Palisadians Fight for YMCA Pool’s Future

The former Palisades-Malibu YMCA pool in Temescal Canyon may soon be filled with dirt and converted into a public picnic area. Gary Timm, California Coastal Commission coastal program manager, told the Palisadian-Post that his staff is recommending the Commission grant the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy a coastal development permit waiver to pack the empty pool with 650 cubic yards of fill material. In October, the Conservancy submitted an application requesting the waiver, citing liability concerns. The Coastal Commission will make a decision at its next meeting on Friday, November 14, in Long Beach. If the Commission decides not to grant the waiver, there will be a public hearing at the Commission meeting in December or January. The pool had to be closed in February because of a recirculation leak, which the Y had hoped to repair. The Y, however, discovered that the 50-year-old pipes need to be replaced for an estimated cost of $400,000. Since then, the Y and Conservancy have struggled to reach an agreement on a new lease and the Y has vacated the premises. The Coastal Commission has received numerous letters from Pacific Palisades residents protesting the proposal to fill in the pool, but ‘that is a local issue,’ Timm said. His staff studied the application to determine whether it complies with the California Coastal Act and determined that it did. The Coastal Act outlines standards of development within the coastal zone and is focused on protecting resources.   ’We don’t outline specific uses within public parks if there is not a Coastal Act issue,’ Timm continued. On October 22, Y Executive Director Carol Pfannkuche encouraged Conservancy Executive Director Joe Edmiston to withdraw his application and to negotiate a lease agreement with the Y before filling in the pool. In June, the Y had asked the Conservancy for a 55-year lease agreement, but Pfannkuche has since said the Y would be willing to negotiate a shorter lease. ‘The pool and the future of the entire canyon and all of its facilities and future needs must be considered before a long-term lease is given of state park property for any private purpose, no matter how meritorious such lease may appear to local swimmers,’ Edmiston told the Post on Tuesday.   ’If the YMCA wants to keep the status quo, with the pool empty, skateboarders breaking-in, and the potential (however likely or unlikely) for geological liability, then it can step up to the plate and assume such liability ‘   ’The YMCA can’t try and force a shotgun long-term lease upon the State of California in order for the state to avoid liability for the empty pool,’ Edmiston continued. ‘The state has the right to avoid current liability by doing what its consultants have advised without being forced into a long-term lease situation with a sole-source private entity.’ The Conservancy’s consultants, Penfield & Smith Engineering, recommended filling in the pool, and the Conservancy wants to do so before rainy season begins, said Lisa Soghor, deputy executive officer of the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority. The pooling of rainwater could be attractive to rodents and the leaky pipes could destabilize the slope. Even if the pool is filled in, Edmiston said, that doesn’t mean the ‘YMCA can’t or won’t ultimately have a pool in Temescal Canyon.’ His staff will propose that the Conservancy board adopt a planning process for the canyon’s future at a December 8 meeting in Temescal. At the end of that planning process, the board may decide to have a pool in the canyon, and then the Y and other entities could bid on operating it, Edmiston said. Pfannkuche told the Post in an October 23 article that ‘By filling in the pool and then negotiating, the Conservancy removes the option to fix the existing facility.’ Friends of the Temescal Pool (a group of citizens advocating the re-opening of the pool) ‘are going to do everything we can to stop [Edmiston],’ said Ilene Cassidy, who has been swimming at the pool for 26 years. Cassidy and John Yeh, who serves on the Y’s facilities committee, recently formed the coalition, which has collected about 75 letters protesting the pool’s closure. The coalition has sent the letters to the Conservancy board, Coastal Commission and other political leaders who may have some influence. The coalition has collected more than 550 signatures at the farmers’ market on Swarthmore. The petition urges Edmiston to negotiate a new lease with the Y. ‘We really need community support,’ Cassidy said. ‘Edmiston has to feel the heat.’ The coalition is insisting that the Conservancy re-open the pool because Proposition A funding, which was used to purchase the park, stipulates the land be used for senior facilities in addition to at-risk youth services. Many senior citizens with medical conditions used the Y pool for therapy, said coalition member Jean Rosenfeld. Friends of Temescal Pool’s next meeting will be at 3:30 p.m. Friday, November 7, at the YMCA. The group’s Web site is www.friendstemescalpool.org.