close to their homes.
Malibu resident Walt Keller fears the potential fire consequences.
“Overnight camping in the mountains about our city should not even be talk about, no less a subject of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy,” Keller wrote in a Feb. 19 letter to the editor in the Malibu Times. “The threat of uncontrolled brush fires from a cigarette or smoldering campfire is far too serious.”
Residents in Ramirez Canyon residents are concerned about fire response time and efficiency in their community considering the difficulty associated with navigating the tight and windy canyon roads.
Pepperdine Junior Michele Coelho rents a condo at the Malibu Villas near Kanan Road. An additional concern other than just fire is the possibility of littering from campers, Coelho said.
Despite the concern for fires and littering Coelho, a non-camper, said opening some controlled campgrounds for visitors is important.
Students interested in camping in Malibu can head north on Pacific Coast Highway for 19 miles to the Point Magu State Park.
“[The park] offers camping right on the beach that is pretty amazing,” Clint Harp said, student manager outdoor recreation.
Other alternatives for camping include Leo Carrillo State Park and the Malibu State Park located off Malibu Canyon Road next to Mulholland, Harp said. Campus Recreation offers camping book and maps to students interested in exploring the outdoors.
Students can rent a variety of camping equipment including tents, pots and pans, sleeping bags and coolers. The average rental cost ranges from $2 to $7 a day per piece of equipment.
05-18-2007