Ballona Wetlands: Judge Saves Culver-Marina Little League Baseball Fields

On the heels of Marcia Hanscom's failed "Defend Ballona Wetlands" lawsuit which attempted to stop the wetland Restoration Project, another local serial litigant, Walter Lamb's "Ballona Wetlands Land Trust" (BLT), was also shown the door by the Superior Court.

In a February ruling, Hanscom's lawyers failed to convince the court that the Coastal Commission shouldn't have allowed the Gas Company to plug and abandon monitoring wells - wells that would eventually be in the way of California Department of Fish and Wildlife's (CDFW) Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project. The Gas Company has asked the court to order the group to reimburse the company $435 in filing fees. The Coastal Commission has not asked for any reimbursement.

Now Lamb, who has filed 19 lawsuits against various agencies related to the Restoration Project since 2004, was denied by the court in his effort to evict the Culver-Marina Little League and L.A. County Sheriff from parcels they have occupied for over 40 years. L.A. Superior Court Judge Curtis Kin's ruling can be accessed at this Google Drive Link.

Above: Culver-Marina Little League has played on a state-owned parcel at the junction of Culver and Lincoln Boulevards for 45 years.

After initially finding last fall that BLT's lawsuit was meritless or moot, Judge Kin generously gave the group two additional chances to amend their complaint. Kin was not convinced by their second swing, and they took a third strike looking (they failed to amend their complaint). The judge declared BLT "out" and dismissed Lamb’s lawsuit on April 2nd, ordering BLT to pay the defendants’ court costs if requested. Typically, state agencies do not request reimbursement, as the cost of the request itself is more trouble than it’s worth.

The CDFW, whose scientific experts manage the state's ecological reserves, recommended in 2024 that continued use of the long-occupied parcels for kid's baseball and sheriff parking was not inappropriate, even though the land had been designated ecological reserve in 2005 after purchase from private owners. Shortly thereafter, the state Fish and Game Commission adopted CDFW's recommendation.

Above: The L.A. County Sheriff parking lot on Fiji Way in Marina Del Rey

BLT sued, arguing to the court that the CDFW expert determination was wrong, unlawful and an abuse of discretion, and basically argued the same thing about the Commission's adoption of CDFW's recommendation. The judge was not persuaded, even after giving BLT a second and third try, allowing BLT to amend their complaint.

Above: Rendering of CDFW's future restored Ballona Wetlands

CDFW is amending their Environmental Impact Report for the Restoration Project (after Lamb, Hanscom and others narrowly won a lawsuit in 2023). The Restoration Project is supported by a coalition of credible environmental organizations, including Heal the Bay, Surfrider Foundation, L.A. Waterkeeper and Friends of Ballona Wetlands. The Project will create hundreds of acres of new wetland habitat where fill dirt from Marina Del Rey construction has left behind degraded vacant land. Other healthier areas that still support wetlands will be enhanced, and public trails will ring the ecological reserve.

Enjoy your Ballona Wetlands!

References:

Case No. 24STCP03147. Los Angeles County Superior Court

Opinion: Ballona Wetlands Shakedown. Marina Del Rey Patch, February 10, 2024.

Ballona Wetlands: Lawsuit Could Evict Culver-Marina Little League. Marina Del Rey Patch, November 29, 2024.

Ballona Wetlands: When the Winners are Really the Losers. Marina Del Rey Patch, May 25, 2023.

The Exceptional Public Access Plan for the Ballona Wetlands. Marina Del Rey Patch, September 17, 2018.

Author’s Disclosure of Affiliations:

Dr. David W. Kay served on the Board of Directors of the non-profit Friends of Ballona Wetlands from 2007 until 2015, and served as Board President in 2012-13. He presently serves on the Boards of Ballona Discovery Park in Playa Vista and the Playa Vista Parks and Landscape Corporation. Dr. Kay is a staunch advocate for the state of California's plans to restore the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve.

From 1984 until 2022, Dr. Kay was employed by Southern California Edison Company, exclusively in the company's environmental services organizations. His many responsibilities included restoration of the 440-acre San Dieguito Wetlands near Del Mar. He retired in 2022 as Senior Manager for Major Project Environmental Management at the company, after 38 years of service.

Dr. Kay earned bachelor and masters degrees in biology, and a doctorate in environmental science from UCLA.

See Dr. Kay’s Patch Community Contributor profile here.