Post-February TTC Mtg Updates

Stacy SledgeNews

TTC Meeting 2 17 25

UPDATES AFTER TOPANGA TOWN COUNCIL’S FEBRUARY 2025 MEETING

Thank you to everyone who participated in the “Future Ready: Wildfire Policy” discussion on February 19th. Many thoughts and ideas were expressed prior to and during the meeting’s limited timeframe. We thank you all and very much appreciate everyone’s input. The Topanga Town Council is actively working to address all the issues and to seek clearer and more timely communication from all parties.

Around 70 attendees were present at the meeting, with another 75-100 participating online. Residents who could not attend, sent questions to the Town Council prior to the meeting. A special thanks to our guest speakers: Senator Ben Allen, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, Chief Drew Smith, Deputy Rick Baldi, Officer Cody Sturges, SCE Manager Leah Torres, and Caltrans PIO Michael Comeaux. We greatly appreciated their insights on the issues at hand and the candid discussions at the meeting.

Given the meeting’s time constraints, follow-up discussions with our County, State, and Federal partners are necessary to obtain answers and develop solutions. As additional information comes forth, the Town Council will post it on OneTopanga.com and our social media channels.  Watch the meeting in its entirety below.

 

The next TTC meeting will be on March 19th at 6pm and held at the Topanga Library and via Zoom. Sign up for OneTopanga and Town Council newsletters to get the latest meeting information and important community news. Feel free to email the Town Council if you have additional questions or comments.

During the Wednesday meeting, road closures emerged as the primary concern for residents, with widespread agreement that they are causing significant disruption in our community. The Topanga Town Council (TTC) will continue to collaborate closely with officials to advocate for the reopening of the boulevard, pursue prompt access to PCH, and follow up on the many suggestions offered by the Topanga community. Ultimately, achieving a better balance between road safety and community access is crucial to the survival of our town.

There was also a robust discussion about fire risks, ecology, and the policies that drive it. Policies made now will affect the future outcome on our insurance rates and coverage, firefighting resources, water availability, brush clearance enforcement, and recovery programs. It’s important for you and other community members to voice your respective opinions by contacting your state representatives (see contact info at the end of this article).

You can follow bills that are making their way through the legislative process. A description of the 13 bills introduced in February to address wildfire prevention, response, and recovery in the state are summarized on Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire’s website.

Furthering the wildfire topic, it was proposed that a special community panel discussion/workshop take place on best landscape management practices, current regulations, wildland management, and fire behavior. The Town Council will follow up on this request. Residents throughout the years have had varying opinions on these issues, and in particular prescribed burns, so having a fire ecology discussion is warranted. To help the community better survive a wildfire, the Topanga Fire Safe Council encourages people to harden their homes and businesses by creating a sustainable defensible space. To learn more, check out the FSC website.

At the meeting, the Topanga community expressed their concerns over a variety of challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. Below are specific issues that residents and businesses brought forth at the meeting:

 

ROAD CONDITIONS AND EXTENDED CLOSURES

Concerns remain about TCB and PCH being closed for an indeterminate period of time. Many people desperately need access to/from the Westside for work, medical care, and schools. The cumulative impact from the last two years of repairs and maintenance related to landslides/mudslides, fire, and torrential downpours has taken an immense toll on the community’s psyche. School and work commute times to Santa Monica via 101/405 can be up to 2.5 hours during rush hour-which is when most of our most impacted residents must use the roads. They do not have a choice in when they travel. Seniors report that they are having to postpone medical care. Some businesses have recently closed, and many say they cannot operate much longer, as they depend on patrons from the Westside.

*UPDATE: See the latest Caltrans updates here. Caltrans has committed to providing a weekly update going forward. The Town Council will continue to press hard for re-opening and will post the latest information on OneTopanga.com, Town Council’s monthly newsletters, and our social media platforms (X and Facebook).

 

TCB ROAD CONDITIONS

When will TCB reopen remains an open question due to the ongoing safety threats and amount of repair work that needs to be done. For the most updated info on Caltrans’ road incidents go to: Caltrans X (Twitter) page and/or TCEP’s X (Twitter) page.

 

PCH ACCESS

The community expressed concern about the implementation of the new “pass-through” criteria on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). There is much confusion on who qualifies for a pass where to obtain it.

*PASS UPDATE:  as of 2/28/25:  Currently, passes will be issued on 2/28/25 and 3/1/25, 10-5pm, at Malibu City Hall. They will not be issuing passes on the following Sunday or Monday. There will be a new plan in place starting Tuesday, March 4th.  The announcement is forthcoming on those pass details, and the Town Council will continue updating the information on OneTopanga.com.

The TTC has reviewed the current criteria for this special pass and has created an info sheet to address common questions (which will be updated next Tuesday) —see Palisades Fire Incident Access Pass info.  While PCH access is not available to everyone, it may offer some relief to those who lost homes in the fire and need it most.

Due to the dynamic nature of the situation, any or all of these conditions are subject to change at any time or day. For more information, contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at 818-878-1808.

