George Wolfberg Park at Potrero Canyon
As the community celebrates the opening of the beautiful George Wolfberg Park at Potrero Canyon, I’d like to highlight for Palisadian-Post readers several important, unresolved issues related to park security, safety and access.
For context, I’m a 31-plus-year resident of the Via Bluffs neighborhood who has been following the park’s progress for many years, both personally and as a past officer and current at-large representative of Pacific Palisades Community Council. I comment now as an individual resident.
Security/Safety: Unfortunately, as I write this letter (one week after the opening), the park is still not completed according to the plans approved by the Coastal Commission.
The plans require perimeter fencing to be installed around the entire park, including along the sides and across the mouth of the canyon (south end, near PCH). Complete permanent fencing and a locked gate are not yet installed in this area, and it’s unclear when these required structures will be fully constructed.
Meanwhile, determined individuals can access the park from the south end at any time, day or night, putting at risk the security of hundreds of canyon rim residents. Moreover, city officials have informed residents that a park ranger will not be appointed to monitor the park.
Another concerning issue: Several residents have noticed what appears to be extensive standing water throughout the riparian zone—a breeding ground for mosquitos. These conditions were recently confirmed by a Recreation and Parks maintenance staffer who investigated the area. Park officials have been notified, as has Vector Control, but it’s unknown at this time what corrective measures will be taken.
Access: For decades, a primary objective of this park—as publicly repeated by all City Councilmembers who have represented Pacific Palisades from the park’s inception, beginning with Marvin Braude—has been to create an accessway between Palisades Recreation Center and the beach.
This was a principal goal of the park’s namesake, George Wolfberg, with whom I worked extensively for many years. Sadly, it’s not clear at this point when or even if this goal will be met. Here are the reasons why there’s uncertainty:
- Pedestrian bridge/PCH overcrossing: This structure (intended to allow direct, safe crossing from the canyon’s mouth to the beach) is in the pre-design phase and many years away from being constructed—which can only occur with Caltrans’ cooperation and if required permission is obtained. Although funding was allocated in the state (not federal) budget, it’s unclear if a “follow-on” bill (as the Post reported in 2021) has been or will be brought to clarify whether the city or Caltrans would be the recipient. In addition, the current Coastal permit for the project requires the city to submit a feasibility study to the Coastal Commission as well as separately apply for another Coastal permit for the bridge, which must be approved before construction can even begin. This process is likely to take several years, and the outcome can’t be predicted with absolute certainty at this point.
- Lateral trail to Temescal Canyon Road: This route would allow pedestrians to walk from the canyon’s mouth along the inland side of PCH to the Temescal Canyon Road intersection, and from there to cross safely to the beach. The current Coastal permit for the project requires the city to construct this trail to provide “maximum access to the coast” (a mandate of the Coastal Act), yet the city has not yet begun to do so, claiming (as it has repeatedly claimed for the past several years) that it is still in negotiations with Caltrans over use of the PCH right of way. We don’t know when, if ever, an agreement with Caltrans will be reached. Moreover, federal funding for the trail is still uncertain, since it has not yet been approved by the entire Congress. Additionally, we were recently informed that the amount needed to construct the trail is more than twice the amount of the applied-for federal funding; it’s unclear whether any other funds would be available to make up the shortfall.
- Current status: A sign (required by the Coastal permit) posted along the main trail on the top of the slope at the mouth of the canyon states: “Future Coastal Access.” It remains to be seen whether the longstanding vision—and Coastal Commission requirement—of an accessway from the Rec Center to the beach will ever be achieved.
I hope and trust that our new Councilmember Traci Park and her staff will bring clarity and take appropriate steps to ensure park completion, security, safety and eventual access to the beach.
Christina Spitz
Supporting Resilient Palisades
It’s been a great year in the Palisades, and a busy one for Resilient Palisades.
We added three new community teams—Green Banking, Water Sages and Biking—to our four existing teams: Clean Air and Water, Vegan Solutions, Clean Energy, and Zero Waste. Our seven teams are working hard on campaigns and events that build community and resilience in the Palisades.
