TAYLOR OLANDT
Staff Writer
It has been calculated that more than 14 million people visit the beaches of Malibu annually- which is roughly the same amount of visitors to Disneyland. While both can be described as the “Happiest Place on Earth,” sanitation is imperative to keep visitors coming back.
While Disneyland has the funding to hire janitors, Malibu rests its fate in the hands of “The Green Machine,” a newly formed grassroots organization of can-do energetic citizens who dream of creating a greener Malibu.
When Jo Giese’s dog died, she planted a garden to help with the grief of losing her best friend. This resulted in 100 feet of white roses. Four years later her husband tragically died, inspiring her to begin what is now Malibu’s Green Machine.
This non-profit organization was founded on Jan. 6, 2005, and has grown to several hundred members, including a Pepperdine graduate, vice president Madison Hildebrand.
The organization’s original goal was to revitalize the islands in the Zuma beach parking lot with new vegetation. Jo Giese, the founder and creator planned to “make a palm court where the current picnic tables are, and put in a palm planting and shade cover.”
The Green Machine encountered opposition from “neighboring beaches and harbors” that did not allow this to happen. Unwilling to give up, Giese and the Green Machine put their efforts to the weed-infested and dirty concrete median that divides Pacific Coast Highway.
The group went on to seek help from the ValleyCrest Companies, the largest landscaping firm in the nation, whose founders happen to be residents of Malibu, the Sperbers. Burton and Stuart Sperber were more than willing to help by donating their services. They believe that a landscaped highway is a safer highway, and development will decrease fatalities on the PCH.
The project will stretch two miles and will begin with the section of the highway in front of Malibu Creek Plaza shopping center west of the Cross Creek Bridge. The design of the improved median has been completed and donated by ValleyCrest and this will be the first time that this design has ever been used.
“The design is made specifically for this project,” Giese stated.
The renderings for the project were released at the Green Machine’s first fundraiser on St. Patrick’s Day. The fundraiser’s theme, “Greening Malibu,” revealed that the landscaping would contain both hardscape, done with stones and boulders that offer permanence to the landscape, and softscape, which includes trees, bushes, and other vegetation.
The hardscape will consist of a wave-like pattern that mimics the neighboring ocean, designed exclusively by an artist for this project. Giese expects the hardscape to be executed in wavy blue tones to reflect the ocean, combined with “waves” of softscape in drought-tolerant plants.
While the reconstruction will definitely be beautiful, the traffic safety impact is the most important aspect. Giese believes that “Landscaping the median is safer because it helps define two areas of opposing traffic. If there is a head on collision, the landscape acts as a softener. Also, it will be pedestrian friendly by providing a safer island.”
Choosing the hardscape was simple, but there were more restrictions when picking softscape. Caltrans, an organization that monitors transportation regulations within the state, stipulated what could be planted.
“The softscape had to be kept low for evacuations in case of an emergency,” Giese said. Following these limitations, the softscape will have no trees, nor any planting that exceeds four feet in height or have a trunk more than four inches wide.
Malibu City is behind The Green Machine’s reconstruction program. It even went so far as to vote in maintenance funds for this program in its 2006-2007 budgets.
“There are several stages to completing this project,” Giese said, “we must first secure the permits from the several government agencies involved. This could take up to eight months. The second and last stage, construction, will require another four months.”
Although the maintenance funds have been approved, neither the city nor Caltrans has a budget for highway landscaping. Based on the design, the cost for the first phase has been adjusted to just under $2 million. The Soboroff and Green families have already pledged $100,000.
Giese has recently met with Pepperdine, proposing her plan and asking for a donation in the amount of $600,000. Pepperdine responded with a letter, informing The Green Machine that it approved of the plan and would love to make a donation of $10,000. “If the plan is able to be funded, the landscaping reconstruction will stop at Seaver Drive and continue at John Tyler Campus.”
The city of Malibu has created a Malibu Green Machine Trust for the collection of all contributions to the median project. Checks for contribution of any size will be welcomed and can be sent to Malibu Green Machine, 23853 Pacific Coast Highway, No. 718, Malibu, CA 90265. All donations to the project are tax-deductible from income as charitable contributions for federal and state personal income tax purposes.
04-23-2007