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THE PEPPERDINE GRAPHIC Volume LII
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Issue 7
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February 17, 2023
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pepperdine-graphic.com
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follow us @peppgraphic
Malibu City Council drops ban on encampments Liza Esquibias Multimedia Producer
Malibu City Council fights against lowimpact camping Abby Wilt Managing Editor The California Coastal Commission and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors remain invested in the proposition of low-impact camping in the Santa Monica Mountains — a move the Malibu City Council is not in favor of, Mayor Bruce Silverstein said. The debate has been ongoing since 2019, when the Council submitted its first letter of opposition to the County. The Council wrote three letters in total, which stated letting individuals camp in a high-fire zone was dangerous, according to the letters. “There’s plenty of other areas in California that aren’t very high fire hazard severity zones where people can go camp,” Silverstein said. Defining Low-Impact Camping Low-impact camping is land designed for carry-in, car-
ry-out camping — allowing campers to walk from ADA compliant drop-off areas, trails or associated parking lots, according to a Nov. 15 Santa Monica Mountains Local Coastal Program Amendment. Low-impact camping does not damage or change the land, and everything the camper brings in, they need to bring back out, according to Essortment. “This low-impact camping truly is a hike-in, hike-out, bring everything you need in your backpack and leave no trace,” Director of Regional Planning Amy Bodek said in an April 19 L.A. County Board of Supervisors meeting. Low-impact campgrounds do not have fire-protective measures, such as rules about no camping on fire red flag days — days with extreme fire risks — campsite inspections and no cooking facilities, the Council wrote in a Jan. 20 letter to the CCC. The Mountains Recreation
THE WAVES REPORT: FEB. 20-25
In mid-January, Malibu lifted its emergency order allowing the city to immediately clear any unhoused encampments in fireprone areas, which began in September, Public Safety Liaison Luis Flores said.
Mayor Bruce Silverstein was the only person to vote against this motion, which he said targeted two related issues Malibu has been facing for years — unhoused encampments and camping. Official fire season ended in January, but Silverstein said because Malibu is one of the few areas in California that is considered a very high fire hazard severity zone, wildfire risk never truly disappears. “In my view, until Mother Nature does something different or the state does something different in the Santa Monica
and Conservation Authority previously looked at adding low-impact campgrounds to Malibu Bluffs Park and Ramirez Canyon Park, according to past reporting in The Malibu Times. “Right now, you're just allowed to hike there; you're not allowed to camp there,” Silverstein said. “So it [low-impact campgrounds] will be an increase in what you're allowed to do.”
MON: 1-2 FT
The Unhoused Population and Wildfires The emergency order Malibu had in place allowed city officials to remove unhoused encampments from public property if the encampments posed a wildfire risk during the usual fire season, which typically runs from September through January, Flores said. In recent years, Flores said the city's efforts to reduce the number of unhoused individuals in Malibu have naturally trickled into efforts to reduce fire risk, and vice versa. “There's a direct correlation with homeless count numbers and fires, so we try to keep the number as low as possible,” Flores said.
See A5
Design by Haley Hoidal Creative Director
See A5
TUES: 1-2 FT
Mountains for wildfires, we are in a state of emergency,” Silverstein said.
WED: 1-2 FT
THURS: 2-3 FT
FRI: 2-3 FT