Malibu Residents Oppose County Plan for RV Park

A little more than a year after they abandoned a similar plan at Zuma Beach, Los Angeles County officials are considering a controversial proposal to construct a large recreational vehicle park above Nicholas Canyon Beach in Malibu.

Officials from the county Department of Beaches and Harbors have begun contacting residents in the area to get their comments on the proposed RV park, which a county environmental report said would increase noise levels and traffic hazards and disrupt wildlife.

The Malibu Township Council, the largest civic group in the community, has already voted to oppose the project, which calls for construction of 94 recreational vehicle campsites atop a bluff 100 feet above Nicholas Canyon Beach. The site is above Pacific Coast Highway, 2 miles east of the Ventura County line.

County officials say the park will generate much-needed revenue and help offset the cost of operating Nicholas Canyon Beach. However, area residents, many of whom were among the 1,000 people who protested the construction of the Zuma Beach project, say the park would ruin one of the best beaches in Los Angeles County.

“This is one of the few untouched bluffs left in Malibu,” said resident Alan Shayne. “Putting an RV park here will disturb the whole ecological system. The people who moved here came because it was a beautiful open area, but now that’s going to change.”

During the next few months, county planners will recirculate the environmental impact report on the project and then seek approval from county supervisors to acquire a permit from the California Coastal Commission. Larry Charness, chief of the planning division of the Department of Beaches and Harbors, said construction of the park could begin in March.

Meet With Residents

Charness said the county will meet with residents during the next few weeks to discuss the project, which could earn the county more than $1,000 per day. He said the proposed park, which would be set back from the bluff’s edge at least 25 feet, would have little impact on the beach and the surrounding area.

“At Zuma, we had a much higher-profile project that used up surplus parking and was visible,” Charness said. “But this isn’t. For all intents and purposes, most people in the area won’t even know it’s there.

“We want to work with the community to mitigate any problems, but we think that we’re doing the general public a service. I know there’s opposition, but who does the RV park really affect?”

Malibu community leaders say that rather than building a new recreational vehicle park, the county should just expand an existing one at nearby Leo Carrillo Beach.

The Zuma Beach project, which called for the construction of a 135-vehicle facility, was abandoned last year after the county Sheriff’s Department came out against the plan, citing problems with parking, noise, traffic and law enforcement.

Shayne said residents have the same concerns about the Nicholas Canyon project. In addition, he said, they worry that the project could destabilize the hillside, which is near a landslide area.

The 4 1/2-acre park site, about 24 miles from Santa Monica, was once a residential haven for film stars such as Margot Kidder and Vincent Price. The county condemned the property and purchased it in 1976.

Charness said the county would use part of the property for picnic tables and vista outlooks and construct another beach access trail near Nicholas Canyon. He said the park would require “minimal grading” since it would require only a gravel surface.

Fire Hazard Feared

Shayne said Malibu residents are concerned that the RV site would worsen traffic problems on Pacific Coast Highway and create a fire hazard.

However, Charness said the county is determined to make money off the land. He cited a growing demand to build more recreational vehicle parks along the coast and said similar parks, such as one at Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey, have proven very successful.

“We have the ability to build a first-class facility out there,” Charness said. “It can provide us money to offset the maintenance cost of operating the beach, and that’s the direction that we’re moving in.”

Leon Cooper, vice president of the Malibu Township Council, said the county can expect stiff opposition in the upcoming months, especially in a community that is already at odds with county officials over a cityhood drive.

“The county historically has taken the view that what is good for the county is also good for the people, and that just isn’t so,” he said. “Whenever they face an economic crunch, their inevitable recourse is to exploit a commercial interest.

“But the bottom line isn’t money; it’s the best interests of the public versus the best interests of the county. And the public always loses.”