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Malibu's far-sighted decision to limit intensive public uses and expansion of camping in high fire hazard areas is under sustained attack by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. The Conservancy is proposing to install new campgrounds in three of Southern California's most delicate canyons: Ramirez, Escondido and Corral. Also, the Conservancy is aggressively pushing its plan to allow large groups of people to rent out the Ramirez Canyon Park facilities for 32 major events a year, with as many as 200 people per event. The Conservancy's development plans raise serious public safety concerns. These high-risk proposals are inappropriate, since there are numerous existing recreational opportunities, facilities and programs offered throughout Malibu, including the canyons. Responsible, safe programs.
Our canyons in high fire hazard zones are at great risk. Ramirez, Escondido and Corral Canyons are classified by Cal Fire as being in a very high fire hazard severity zone. Ramirez Canyon is perhaps the most dangerous of the three, because there is only one means of evacuation in the event of an emergency — a private, mile-long, rural, narrow roadway, in places only 10 to 12 feet wide, with several shallow or dry dip crossings of Ramirez Creek and narrow bridges. Under SMMC's Plan, this private road would provide the only access into and out of the canyon for expanded use by campers, party-goers and other new visitors. Even more important, under state law, Ramirez Canyon Road is substandard for purposes of emergency vehicle access and for the evacuation of the canyon's occupants in the event of a flood or wildfire emergency. The road to Escondido Park is also narrow and winding, and the roads inside Corral Canyon barely offer safe passage for two cars to pass - let alone large fire engines or other emergency vehicles.
Malibu tried to find a reasonable compromise. The City of Malibu worked diligently to avoid a confrontation with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. After all, the Conservancy has a laudable record of acquiring and preserving open space for future generations. In late 2007, after a lot of thought and public debate, Malibu approved a compromise that made sense to a lot of people. The city's plan takes into account the safety of park users and local residents and, at the same time, permits Conservancy programs that are safe and responsible. In Ramirez Canyon, for example, the City approved a modest but responsible expansion of daytime activity and also approved supervised camping for disabled visitors. Most importantly, the City's compromise includes specific measures to protect the public, including secondary access to Ramirez and Escondido Canyons.
Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich summed it up very well for a Los Angeles Times article last year. She was discussing the 2007 Corral Canyon fire, which was started by an illegal late-night campfire: "Malibu is one way in and out...if you have 15 million visitors a year and additional campers, somebody could get hurt. It's not only about the safety of the people who live here but also the safety of all visitors."
The Conservancy rejected Malibu's compromise and fired up its steamroller.
Malibu's effort to find a middle ground was dismissed out-of-hand by the
Conservancy. At that point, the Conservancy activated its platoon of lawyers
- paid for by the California public - to find "creative" interpretations of
the law and develop other legal maneuvers to steamroll the City of Malibu. The
Conservancy's latest tactic is blunt force: It has persuaded the California
Coastal Commission to allow it to present its plans for new development in
the high fire zone directly to the commission. The Malibu City Council filed
a lawsuit to block this effort to eviscerate its local authority, but a
judge ruled that the City cannot bring its challenge until the Commission
has acted on the Conservancy's application. The Commission is likely to
take up the matter late '08 or early '09. You can bet other cities will be
closely watching what happens here. After all, if the Conservancy succeeds
in rolling over Malibu, it will not hesitate to do the same thing to other small communities.
Malibu's lawsuit against Coastal Commission — Malibu Times: 7/16/2008; Malibu Times, 10-09-08
The Big Bear in the Woods: a Fable — Malibu Times: 7/23/2008
- Malibu has been designated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) as a "Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Community at Risk."
- SMMC properties in Ramirez Canyon, Escondido Canyon, Corral Canyon, and the City's Charmlee Park are also designated by CDF as "Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones."
- Ramirez Canyon, Escondido Canyon, Corral Canyon and Charmlee Park are vegetated with Chaparral ESHA. Chaparral ESHA has a very high "fuel load" and is the most extensive wildland fire threat in Los Angeles County.
