LOS ANGELES, CA — The city of Malibu said Thursday it is considering an appeal of a judge's ruling rejecting its bid to establish ownership of public trail easements near Escondido Canyon Park, saying concerns about safety and management of the trails remain despite the decision.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael E. Whitaker ruled this week in favor of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, rejecting Malibu's lawsuit over hiking and equestrian trail easements along Winding Way and Murphy Way.
"The city is disappointed with the ruling and is evaluating its options, including appeal," according to a city statement. "No decision will be made until the City Council has an opportunity to consider the question and provide direction to the city's counsel."
Malibu said it brought the litigation because of concerns about parking, enforcement of sunset trail closures, vegetation management and trash collection. The city said trail users have been forced to park along Pacific Coast Highway because of inadequate parking.
The city also pointed to the Feb. 8 death of Joshua Farmer, who it said was struck and killed on PCH near Winding Way in the vicinity of the trails.
Malibu officials said the city spent more than a year trying to work with the MRCA before filing the lawsuit and remains willing to work with the agency on trail safety, parking, closure enforcement and vegetation management.
The city filed the lawsuit April 14, contending it acquired ownership of the trail easements when Malibu incorporated in 1991. The easements, near Escondido Canyon Park, were originally granted to Los Angeles County in the late 1980s.
The city maintained that the recreational trails qualified as county highways under a section of the state Streets and Highways Code. The provision allows county interests in qualifying highways to be transferred to a city when territory is incorporated or annexed.
Whitaker found that recreational hiking and equestrian trails are fundamentally different from the types of roads covered by the law.
The judge also found that Malibu waited too long to assert its claims, noting that the city had worked with the conservancy and the MRCA for decades regarding management and maintenance of the trails while treating the agencies as the owners of the property. According to the ruling, the city's ownership theory was not asserted until 2024.
The city contended that it only recently discovered that it owned the trails, but Whitaker described Malibu's position as a "creative legal argument" and said its contention that the city had no actual or constructive notice of who owned the trails "strains credulity."
"This is a significant victory for the public trails of the Santa Monica Mountains," Miguel A. Luna, chairman of the conservancy, said following the ruling.
"These trails have been managed for public use for decades and the court has recognized that the city of Malibu cannot now assert a new claim of ownership based on a legal theory that does not apply to recreational trails."
George Lange, chairman of the MRCA Governing Board, said the decision provides clarity about ownership and management of the trails.
"The court's ruling recognizes the longstanding relationship between the city and the agencies in managing these trails," Lange said. "This decision provides clarity about the ownership and management of these public trails and allows us to continue our work protecting these lands and maintaining public access."
City News Service
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