City And County Now Have 14 Burned Hulks Violating Clean Up Order

Today is the deadline for fire debris from January 7th Palisades Fire to be removed. 

In a city where there is still wreckage from fires 30 years ago … that is a bit of a laugh.

The city has no enforcement mechanism in place. 

As of four weeks ago … there were 420 houses destroyed. …. with only seven 7 property owners who have been non-responsive regarding fire debris removal. 

As of June First… 7 property owners who opted out of the government-sponsored debris removal program had missed the deadline to submitted the required permit applications for private cleanup. 

Of those 14 properties in trouble… 10 are located on beachfront lots.

Malibu building officials have been tracking down the owners … to let them know in person about the the cleanup requirements and upcoming deadlines. 

If they miss today’s deadline … which is a near certainty… the City says they will evaluate available options.

Enforcement actions or court proceedings are possible.

So is simply having a private crew come  … clear the land … and add the cost to the next tax bill/

 However, the City’s primary goal is for all property owners to complete debris removal voluntarily and in compliance with the deadline.

But about 420 properties have successfully completed debris removal or are actively in the process—demonstrating strong community commitment to recovery and resilience.

The June 30th is countywide, including in Pacific Palisades part of Los Angeles. 

Some of the major damage along PCH in LA has been removed … but some hasn’t. 

The Tahitian Terrace mobile home park was scraped clear in the last weeks. 

That is 158 affordable houses lost in Tahitian Terrace on Jan. 7.

Next door… however … the 170 homes in the Malibu Bowl mobile home park have not been removed. 

Coastal Plans Trail Access Opposite Geoffreys’s, With No Parking Or Pedestrian Safety Plan

The California Coastal Commission has reached an agreement with a homeowner that could open up another trail from Pacific Coast Highway to Escondido Falls.

The plan is to open up a trail neat to Meadows Court … a cul de sac off PCH just about across the road from Geoffrey’s restaurant.

The state Coastal Commission says the agreement will open up a trail from the highway … through the Meadows Court subdivision … to access Escondido Canyon Park, including Escondido Falls. 

The states says this new trail will alleviate congestion along other trails … including Winding Way. 

The public hiking and equestrian trails in Escondido Canyon Park provide popular low cost recreational opportunities. 

But the opening of the trail does not include and facilities on PCH.

No additional parking … just another trailhead at an already-overcrowded area where visitors jockey for parking near Escondido Beach.

The previous owner of a house on Meadows Court had promised to build the trial in the early 1990s.

He sold the house to a new owner … who has reportedly been cooperating with the state to fulfill the obligation and open up the access way.

The new owner is going to remove fences and landscaping that block the public access easement across the public access easement … and build the trail. 

The homeowner has also agreed to place  directional signage and two benches at locations to be determined by MRCA. 

The homeowner has agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty to the MRCA … the Mountain Recrratio Conservation Authroity. 

That will ensure the long term viability of the trail … says Coastal.

Also … they will pay 250,000 dollars to the Violation Remediation Account of the California Coastal Conservancy Fund.

City of LA Targets Disaster Tourist Losers On Tour Buses In Palisades

Tour buses are making loops thru devastated areas of Pacific Palisades.

Residents there have been shocked and angered that their tragedy has become a stop for gawkers. 

Some Hollywood tour companies are even bringing double deck tour buses into the burned out downtown area of Pacific Palisades.

Residents are furious.

L A city councilwoman Traci Park has introduced a proposed ordinance to ban tour buses in the fire burnout zone.

She says unscrupulous tour bus operators have turned a side of devastating, tragedy and loss into a spectacle exploited for profit.

Her proposed ordinance calls the disaster tourism “despicable.”

The city of Los Angeles already restricts turbos operations where they pose, safety hazards, and she says the extensive construction work in the palisades means the tour buses are a hazard and need to be banned.

The story is based in on coverage from Circling The News … a Palisades newsletter.

SMMUSD Hires New Spokesperson, A Veteran Of U.S. Customs And Border Patrol

The Santa Monica-Malibu school district has a new p-r spokesperson.

Gail Pinsker … there 10-years spokesperson for the district … is retiring. 

The new voice from Santa Monica headquarters is Brandyi Phillips as chief communications officer during its June 24 regular meeting.

Phillips’ resume includes working for Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection division … she says that included managing communications during high-pressure situations, including the humanitarian crisis involving record migrant border crossings. 

And Customs and Border Protection … she handled handled crisis communications and served as agency spokesperson … according  to her resume.

In her 10 years at the SMMUSD … Gail Pinsker was a reliable and accurate voice for the Santa Monica-based school board. 

House Prices Sink Near Fire, Right?  Wrong – up 15%

Home prices in areas surrounding the devastating fires from six months ago have defied expectations.

House and condo prices within a three-mile radius of the Palisades burn area saw a 15 percent increase in the median sales price.

That compares to a 3 percent increase in the general Los Angeles County market. 

That can be considered counterintuitive market behavior … says Property Shark … and it suggests that proximity to burn zones has not deterred buyers from high-demand neighborhoods.

The findings suggest that while wildfires create immediate devastation and displacement, they may have less long-term impact on real estate desirability in established, affluent markets than conventional wisdom might suggest.

One note from this study … although it included part of Malibu inits scope … there were only seven sales in the Malibu total.

That is because eastern Malibu … where the fire hit … does not have a large concentration of houses.

Anecdotally … we hear that the Malibu real estate market has gotten very quiet … with very few listings and sales.

