Getty Villa

We very much appreciate the Sept. 25 article regarding the proposed Getty Villa expansion and the serious concerns felt about it by communities immediately adjacent to the villa. As 31-year residents of Sunset Mesa (an adjacent unincorporated community), we have in the past enjoyed and supported the villa. However, we strongly object to the villa’s proposed outdoor amphitheater (600-950 seat capacity) and greatly increased parking (560 spaces). Six hundred theatergoers entering the villa by car from Pacific Coast Highway at 7 p.m. and exiting via Coastline Drive onto PCH at 11 p.m. pose a serious traffic problem for everyone who travels on an already overloaded PCH and its major intersecting arteries.

The adjacent communities are not alone in questioning the impact of these features. The California Highway Patrol, the Sheriff’s Department, Caltrans, the Department of Parks and Recreation and the city of Malibu have also expressed their concerns about the effects of the villa expansion on traffic congestion, safety and environment.

LEW and GWEN KIRK

Malibu