YMCA Executive Director Jim Kirtley must now deal with the piles of illegally dumped landscaping debris, near Simon Meadow.
A gardener or landscaper has illegally dumped four truckloads of plant material on an environmentally sensitive habitat area (ESHA), just north of Simon Meadow on land owned by the Palisades-Malibu YMCA.
The person(s) knocked over a pole, taking down a chain, the prohibits vehicular traffic from entering that area, and drove in, with the intentions of dumping and disposing of the plant material.
Whoever did the dumping also dumped a truckload of plant material onto Conservancy ground, too. YMCA Executive Director Jim Kirtley, alerted Joyce Whitehead to the illegal activity.
Kirtley, who had been on vacation, returned yesterday and was alerted to the dumping by Randy Young, who is a steward of the area, which is above Sunset at Temescal Canyon Road.
The Coastal Act specifies ESHA as “an area in which plant or animal life or their habitats are either or especially valuable because of their special nature or role in an ecosystem and which could be easily disturbed or degraded by human activities and developments.”
“It’s a fire hazard now,” said Kirtley as he looked at the large mounds of dried material.
He’s hoping that maybe one of the rim residents observed the truck in action and can provide information about the culprit. Email: Kirtley at jimkirtley@ymcala.org.
As this reporter accompanied Kirtley to the area, a Cadillac Escalade was discovered parked illegally on the fire road, which runs through ESHA. The windows were shuttered and the car running, A private security company was called to ask the car to move.
“With the chain gone, cars can drive in here,” said Kirtley, who’s hoping he can get the chain replaced today.
The Y and the Conservancy are now tasked with dealing with four pickup loads of plant material.
YMCA Executive Director Jim Kirtley holds the pole that was knocked down in order for a truck to enter the environmentally sensitive area and illegally dump.
Aaargh! Sneaky, insensitive, and entitled. So much extra work (and costly) for the stewards. Hopefully this reporting will help catch the culprit. Thank you.