Rick Mullen, president of the Ramirez Canyon Preservation Fund, prepared this statement in advance of the Malibu City Council meeting called to consider the SMMC's proposal to override the Local Coastal plan amendment.

In his opinion...

Well, here we go again.

Last year the Malibu City Council rightfully determined that certain proposals - like overnight camping - presented real danger to our residents, firefighters and the public. Well, what wasn't safe last year, certainly isn't any safer this year.

I am a California taxpayer, a Malibu homeowner and a firefighter. This proposal doesn't make sense no matter which persona I view this from.

As a California taxpayer, I have to ask why, when we are going through one of the state's most difficult budget years - when we are cutting fuding to our schools and other valuable programs, including closing our parks - why would we even consider spending money on new park and recreational initiatives instead of focusing on those we currently have open and ensuring that those are properly managed and maintained. Instituting overnight camping in Ramirez, Escondido and Corral Canyons, for instance, would require more resources and supervision — and more money — that the state has. As the devastating Corral Canyon fire last year demonstrated, the state doesn't have the resources necessary to staff the Park facilities it currently maintains. This was so last fiscal year, and it's doubly so this fiscal year. I am just one of many taxpayers who think the Conservancy's plan would be bad policy, a bad investment and pose a threat to public safety.

As a canyon resident, it would not be an exaggeration to say I fear for my life, for the lives of my neighbors and for those whose lives we would put at risk with ill-conceived development plans for properties that are at the end of box canyons with only one way in and one way out --no matter how you look at it, increasing human activity increases the threat of disaster.

As a firefighter, I see a strain on state and local resources fighting fires in sensitive areas that are over used but, because of manpower restraints, loosely patrolled and managed. California used to have its fire "seasons," but the current drought conditions have made every day a potential fire day, as we've seen in the last few weeks with fires up and down the state.

The decision by the Council last year was a compromise that made sense for the safety of residents, firefighters and the public. Given the safety and economic concerns that have only been exacerbated since that vote, it is obvious that any attempt to override the Council's amendment should be met with a forceful "no." — July 7, 2008