The Malibu City Council has unanimously approved a proposed land swap that had inspired fierce debate in the community. The city has approved a proposal to relinquish ownership of the 532-acre Charmlee Wilderness Park in exchange for 83 acres of Bluffs Park, which is owned by the state of California and operated by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. This is welcome news to members of Malibu’s local skateboarding community, who were among the supporters of the deal.
The skateboarders of Malibu have been left without a skate park for more than a year after Papa Jack’s Skate Park, which was donated to the city in 1999 and administered by the Parks and Recreation Department, closed in 2011. The City Council is considering using the newly acquired Bluffs acres as a home for a new skate park.
The Conservancy wants the land swap for a “unique” walk-in camping area.
“Plus, the swap will expedite completion of the regionally significant Coastal Slope Trail,” Edelman said.
In a letter opposing the swap, the Malibu Township Council calls the proposal “unacceptable” and accuses the City Council of rushing the deal to avoid public discussion and criticism:
“Public notice and discussion have not occurred because the issue was made part of the Ramirez lawsuit settlement, but neither park has anything to do with that lawsuit. The issues are unrelated. This flawed proposal appears to be rushed so as to prevent public disclosure and public input.”
The Ramirez lawsuit concerns the unauthorized use by the SMMC of Ramirez Canyon Park as a rental facility for private events, such as weddings. Under the terms of the swap, this lawsuit between the Conservancy and the city would be settled.
“We have an opportunity for active, organized activities,” said Mayor Pro Tem Joan House. “The only place where we have active organized recreation is Bluffs Park.”
Sam McGee, 21, is a Malibu native and lifelong skater who hopes the land swap deal goes through. He’s skeptical, though, that a skate park will be built on the acquired Bluffs land because of perceived pushback from private homeowners abutting the land.
“Bluffs sits right over Malibu Road, so a lot of people who live right down there on Malibu Road below where the skate park would be are saying that it’s going to be too loud and that there are going to be kids there causing mischief … but it won’t be loud. I mean, PCH is louder than anything.
“They don’t have any problems with that, and they’ll be fine with the skate park,” McGee said.
Another advocate of the skate park in the Bluffs is McGee’s mentor in skateboarding and employer, Craig Clunies-Ross. Clunies-Ross, a New Zealand native, is the owner of the Drill Surf and Skate retail store on Pacific Coast Highway near Trancas Canyon.
Clunies-Ross is a vocal champion for skateboarding in Malibu, and the possibility of building a new skate park on the Bluffs acquisition is something he supports.
“Bluffs, to me, makes the most sense. I think the Bluffs location is far more central…. It just makes a lot more sense as a location,” said Clunies-Ross. “[Skateboarding] really keeps a lot of young kids out of trouble; it gives them a place to go. It’s different from surfing in that surfers have the whole ocean to surf in — it’s for anybody’s use.”
For skaters, it’s a different game.
“They don’t want kids skating in the parking lots anywhere around retail businesses or skating down hills on regular streets, so you have to provide them with a venue to be able to skateboard. Aside from keeping them occupied with an activity and away from loitering and drugs, you have to give them a venue to be able to do that,” Clunies-Ross said.
Clunies-Ross has been involved in skate retail since 1997. Since then, he’s seen a wild growth in the number of those getting into the sport.
“It’s just a shame that there isn’t a venue for it here and that it’s taken so long to make a decision,” Clunies-Ross.
Until a new park is built, local skateboarders have nowhere to skate.
“They’re going as far as Simi Valley to skate there. Venice, Westchester, they’re traveling anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to skate,” Clunies-Ross said.
Malibu skateboarders hope the land swap will result in the creation of a skating venue closer to home.
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Follow Sienna Jackson on Twitter: @SiennaZoran
