Hearing Scheduled on Plan for Restaurant at Topanga Beach

A controversial plan for a restaurant at Topanga State Beach has been redrawn by the county Department of Beaches and Harbors and will be presented at a public hearing at 9 a.m. April 8 at Burton Chace Park Community Building in Marina del Rey.

The proposal for a 7,500-square-foot restaurant was rejected by the state Park and Recreation Commission last November after a public hearing at which residents of neighboring communities voiced strong objections.

The issue resurfaced last month during a meeting in Santa Monica when commission Chairman Raymond Nesbit asked the county to submit a new proposal.

That plan reduces the size of the restaurant to 4,500 square feet, leaving additional space behind it for parking, said Ted Reed, director of the beaches department.

Past objections to this restaurant and others planned on public property along Pacific Coast Highway have focused on traffic congestion, alcohol sales in the restaurants and loss of parking spaces. Reed said these issues will be addressed at the hearing.

Reports are also being prepared on overall development along Pacific Coast Highway, including the location of a proposed restaurant at Will Rogers Beach and development of the site of the Sunspot Motel at 15145 Pacific Coast Highway, Reed said.