Happy New Year! As I write this, it’s raining… I’m delighted to say. This, plus the big rains we had at year’s end, are hopefully a first step to us digging out of our deep hole from drought and climate change. Soon, the Santa Monica Mountains will be greening up, and hikers and trail-runners can enjoy verdant vistas and a new crop of wildflowers.
Recently, those mountains got a big boost in court, as well. Following a hard-fought, one-month trial in Santa Monica Superior Court, attended virtually by several members of the Task Force, the Judge ruled that residents of a small enclave in Malibu called Sycamore Park have no right to bar access by hikers and the public from using their community to access trails in Escondido Canyon Park.
One defendant in the case was the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), a public agency who owns a parcel of land in the enclave. It lies next to an important trailhead leading to Escondido Falls, the largest falls in the Santa Monicas. Not surprisingly, this trail, and trail-system, are very popular. But in 2015, a handful of Sycamore Park homeowners got together and took it upon themselves to put up “No Trespassing” signs and hire a security guard to keep hikers and the public away from Via Escondido Drive. Not content with that, they sued MRCA (itself a holder of property easement rights on Via Escondido) alleging it had no right to invite in the public.
After hearing from dozens of witnesses and examining dozens of old property deeds, the Court disagreed. Famed hiking expert and author John McKinney testified as an expert witness for us. The Court is about to order the residents to remove their signage, including signs misdirecting hikers to a different trailhead a mile west on Pacific Coast Highway. It will likely order that the security guard can no longer keep the public out of Via Escondido.
MRCA was represented as counsel of record in the case by your Chair. This reminds us again that the Sierra Club Santa Monica Mountains Task Force is a trident with three prongs: trail-building and maintenance by our wonderful volunteers; leading of hikes and outings, to familiarize as many as possible with the trails, panoramas, and wonders of the mountains; and finally, activism in the political and legal arenas.
The Sycamore Park case is not over. Now that the court’s 16-page, single-spaced Statement of Decision has been made (as of January 17th), the trial enters Phase Two. MRCA will sue for money damages over the security guard’s wrongful exclusion of its rangers and agency employees, and deprivation of access to its property. After that, there will probably be an appeal.
But for the moment, there is much to celebrate. The last time we had this much joy was two years ago, when the Task Force went to court and single-handedly stopped wealthy U2 guitarist “The Edge” from grading pristine and protected wilderness above the Malibu Pier in order to build five mansions.
It’s a war that never ends, folks. Constantly, we need courage and stomach for battle. Again, Happy New Year to all. And hope to see you at our next Zoom meeting on February 7th!
Eric Edmunds, Chair
Santa Monica Mountains Task Force