Puerco Canyon Campground and Trailhead Project

Project Specifications

Client: Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority

Location: Los Angeles County

Services: Environmental Review & Permitting, Public Participation & Community Involvement

Under contract with the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), Aspen provided CEQA-compliance support, including project scoping and alternative site analysis, for development of a day use, camping, and trailhead recreational facility in Puerco Canyon, located in the Santa Monica Mountains just north of the City of Malibu. The project site is located on a 703-acre property bounded by Corral Canyon Park to the west, Pepperdine University to the east, Malibu Creek State Park to the north, and Pacific Coast Highway to the south.

Aspen supported the MRCA by managing a public scoping effort to initiate the CEQA environmental review process. In compliance with CEQA, the MRCA held a 30-day public scoping period to allow members of the public, regulatory agencies, and interested parties an opportunity to identify issues to be addressed in the environmental document. Aspen prepared a Notice of Preparation (NOP), which was mailed to property owners located within 500 feet of the project site, as well as emailed to the California Coastal Commission, National Park Service, State Parks, and the County of Los Angeles. Aspen also prepared newspaper ads, which were published in the Malibu Surfside News and Malibu Times. A public scoping meeting was also held at Temescal Gateway Park in the Elizabeth A. Cheadle Hall. Following the public scoping period, Aspen documented and summarized public comments in a Scoping Report, which included 208 comment letters and oral comments received by many of the 24 attendees at the public scoping meeting. Aspen provided a summary of the main issues raised during public scoping, which helped inform the next steps in the environmental review process. Aspen also completed a policy consistency analysis that evaluated compliance with Coastal Act Policies.

One major issue raised during public scoping was exploring other alternative sites for the project. As a result of these scoping comments, MRCA requested that Aspen conduct an analysis of an alternative site, Malibu Bluffs, located adjacent to Malibu Bluffs Park at 24250 Pacific Coast Highway, south of Highway 1 in the City of Malibu. For this alternative site, Aspen conducted spring biological surveys and prepared an updated traffic study, which supported the MRCA’s coordination with the California Coastal Commission. The spring biological survey was conducted to observe and map wildlife and vegetation features, which were documented in a report describing the biota and including GIS-ready maps. The updated traffic analysis was conducted to determine how the development of a recreational facility on the Malibu Bluffs site would affect traffic conditions in the vicinity of the project site.