SR-702-016
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City Council Meeting 5-20-2003 Santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Ordinance Adding Section 3.36.115 to the Santa Monica Municipal Code to
Prohibit Being Present on the Santa Monica Palisades Bluff
Introduction
This report recommends that the City Council introduce for first reading the attached,
proposed ordinance which would protect public safety by imposing a prohibition against
being present upon the Santa Monica Palisades Bluff.
Background
The Santa Monica Palisades Bluff (the Bluff) is a steep, deeply eroded bluff which is
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subject to slides. Its southern end is at the Santa Monica Pier, and its northern end is at
the northern City border, where it becomes the Pacific Palisades Bluff. The Bluff is about
one and one-half miles long and varies in height from 50 to 180 feet along its length.
The Bluff is naturally hazardous because of its steepness and its geologic composition
which render it subject to slides and slippage. Moreover, dense brush, which is very dry
part of the year, creates a fire risk. Once started, fires on the Bluff may spread rapidly due
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to normal wind conditions and the steep slope. Thus, the Bluff is an inherently unsafe
place for humans.
The natural hazards are exacerbated by the Bluffs location, which is between a heavily
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utilized public park -- Palisades Park-- which sits on top of the Bluff overlooking the ocean,
and Pacific Coast Highway, which runs along the bluffs foot. When a slide occurs,
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whatever earth, rocks and debris slide down the Bluff likely land on the highway, which is
heavily utilized by fast moving vehicles. In a fire, embers may blow onto Palisades Park
and onto the roofs of structures across Ocean Avenue.
Over the years, the City has made efforts to keep people off the Bluff. Fencing has been
installed atop the Bluff along the western edge of Palisades park. Signage warns people
to stay off the Bluff. Maintained stairways and pedestrian overpasses provide safe routes
down or over the face of the Bluff and over Pacific Coast Highway to the beach.
Nonetheless, some persons climb down onto the Bluff. In doing so, they risk falling and
creating slides and thereby endanger both themselves and motorists below . Moreover,
the steepness and composition of the Bluff makes it extremely difficult for emergency
workers to reach people on the Bluff.
Persons who climb onto the Bluff frequently leave behind trash. This degrades aesthetics
significantly because the Bluff face is highly visible to large numbers of people who visit
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the beach or travel or reside on Pacific Coast Highway. The same steepness and
tendency to slide which make it unsafe, make it difficult for City personnel to clean.
Discussion
The attached proposed ordinance would protect public safety and preserve aesthetics by
prohibiting persons from being present on the Bluff. Persons present with governmental
authorization would be exempted from the prohibition. Moreover, the prohibition would not
apply to persons using the pedestrian walkways and roadway which traverse the Bluff.
Financial/Budget Impact
Direct financial impacts of the proposed ordinance are minimal. In order to enforce the
prohibition, the City would need to install new signage at the top of the Bluff in Palisades
Park and at the bottom of the Bluff along Pacific Coast Highway. In the long term,
adoption of the ordinance would probably conserve City resources by reducing safety risks
and trash removal costs.
Recommendation
It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying ordinance be introduced for first
reading.
PREPARED BY: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
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