Coastal Comm Hits Malibu Hard in 3 Places: Point Dume Parking, Ocean Rise Planning, And Oceanfront Septic Tanks All Placed In Coastal Commission Bullseye

Never pull a whisker off of a sleeping sea lion.

That may be the lesson for the City of Malibu … and residents of Point Dume.

Last week … it became apparent that the Coastal Commission is very likely going to order the removal of no parking signs along Cliffside … Bird View … Dume Drive … and other streets near the tip of Point Dume.

Also, the Commission told Malibu it had better plan for a 6-1/2 foot ocean rise.

And … get ready for a crackdown on oceanfront septic tanks.

It was a long meeting!

At the Coastal Commission meeting in Long Beach Thursday … the commission’s chief enforcement officer said the city is in violation of a 1999 consent order regarding parking at the point.

The city had been planning to ask to put up a gate to prevent parking at the small parking lot … to prevent nighttime parking.

Oops.

That drew the attention of public access advocates … and the Coastal Commission.

The city withdrew it the request at the last minute.

Too late.

Here’s Coastal Commission chief enforcement officer Steve Hudson … at yesterday’s Coastal Commission meeting in Long Beach.

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“This is a very important public access case for us.

There is a a lot of history here.

”And as we researched this case pursuant to this appeal we discovered other violations that had occurred. … including the breach of the conditions of our  settlement agreement.

“There was a provision requiring the operation of a shuttle by the city … and they were not allowed to cease operation of that public shuttle.

“It would

“It would bring people up from the bottom from below the hill up to the state park at the top of the bluff.

“And that was part of this overall solution for this lack of parking.”

Appearing before the Coastal Commission in Long Beach yesterday … Malibu resident Sara Wan.

She said she was appalled that Malibu would ask to put a gate on a public road.

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“As one of the signators to that settlement agreement … I was on the commission when we made it … we were very concerned about the cessation of the shuttle without any notification to the commission … and the continuation of the boulders and the signs … that really prevent public parking and access to the nature reserve and to that whole area …. which was the reason why we went to the whole process of enforcement action and wound up with a settlement agreement.”

And it’s not just at the park at the tip of Point Dume where the city violated coastal law … according to the chief enforcement officer.

Steve Hudson says other nearby streets on the point have no parking signs …. with no coastal commission permits.

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“There were other areas within that Point Dume area that had no parking signs … and as we looked into that very closely .. our settlement agreement did not resolve those other violations and it made a point in the settlement itself that that was a separate violation.

“The intention was that … that would have been resolved through the city’s LCP … but of course that didn’t happen.

“So there also was the intention that there would be a larger public access and parking program at Point Dume … and that didn’t happen.

“So these are issues that we will continue to pursue.”

The coastal commission sent a letter to Malibu City hall this week … letting Malibu know it needs to add public parking at Point Dume.

And as for the gate … forget about it.

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And meeting Thursday … the Coastal Commission opened up yet another new dispute between the City of Malibu and the Coastal Commission.

This involves that house we’ve been telling you about a proposed house on the beach at Trancas Creek.

The house is designed to withstand a higher ocean level … caused by global warming.

The city says the house needs to be built to account for an expected increase in the ocean level … over the next 80 years … of 1 and a half feet.

No way … says the Coastal staff.

Try 6 and a half feet …

The Commission unanimously voted to go ahead with an investigation into the city’s oceanfront policies.

They say that even putting the new house on pilings … as proposed by the homeowner at Trancas … is no good.

They say the homeowner will need protection against both ocean uprush … and erosion from trancas Creek …

And they say the city has failed to use the best science available in planning for ocean level increases.

They point to the latest studies offciially adopted by the state … whcih call for planning for a 66 inch increase in ocean levels over the next 80 years.

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The coastal access battle at Latigo Beach was resolved Thursday.

The Coastal Commission accepted an agreement with the homeowners association … which privatized a chunk of public beach 50 years ago.

The big issue was a sewage treatment plant that was built in front of the Tivoli Cove condominiums 50 years ago.

It is protected from the ocean by rocks …and the rocks block people from walking along the beach towards the Latigo Beach surf break.

Thursday … the homeowners associaton won unanimous praise from the Coastal Commission … for working with the state to undo a mistake that deprived the public of access to the beach.

But the fact that the condos have their sewage plant right on the beach troubled commissioner Donne Brownsey.

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“Why in 2020 there is a wastewater treatment or a septic slash leach field on the beach in the state of California … I mean…”

State officials pointed out that the Tivoli Cove condos’ sewage plant uses modern ultraviolet treatment … meets state water board standards … and passes water board tests every week.

But they also said that the Coastal Commission staff is upset that most of Malibu is on septic tanks.

And they said the coastal agency will increase pressure on Malibu to build sewer liens along the beach.