Malibu Beach Access - Escondido Beach

After a 40-year battle, improved public access to Escondido Beach in Malibu has been secured. The Commission and State Coastal Conservancy collaborated to resolve a long standing dispute with Malibu homeowners, who had obstructed beach access through evading their responsibility to provide a public accessway. The violators agreed to fully fund and construct a beach accessway, as intended by the Commission's 1978 permit allowing development of the area, to mitigate the loss of public access. The estimated value of the resolution, including the Trust's construction costs and Mancuso's penalties, is over $4 million, providing faster construction and a more navigable path to the beach than would otherwise be realized if the violators had not collaborated. This resolution will result in several free beach access parking spaces being provided along the Pacific Coast Highway and a new beach access trail.

This victory marks a significant step towards ensuring equitable beach access for all in the popular area near Paradise Cove and Point Dume, which had long been hindered by obscured access ways and legal challenges initiated by previous landowners.