State Won’t Yield in No-Parking Sign Dispute : Development: Residents who erected the signs on their narrow private road are notified by the Coastal Commission that they need a permit.

A beachfront hotel. A 35-room mansion. A no-parking sign. What do all three have in common?

In the eyes of the California Coastal Commission, all constitute “development”--and none can be erected without a permit.

Residents along Malibu’s Winding Way found that out this week when they received certified letters from the commission informing them that they are in violation of the California Coastal Act. The two-page letters, each signed by two commission enforcement officers, take issue with 20 or so no-parking signs neighbors recently put up along their narrow private road, ostensibly as a safety measure.

Winding Way residents, already fighting with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy over public access to the road, reacted to the letters with a mixture of surprise and suspicion.

“I’ve never heard of anyone having to get a Coastal Commission permit to put up a no-parking sign,” said Tom Bates, an adviser to the neighbors. “I think it’s an abuse.”

Residents speculated openly that the conservancy and the commission conspired against the residents because they remain wary of conservancy plans to buy much of nearby Escondido Canyon and open it to the public as a nature preserve.

“I just find it very curious that they’re enforcing (the permit requirement) on the residents,” said Cliff Furgurson of the Winding Way Property Owners Assn.

According to the letters, residents must either take down the signs or apply for a permit if they wish to avoid further legal action. Susan Friend, a commission enforcement officer, called the notices a “standard and routine” response to any developer who fails to follow the rules.

She declined to say how inspectors learned about the renegade signs, saying such information is never divulged.

“We have our ways,” she said.

The signs mark a new twist in a smoldering controversy over Winding Way, a narrow, curvy lane that snakes up from Pacific Coast Highway toward Escondido Canyon, a popular hiking spot.

Last month, the executive director of the conservancy, Joe Edmiston, accused some residents of trying to obstruct public access to the canyon, much of which the conservancy plans to buy for preservation.

Residents have strongly countered that they don’t oppose public access per se but do fear increased numbers of automobiles, hikers, bikers, horseback riders and other park users competing for space on Winding Way. Specifically, the property owners worry that, as owners of the road, they will be sued in the event of an accident.

They also agree that the no-parking signs have reduced the danger somewhat. Before the installation of the signs, people routinely parked on a conservancy-owned trail easement that skirts the edge of Winding Way. That meant hikers and horseback riders, rather than using the trail, were forced onto the paved road surface where, neighbors insist, they ran a greater risk of being hit by a vehicle.

“The signs have worked out amazingly well,” said Vicki Weston, a member of the property owners association.

What’s more, they were approved by the city. Malibu Planning Director Bob Benard told residents that the city had no prohibitions against installing the signs. Consequently, the neighbors went ahead and installed them, neglecting to check with the Coastal Commission first.

Benard acknowledged this week that the commission is entitled to raise objections of its own, but he chided the agency for not at least notifying the city before initiating legal action against the homeowners.

“It’s nice to be told you did something wrong before you’re (formally) accused,” he said.

Several neighbors said they probably will try to apply for the necessary permit.