Overnight Camping Issue between City and SMMC Resurfaces

BY BILL KOENEKER

The showdown between Malibu city officials and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy before the California Coastal Commission over a park plan that includes overnight camping has been delayed until June, according to a CCC official.
“We were going to have this [hearing] here locally in February. But it just isn't ready. We could have put it on March, but that is not local, it is in Monterey. It is now scheduled for June,” said Patrick Veesart, a CCC coastal program analyst, when the commission meets in a local venue in Southern California
Veesart said having the meeting in the Los Angeles region was important to not only the City of Malibu, but also the Ramirez homeowners group.
At the same time, the city withdrew its application for a Local Coastal Program amendment and resubmitted it to avoid deadline issues for the commission and so both the city’s request and the Conservancy’s can be heard at the same time, he said.
“The commission will hear the city's application first and then the SMMC override,” added Veesart.
The summer hearing follows on the heels of a long complicated procedure that started nearly two years ago when the SMMC wanted to get approval for what they called a park enhancement plan that included overnight camping in Corral Canyon, Escondido Canyon and Ramirez Canyon including additional activities in Ramirez where SMMC headquarters is located. The plan also includes trails linking the publicly owned lands in the coastal canyons.
At first the Conservancy wanted the Coastal Commission to hear the matter under the rubric of a public works plan.
The city objected and during lengthy negotiations a compromise was reached that would forgo camping in Corral and Escondido canyons and be allowed in Charmlee Park instead.
West Malibu residents cried foul and insisted the council not support the tentative deal worked out with the state agency.
At a raucous session in Dec. 2007, an emotional appeal by Malibuites who had just endured two wildfires swayed council members to seek its own plan that would prohibit overnight camping in Malibu.
Council members insisted they were merely approving a scaled back version of the LCPA sought by the SMMC.
SMMC head Joe Edmiston was furious and accused the city and its residents of trying to have it both ways saying everybody wanted the open space paid for by all of the taxpayers, but they won't allow or permit anyone but locals to use the amenities.
Council members readily acknowledged the matter could once again result in a showdown between the city and powerful state agencies, including the Coastal Commission, which would have to approve the city's request for a LCPA.
What the city council nor any of its officials were prepared for was the next move of the Conservancy.
Afterwards, the SMMC head and board using a little-known provision of the Coastal Act sought what is called an override of the LCPA process. Municipal officials were stunned and cried foul, but to no avail.
The Charmlee overnight camping deal was off the table with Edmiston and SMMC officials proceeding with the original plans of the park enhancement, but utilizing an override procedure.
With both the city's plan and the SMMC version set to go before the commission it now is a matter of how the coastal panel will view overnight camping in Malibu.