Tejon Ranch Zoning Tossed Out By Appeal Court

A California appeals court has rejected a controversial sprawl development proposed in the fire-prone Interstate 5 Grapevine area … and ordered Los Angeles County to set aside its approvals.

But the developer … Tejon Ranch .. bizarrely is claiming victory.

The 2nd District Court of Appeals ruling upheld a trial judge … who ruled that the massive 57,000-resident new city of Centennial California would be a polluting fire trap. 

The proposed new city would be constructed along Interstate 5 near the grapevine … a very high fire risk corridor that is also a long way out of town. 

Tejon Ranch proposed to bring 75,000 new vehicle trips a day to Teton Summit … commonly called the Grapevine … an already congested freeway that frequently gets closed by snow.

The appeal court upheld the ruling that said L A County did not properly consider the wildfire risk of putting 57 thousand people in the certain path of future fires. 

A senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity said California environmental law “explicitly states that climate, wildfire and other environmental harms must be fully factored in when building a risky project of this size.”

A conservation director at the California Native Plant Society aid Centennial would be sited on one of the state’s last remaining expanses of wildflower fields and native grasslands.

But the development company … Tejon Ranch … spun this as a victory … 

They put out a statement claiming victory … even though its project got shot down. 

Tejon Ranch said it intends to work with Los Angeles County to evaluate how best to advance Centennial in a way that benefits the region and delivers value for our shareholders.

It said the project would bring much needed housing, jobs and open space preservation to a County that urgently needs all three.

OC Looking At Coachella Valley Sand Pit To Replenish San Clemente Beaches

Sand for beach replenishment is a major issue. 

Malibu beaches have never been replenished … but other California beaches from Long Beach down to San Diego have dredged offshore to move sand back to beaches for decades. 

70 miles south of Malibu … the beaches at San Clemente have eroded so much that the railroad track linking LA and San Diego is repeatedly in danger of washing away.

Transit officials are looking at sand dunes in the Coachella Valley as one source of supplemental sand. 

The Orange County transit Authority is looking at shipping in sand from as far away as a quarry near Palm Springs … 

They have it easy .. the sand could be shipped in by rail.

But they are only talking about bringing in 50 thousand cubic yards of sand from Coachella Valley.

Broad Beach homeowners have for 14 years now been paying taxes for a special district that hopes to rebuild Broad Beach.

Critics say 20 million dollars so far have been spent on lawyers and engineers … mostly lawyers.

They may truck in as much as 600 thousand cubic yards … that’s 22 thousand of dump truck loads .. from a sand mine up near Fillmore. 

But that project has been mired in lawsuits for 14 years.

Besides the Broad Beach mess … there are two other possible beach replenishment projects.

The Army Corps of Engineers had plans to demolish Rindge Dam and truck the sand out … via trucks … to be loaded onto barges in Ventura.

The barges would unload the sand at Surfrider Beach … or what’s left of Surfrider Beach.

How that federal plan will fare in this era of Trump … unknown.

A more nebulous plan … more of a concept … would be to ship tens of thousands of truckloads of sand out from the mountains above Pasadena.

The county was studying that as a beach building option … but so far … no specific proposals. 

Orange County is getting its sand … Malibu … years away.

Cool Wave In Malibu About To End, Next Week

It’s going to get very hot … next week … in Malibu.

UCLA meteorologe professor Daniel Swain says the heat that has been gripping the east coast and Midwest has spared the pacific Coast.

But the patterns are changing.

And the beaches of Malibu will not be spared … in about a week … when a major summertime shift occurs.

HOTJULY

The inland high pressure will also suck uo a few monsoon thunderstorms out of Arioxzna and Sonora … and hurtled them towards the coast.

It’s very unusual to have summer thunderstorms over the beach … as the comparatively cool pacific water 

Dick Van Dyke, 99-1/2, Missses His Weekend Party

From People Magazine:

Malibu icon Dick Van Dyke had to miss last weekend’s Vandy Camp fan gathering in Malibu. 

His wife … Arlene Silver … announced that he was “not up to” attending Saturday’s event.

Said Arlene … “I’m sorry. When you’re 99-and-a-half years old, you have good days and bad days, and when you’re 40 years old, you have good days and bad days,” said Silver on stage, according to USA Today. “Unfortunately, today is not a good day for him, and he’s sick that he can’t be here.”

After asking fans to share “what he means to you” for her husband watching at home, Silver noted she’s “pretty confident” he’ll be able to return for the next event.

Hosted by the couple and their musical group The Vantastix, Vandy Camp is described as a “whimsical, vintage circus” honoring their “passion for comedy, vaudeville and the circus.”

Van Dyke celebrated his 99th birthday on Dec. 13

In December, Van Dyke celebrated his 99th birthday. Ahead of the milestone, he appeared in the extended director’s cut of Coldplay’s “All My Love” music video, where he sang with Chris Martin, spent time with his family and reflected on his life.

“I think I’m one of those lucky people who got to do for a living what I would have done anyway,” Van Dyke said in the video. “When you think how lucky I am, I got to do what I do — play and act silly.”

The video also featured vintage clips from Van Dyke’s decades-long career and included a few introspective moments, including his thoughts on love.

“Boy, that’s — they’ve been attacking that question for centuries,” he said at the time. “I don’t know. It certainly is a feeling of caring about the welfare and the life of the other person as much as you care for yourself.”

At one point, Van Dyke also spoke candidly about mortality.

“I’m acutely aware that I’m, you know, can go any day now, but I don’t know why it doesn’t concern me,” he said. “I’m not afraid of it. I have that feeling, totally against anything intellectual, that I’m going to be all right.”