 

EXPEDITE ROAD OPENING

The Town Council has asked the Governor to secure additional resources like last year, to expedite reopening the roads. We suggest that residents and business owners do the same. You can find contact information at the end of this article. If there is no reasonable solution found soon, some believe that there should be an independent road analysis to determine if road closures are necessary. The TTC is also asking all agencies to better inform the community on a regular basis regarding current status and projected timelines. Caltrans has already committed to do this. The Town Council will follow up on these suggestions and requests.

Some suggestions put forth by the community:

  • ROAD CLEARANCE: Clear mud and debris on Topanga Canyon Boulevard (TCB), even if only one-lane, to provide resident access sooner.
  • EXPANDED LANES: When and where possible, increase the number of open lanes on PCH to improve traffic flow. Consider contraflow during rush hours.
  • INCREASE OVERNIGHT WORK: Boost overnight work on TCB and PCH to compensate for lost daytime access. Consider 24-hour crews.

 

SUPPORT ACCESS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN

When it comes to schools, parents of our middle school and high school aged children are in a severe bind when transporting them to school each morning and picking them up each evening. Many parents are desperate for some relief and have asked the following questions:

  • With TCB and Las Flores not currently open to residents, how can parents obtain officially sanctioned access to PCH/Westside?
  • When TCB and/or Las Flores opens up, can parents and workers that need recurring, daily access to PCH/Westside have a PCH pass?
  • In the meantime, can LAUSD provide buses with dedicated Topanga-only stops to transport children to their new school locations in Santa Monica and the Westside and make special accommodations for children by offering online classes and tardy exemptions?
  • Can LAUSD have a permanent policy that allows special accommodations for students during Red Flag events and catastrophes?
  • Can Topanga-area residents have a choice in whether their children attend LAUSD Schools or Las Virgenes (“LV”) area schools? Because the LV school district lies to the north of our community-where there tends to be fewer infrastructure repairs, shifting Topanga residents here would prevent a lot of the logistical struggles that we now face.

*UPDATE: Caltrans is allowing school bus and essential workers access on PCH, however, until TCB opens up and Topanga-only school buses are provided by LAUSD, this is not a feasible solution for Topangans needing recurring access at this time. TTC continues to follow up.

 

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES

The business community has been reeling for some time. We need a solution as fast as possible for this group. To that end, here are some questions and considerations raised by local businesses and their employees:

  • When TCB is opened to residents only, can local employees be granted special access?
  • What specifically will be needed for that access?
  • Can Caltrans and SCE please change the CMS sign verbiage to include “Topanga Town Only” as part of the series of electronic messages? Due to these agencies’ policies prohibiting commercial advertising on these signs, we are not allowed to use the word “business”.

UPDATE: SCE and Caltrans are both planning to add “Topanga Town Open” to their signs. TTC is working with Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department to expand the Topanga Access Card program during a ‘resident only’ closure to include essential businesses and their employees. The Topanga Chamber of Commerce has reached out to several representatives with the suggestion of an all-access opening to PCH on one weekend day. The TTC will follow up with that request. Businesses, nonprofits and workers have access to funding programs: Check out the possibilities here.

 

SCE UNDERGROUNDING PROJECT

As you know, SCE is working to further reduce the threat of wildfire by burying power lines in the highest-risk areas, especially where lines have not been replaced by covered conductors.

*UPDATE: Barring bad weather and any unexpected circumstances, SCE expects the completion of Phase One (civil and electrical) to be done by March 31st, which is two months ahead of schedule.

The civil work (trenching) which is performed during the day and has one-way road closures, should be completed by mid-March. The electrical work (installing cables) will be done only at nighttime is expected to be completed by the end of March. The nighttime work should not require any road closures.

 Caltrans implied at the meeting that they would not be immediately repaving the Phase One area. Their focus at present is working on TCB and PCH emergency repairs so that roads can be reopened more quickly for all. To see weekly updates, check out SCE’s website.

 

BRUSH CLEARANCE BY PUBLIC LANDOWNERS

Our State Legislators were asked to lend support to efforts to get State Parks and local Land Conservancies to clear brush within 100 to 200 feet of residences. Senator Allen’s Office is asking State Parks and the Conservancy to attend the next Topanga Town Council meeting on March 19th to address this concern.

 

COUNTY-LED TOWN HALL

After the TTC meeting, residents and businesses reached out to us to request more engagement with the LA County Supervisor, Department of Public Works, and Caltrans to get answers to outstanding concerns. The TTC has already reached out to DPW Director, Mark Pestrella, to request a meeting, and is waiting for a response.

 

CALIFORNIA FAIR PLAN (CFP) WORKSHOP

Join us on March 1st for a workshop on wildfire insurance challenges at the Topanga Library from 2p to 5p.  Get more info here.

 

HELPFUL LINKS AND CONTACT INFORMATION

For further updates or to share your concerns, please contact the Topanga Town Council at: contact@topangatowncouncil.org. We are committed to addressing the community’s needs and will continue to follow up on these issues in the coming weeks.

For the latest Topanga emergency info and news: