This portion of Paseo Miramar is no longer used and cars must turn onto Resolano to continue up the hill. There was never a grading permit for this unused road.
The California Coastal Commission at its December 12 meeting, levied a cease-and-desist order, a restoration order and an administrative penalty on Paseo Miramar property owner Ryan Kavanaugh.
Paseo Miramar used to be a road that traveled from Sunset Boulevard up the hill to State Park Land. A portion of the street of Paseo Miramar slid away 80 years ago and has never been rebuilt – and people traveling further up the hill detour onto Roselano, before returning to Paseo.
Kavanaugh’s properties abut the no-longer accessible portion of Paseo Miramar. The tiny neighborhood of homes, with exquisite views of the coast and nearby Santa Monica Mountains, is bordered by state park land.
As part of the Coastal Commission order, Kavanaugh is required 1) to remove unpermitted development; 2) continue to cease and desist from undertaking any further unpermitted development, including maintenance grading and the removal of major vegetation; 3) refrain from obstructing public access; and 4) remove soil stockpiled or placed within sensitive habitat areas, a public right of way, and along the boundary of Topanga State Park.
He also must agree to restore the areas of unpermitted development, carry out erosion containment measures, provide additional mitigation and ecological enhancement where the permitted development occurred and on surrounding areas to address temporal losses of habitat.
The Commission is ordering Kavanaugh to pay a $500,000 penalty.
A key part of the settlement is the agreement to permanently restrict one of the parcels so that it will never be developed and to donate it to a nonprofit or governmental entity.
Coastal Commission Public Information Officer Joshua Smith said, “That parcel could be worth as much as $3 million, which is a major financial commitment.
“They also agreed to fully restore all the unpermitted development, including restorative grading and replanting of natives,” Smith said.
The vegetation was removed and grading attempted on the 80-year-old slide.
The saga started when Kavanaugh built 815 Paseo Miramar, which is owned by Kwahi Leonard. Kavanugh also owned six additional lots in the same area. He initially tried to have that portion of Paseo Miramar vacated, so that he could develop a gated community for his lots 646-701.
In February 2016, Kavanaugh signed an agreement to comply with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in connection with the development of Leonard’s property. He withdrew an application for a street vacation, and the City Council approved a haul route for development of the property, which was eventually purchased for $17.1 million by Leonard.
In February 2023, residents were alerted to illegal grading on the closed portion of the Paseo Miramar Road. They alerted the authorities, found that permits had not been pulled and the project was halted.
In June 2024, the grading started again. CTN received an email “Ryan Kavanaugh (HMBAP, LLC, the developer), Expediter Crest Real Estate and Contractor Chuck Hart of Hart Built Construction have been clearing some or all vegetation off those lots.”
Residents said, “the area is deeply covered in unstable slide debris. The bulk of the slide and its debris are on the lots where the illegal grading is taking place, and the grading and excavating has removed all the vegetation stabilizing the slide area.”
“In bulldozing the right of way on the lower portion of Paseo Miramar, the landowner cut a steep embankment into the historic slide debris, further destabilizing the area,” residents said.
When the construction company was asked what they were doing, they said “brush clearance.”
The only permit residents could find was one from Street Services to store equipment on the street and clear mud from the street. There was not a permit for grading.
About 13 feet of “mud” was cleared from the nonexistent pavement, and then stored on private lots.
The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety issued two Orders to Comply on July 13, 2024, for illegally stockpiling all the soil removed from the public right of way on lots 720 and 646, and illegally grading them.
The crews were ordered to stop work and either get the appropriate permits or restore the land to its original condition.
But instead, grading continued and vegetation removed in different lots. Lot 20 was completely cleared and about 20-30 feet cleared into the lots 17/18/19.
Since these lots are surrounded by state parks, this project was under Coastal Commission purview, and that is where residents finally found relief.
