With PCH reopening this weekend, state and city tussle over Palisades security plans

A roughly 11-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway is set to reopen Friday ahead of Memorial Day weekend, reconnecting Malibu to the Westside after months of closures.

But less than 48 hours before the planned reopening, the state said Wednesday that it remains “in the dark” regarding the city of Los Angeles’ plans for providing security to the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades area just off the highway.

Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, countered that the mayor did, in fact, have a plan to keep the area secure and closed to nonresidents.

“As PCH is reopened, we will have a strict security plan in place, as we have for months,” Seidl said Wednesday afternoon. He did not immediately respond when asked whether he had shared the city’s plan with the state.

The leader of the state’s emergency services agency sent a sharply worded letter earlier Wednesday to a senior official in Bass’ administration, chiding the city for not answering questions despite weeks of outreach from the state.

As of Wednesday morning, the mayor’s office had yet to provide the state with a plan for how it will provide security to the Palisades as part of the reopening, or whether it plans to establish new security checkpoints on arterial streets into the community from the highway, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Times.

Seidl said Wednesday afternoon that the city would put new checkpoints in place.

The affluent coastal enclave has remained closed to the public since the devastating January wildfire, months after other fire-damaged neighborhoods reopened. But with the California National Guard set to leave at the end of the month, officials must decide how to move forward. There seems to be a consensus among both state and local officials that the neighborhood should remain closed to the public, though the logistics of that decision remain an open question.

“Over the last few weeks, Cal OES has reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and City staff and officials — including as recently as yesterday — offering technical and financial resources to support the City as it develops a security plan,” Nancy Ward, who leads the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, wrote in the letter, saying the state also would provide financial support for federal reimbursement-eligible security costs.

“Despite this outreach, we remain in the dark regarding the City’s plans and have heard that the City may request a multi-week delay of the reopening of PCH — despite the incredibly hard work by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Caltrans, and many others to facilitate the reopening for Memorial Day,” Ward wrote.

Seidl said the city was not requesting to delay the reopening.

He provided additional details on the security plan Wednesday evening, saying that Bass has directed the LAPD to increase its presence in the area.

The department will be “deploying 112 officers to staff 16 checkpoints in the Palisades, 24 hours a day. In coordination with the state, 30 CHP officers will focus on crime suppression and patrol within the Palisades, and seven additional officers will monitor PCH during the day and night,” Seidl said.

The letter from Ward was sent to deputy mayor for public safety Robert Clark, Bass’ top aide overseeing police and fire issues. Clark has been in the role since early April; his predecessor was placed on administrative leave late last year after being accused of making a bomb threat against City Hall.

Traci Park — the Los Angeles City Council member who represents the Palisades — also expressed frustration with the initial lack of clarity around the city’s security plan, though she stopped short of directly criticizing Bass.

“For months, Councilmember Park sounded the alarm on safety and called for a formalized plan from departments and consultants through the LA Recovery Committee, which she chairs. None have been forthcoming,” Park spokesperson Pete Brown said in a statement.

Concerned about the lack of movement, Park submitted her own proposal to the governor for Palisades safety as the highway reopens, Brown said.

The governor’s office had reached out to Park with concerns about the situation, according to someone familiar with the issue who was not authorized to speak publicly.

In late January, Bass briefly announced plans to reopen the Palisades to the public before reversing course less than 30 hours later after widespread outcry from community members who said the checkpoints should remain in place.

Newsom announced last month that the highway would reopen by the end of May, though he did not provide a specific date. His office declined to comment on the letter.

The soon-to-reopen section of highway, which spans from Chautauqua Boulevard just north of Santa Monica to Sweetwater Canyon Drive in Malibu will operate two lanes of traffic in both directions, according to a California Department of Transportation document.