- Malibu has a history of destructive wildfires. In October 2007, the Malibu Times reported: "Santa Ana winds traveling up to 80 mph temperatures in excel of 90 degrees and single digit humidity levels combine to create Malibu's worst fire since 1993 after a power line goes down on Malibu Canyon Road." That fire destroyed the Malibu Presbyterian Church and eight other structures, and damaged Our Lady of Malibu and Webster Elementary School. A little more than a month later, Malibu suffered the horrific Corral Canyon Fire — 53 homes were destroyed and another 45 structures damaged. Six firefighters were injured. "Human activity", a.k.a. camp fire, was named as the cause of the fire.
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Malibu's foothills are the wrong place for camping and large private events.
Camping in Malibu's Foothills is Inherently Unsafe. SMMC proposes
"trail camps" and "hike in" camps at Ramirez, Escondido and Corral Canyon. A "trail
camp" is a small campsite, located to the side of a trail. These camps are generally
designed in chains, to accommodate overnight users on extended trips. A "hike in" camp
is a small grouping of campsites, also accessed only by trail. The lack of vehicular access
to these areas hinders rapid fire response. In addition, because these camps are so
remote, "no smoking" and "no campfire" rules would be difficult, if not impossible, to
enforce.
Large Private Events in Ramirez Canyon Are Inherently Unsafe. The
SMMC Override and the Malibu LCPA propose to allow SMMC to lease its Ramirez
property for large private events, with as many as 200 people. The Malibu LCPA
conditions these events on alternate access and limits them to 16 per year; SMMC
proposes these events with no alternate access and increases the number to 32 per year.
Like camping, even with alternate access, these events are not safe - for at least three
reasons:
1. Ramirez Canyon is a dry, narrow box canyon. Fires that start at the base of box canyons create strong upslope drafts, which cause the fire to spread rapidly upslope and create extreme fire behavior and dangerous conditions. Steep terrain also creates extremely hazardous conditions for fire-fighting personnel and limits the use of heavy equipment, such as bulldozers, to create fire lines.
2. Ramirez Canyon Road is not an adequate primary or secondary access because it does not meet the requirements of state or local fire codes. State and local fire codes require an evacuation route to be at least 20 feet wide wide. Ramirez Canyon Road is only 13 feet wide in some places, with nine speed bumps. The front yard setbacks are narrow, and some structures are located very near the road. The road traverses Ramirez Creek with "Arizona crossings" and narrow bridges and is impassable in times of heavy rain. At the bottom of the canyon, the road passes under Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) through a concrete tunnel that is barely wide enough for a single car. The distance from PCH to the SMMC property is one mile. There is no way for event participants and canyon residents to simultaneously evacuate — and there is no way for fire equipment to come up the canyon while an evacuation is in progress.
3. Are the Conservancy's Ramirez structures fire safe? Before Ms. Streisand donated the property to SMMC, she used it as a residence. SMMC changed that use and, therefore, was required to bring the structures up to the Uniform Fire Code. That requires compliance with fire safety standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal for state-owned or state-occupied buildings, and compliance with the extensive and detailed restrictions that apply to buildings in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones and in urban/wildland interface communities. There are no records indicating that the structures at the SMMC Ramirez property have been lawfully converted from residential to commercial uses, nor that any fire protection measures have been installed (e.g., sprinklers, fire safe walls, windows and doors). Yet, both the SMMC Override and the Malibu LCPA authorize the use of these structures for small and large events, as well as for regional executive offices for SMMC and its sister agency, Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.
Alternative to SMMC's proposal for camping. In and around Malibu, there are 272
federally-owned, 678 state-owned and four City of LA-owned campsites. Even if
SMMC could demonstrate a public need for more camp facilities, those facilities should
be sited on non-ESHA and beach properties - not in Malibu's dry, box canyons.
Alternative to SMMC's "override" and Malibu's LCPA proposals for large, private
events. There are 23 event, catering, and conference facilities in the Malibu area that
accommodate various kinds of special events, with capacities from less than 100 persons
to more than 500 persons. The facilities include restaurants, conference centers,
museums, ranches, parks, hotels, retreat centers, and the like. The estimated total
capacity of these facilities is approximately 6,045 persons. Even if SMMC could
demonstrate a need for more event facilities, that need should be met at other SMMC and
MRCA properties, with adequate vehicular access and less fire risk.
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