Council Divided on Park

The Pacific Palisades Community Council was divided last Thursday on whether the state should purchase property off Paseo Miramar to convert into a public park.
The Council voted 8 to 6 on a motion to encourage the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority to wait for another opportunity to purchase parkland. The vote failed because the Council did not have a two-thirds majority.
“That means we are taking a neutral position,” Council Chair Richard G. Cohen told Paul Edelman, MRCA’s chief of natural resources and planning.
The MRCA plans to purchase 0.33 acres at 336 Via Nicolas, a dirt road off Paseo Miramar and near Los Liones Gateway Park. The Council asked the state agency not to acquire the property until it could weigh in.
“For four years, we have been looking for good properties in the area that are vacant,” Edelman said. “It has been very difficult. Many properties are geologically unstable or the owners are unwilling to sell. The price of land is also extremely high.”
“This property has great access; it’s adjacent to the state park, and it has a great view,” Edelman continued. Visitors will be able to see the Self-Realization Fellowship Center, the mountains and ocean.
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Executive Director Joe Edmiston will soon decide whether to purchase the land with money from property taxes. In 2002, property owners in the Santa Monica Mountains zone voted to assess themselves no more than $40 a year for 30 years to fund the acquisition and preservation of nearby open space and parkland.
The MRCA is using about $750,000 to improve Temescal Gateway Park and the remaining approximate $1.4 million is to purchase new property, Edelman said.
Randy Young, who serves on a citizens’ committee that oversees how the property tax is spent, attended the meeting to protest the purchase of the Via Nicolas property because it could be located between two mansions and the land is geologically unstable.
The landowner to the north of the property owns three parcels and is seeking permits from the California Coastal Commission to build a large home, Young said. To the south is a moderate-sized house, but Young predicted that it would eventually be torn down and become a mansion.
Landslides have occurred throughout the area, Young added. In April, the city of Los Angeles finished the construction of a retaining wall on Paseo Miramar near Via Lucia to prevent future slides onto the road.
“I would rather it not be spent, but instead held in a reserve,” Young said.
Edelman said the MRCA does not conduct geological reports on open space, but has not seen any problems with the property. “I would state to you that slides have occurred in every area of the Santa Monica Mountains.”
The property, if turned into a park, would have parking space for only four vehicles, which was not adequate for Council member Paul Glasgall.
“I don’t see spending $1.4 million for four people to go there,” he said.
Council member Janet Turner echoed his sentiment, saying, “I think this is a huge waste of money.”
Member Jack Allen admitted he was not thrilled about the property, but “this is the best piece I’ve seen. I am skeptical they will get anything else.”
Edelman said the MRCA does not intend for the new park to be heavily trafficked.
“It’s local money to provide local benefit,” Edelman told the Palisadian-Post. “It’s one less mansion in a neighborhood. It’s a nice relief, some green space to watch the sunset.”
Another agenda item discussed last Thursday was the city’s new Baseline Mansionization Ordinance, which the Los Angeles City Council adopted in May for all residential properties in “flat areas” of the city.
The ordinance, which became effective June 29, reduces the amount of allowed floor space and the height of homes.
The code cannot be applied to Pacific Palisades because the entire community is zoned as a hillside despite the fact that a number of properties are located in flat areas. At an August meeting, Council member Allen proposed a motion to encourage City Councilman Bill Rosendahl to include the flat areas of the Palisades in the new baseline ordinance.
Erick Lopez of the Los Angeles City Planning Department informed the Council last Thursday that the city has already begun the process of including the flat areas. The current hillside ordinance is based on streets rather than topography, so the city is spending the next couple months looking at topography maps to redefine hillsides, Lopez said. Those areas with a slope of at least 15 percent or more will be considered hillside.
After the areas are identified, there will be a public hearing, and then the City Council and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa have to approve the new zoning, Lopez said. Those interested in being notified about the public hearing should e-mail Lopez at erick.lopez@lacity.org asking to be added to the “hillside definition list.”
Council Chair Cohen said the Council intends to learn more about the city’s proposal for redefining hillsides and what it means to be included in the mansionization ordinance before taking a position.