Supervisors Deny Zoning Permit to Topanga Canyon Nudist Camp

The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected a zoning application by the Elysium Fields nudist camp in Topanga Canyon, the latest twist in the longest and most expensive zoning battle in Los Angeles County history.

The board has been trying to close the clothing-optional camp for 16 years but has been thwarted by court rulings.

Led by Supervisor Mike Antonovich, the board voted to deny the camp a nonconforming-use permit that would allow it to continue operating in the rural neighborhood.

Ed Lange, the camp’s founder, said that, if “this means we have exhausted all our administrative remedies, we will have to go to court.”

‘Complete Surprise’

“The vote came as a complete surprise,” he said. “We thought it would be referred to the planning commission, where it could get a nonpolitical review.”

In early 1985, Antonovich asked the board to deny the permit, claiming that weak geological formations prevented widening of the entry road to the camp, and that it and its narrow roadway were a fire hazard.

Elysium’s operators challenged that decision in Los Angeles Superior Court, however. The court ordered the board to consider independent studies, which found the area to be free of major geological problems.

In his motion Tuesday, Antonovich contended that, despite additional evidence showing the geology around the nudist camp to be relatively stable, “I cannot condone the continued threats to public health, safety and welfare caused by the regular visits of hundreds of people to this residential location.” Alleging fire hazards and noise, he said the camp is a commercial intrusion.

Support From Neighbors

Topanga residents last year rallied to Elysium’s side, contending that the camp is an important part of the community. Elysium’s operators sponsor community events and open their park-like grounds to non-members for fully clothed visiting days each summer.

Lange, considered a respected community leader in Topanga, has publicly challenged the view of some county officials that nudism promotes illicit sexual behavior.

‘We have always had this dichotomy between our view and his,” Lange said of Antonovich. “I don’t really know what’s underneath it all.”

Elysium and the county have each spent more than $150,000 in the zoning fight.