With PCH reopening this weekend, state and city tussle over Palisades security plans
A roughly 11-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway is set to reopen Friday ahead of Memorial Day weekend, reconnecting Malibu to the Westside after months of closures.
But less than 48 hours before the planned reopening, the state said Wednesday that it remains "in the dark" regarding the city of Los Angeles' plans for providing security to the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades area just off the highway.
Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl countered that the mayor did, in fact, have a plan to keep the area secure and closed to non-residents.
"As PCH is reopened, we will have a strict security plan in place, as we have for months," Seidl said Wednesday afternoon. He did not immediately respond when asked whether he had shared the city's plan with the state.
The leader of the state's emergency services agency sent a sharply worded letter earlier Wednesday to a senior official in Mayor Karen Bass' administration, chiding the city for not answering questions despite weeks of outreach from the state.
As of Wednesday morning, the mayor's office had yet to provide the state with a plan for how it plans to provide security to the Palisades as part of the reopening, or whether it plans to establish new security checkpoints on arterial streets into the community, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Times.
Seidl said Wednesday afternoon that the city would put new checkpoints in place, though he did not provide specifics.
The affluent coastal enclave has remained closed to the public since the devastating January wildfire, months after other fire-damaged neighborhoods reopened. But with the California National Guard set to leave at the end of the month, officials must decide how to move forward. There seems to be a consensus among both state and local officials that the neighborhood should remain closed to the public, though the logistics of that decision remain an open question.
Checkpoints currently block public access at major ingress points to the community. But the reopening of PCH would necessitate several new checkpoints.
"Over the last few weeks, Cal OES has reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and City staff and officials - including as recently as yesterday - offering technical and financial resources to support the City as it develops a security plan," Nancy Ward, who leads the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, wrote in the letter, saying the state would also provide financial support for federal reimbursement-eligible security costs.
"Despite this outreach, we remain in the dark regarding the City's plans and have heard that the City may request a multi-week delay of the reopening of PCH - despite the incredibly hard work by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Caltrans, and many others to facilitate the reopening for Memorial Day," Ward wrote.
Seidl said the city was not requesting a delay to the reopening.
The letter was sent from Ward to deputy mayor for public safety Robert Clark, Bass' top aide overseeing police and fire issues.
Though she stopped short of directly criticizing Bass, Traci Park — the Los Angeles city council member who represents the Palisades — also expressed frustration with the process and lack of clarity.
"For months, Councilmember Park sounded the alarm on safety and called for a formalized plan from departments and consultants through the LA Recovery Committee, which she chairs. None have been forthcoming," Park spokesperson Pete Brown said.
Concerned about the lack of movement, Park submitted her own proposal to the governor for Palisades safety as the highway reopens, Brown said.
The governor's office had reached out to Park with concerns about the situation, according to someone familiar with the issue who was not authorized to speak publicly.
In late January, Bass briefly announced plans to reopen the Palisades to the public before reversing course less than 30 hours later after widespread outcry from community members who said the checkpoints should remain in place.
Newsom previously announced last month that the highway would reopen by the end of May, though he did not provide a specific date. His office declined to comment on the letter.
The soon-to-reopen section of highway, which spans from Chautauqua Boulevard just north of Santa Monica to Sweetwater Canyon Drive in Malibu will operate two lanes of traffic in both directions, according to a CalTrans document.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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