One big highlight: Our revolutionary Leafblower Program, in which the Clean Air and Water team purchases top-of-the-line electric leaf blowers for gardeners with Palisadian clients, hosted a demo day and signed up over 80 gardeners with Palisades clients.
RP works with an authorized dealer to buy the equipment for gardeners, leveraging a new state program (CORE) that subsidizes purchases of electric garden equipment. Then, after clients see benefits of gas-free gardening, RP asks clients to contribute toward equipment. We are well on our way to finally eliminating noisy, toxic, C02-emitting gas blowers from the Palisades, which will improve life for all of us.
We’re proud of our Clean Air and Water team and our many accomplishments in 2022.
In January, guest speaker Jim Thompson from “This is What We Did” gave a presentation on “Banking and the Climate Crisis,” helping RP to start an important conversation about this issue. RP helped recruit and support nine Cool Block Leaders in the Palisades, in support of a city-run environmental project.
In February, RP launched phase I of the Pali Microgrid project—group purchasing rooftop solar and battery storage. Over 130 Palisadians signed up, and so far, about 30 have initiated rooftop solar and/or battery storage installations through the program.
In March, we formed the Green Banking Team to raise awareness about the role banks play in funding the fossil fuel industry and help Palisadians switch to climate-safe banks. RP also launched the Reusable Produce Bag Surprise Campaign at Pacific Palisades Farmers Market, awarding random shoppers who brought their own bags to the farmers market with a gift card to a local restaurant or business. To date, RP has handed out approximately 30 gift cards.
The first Palisades Earth Day event took place in April. In collaboration with the city, RP organized Earth Day at Will Rogers State Historic Park, featuring nonprofit and city organizations, vendors, children’s activities, yoga, vegan food trucks, and entertainment. More than 50 participating groups came together for a day of awareness-building, community connection and fun.
Over summer, RP participated in the Pacific Palisades Centennial celebrations, exhibited at the Castellammare Community Fair, provided reusable cutlery for food trucks at the July 4th concert and fireworks, and had RP volunteers march in the July 4th parade with our “Water is Life: Save Water” float.
In September, RP worked with Palisades Charter High School students to assist in the creation of a Green Club. We also supported Pali High students’ Palisades Climate Strike with participation, exhibits and a sound system.
The Vegan Solutions team organized an online conversation with Julieanna Hever, “The Plant-Based Dietitian,” in October to answer community questions about how to achieve a healthier, more compassionate and more climate-friendly lifestyle through eating more plants. About 50 Palisadians attended RP’s first community potluck that month, which was vegan and zero waste.
In the last two months of the year, we launched two new Resilient Palisades teams: Water Sages (helping our community conserve water, expand water reuse and rainwater capture, and move toward native plants, which are drought-tolerant, fire-resistant, and also enhance our local ecosystems) and Safe Bike Palisades (helping to make the Palisades a safer, more bike-friendly community and building better biking connections between the Palisades and greater Los Angeles). We also launched our Leafblower Program: Our Clean Air and Water team won’t rest until every gas blower is gone from the Palisades.
All this work comes from your friends and neighbors—volunteers, like us. Because many of the campaigns and initiatives involve expenses, Resilient Palisades welcomes donations from community members.
If you’re inclined to support us this holiday season, RP is a 501(c)(3) organization and donations are tax-deductible. Upon receipt of a donation, we will email a gift receipt for your 2022 taxes.
So please consider an end-of-year donation to Resilient Palisades. You can do it online at resilientpalisades.org/donate-now in less time than it’s taken you to read this. Or if you’d prefer to mail a check, you can send it to: Resilient Palisades, 643 Muskingum Avenue, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272.
Thanks for your consideration. It means the world to us, to our beloved community and to the world.
Resilient Palisades Steering Committee
Ingrid Steinberg
Ryan Craig
Karen Ephraim
Aleksandar Pavlovic
Sheda Morshed
Janice Crystal
Gail Wirth
Vicki Warren
Susan Fairbain
Bonnie Zucker
Karina Maher
Brian Keare
Kaya Foster
Rob Lempert
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