Location: Los Angeles County
Project Type: Restoration Planning
Status: Current
Cost: $15,000,000
Funding Gap: $7,600,000
Area Affected: 41 acres
Project Footprint: 1500 feet stream miles
Assembly District: 50
Senate District: 27
Congressional District: 33
Project Lead/Grantee: Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, Jamie King (jking@rcdsmm.org)
Project Lead Website: rcdsmm.org/topanga-lagoon-restoration/
For more information, visit scwrp.org
The Topanga Lagoon Restoration Planning Project involves public lands associated with lower Topanga State Park, (CA State Parks), Caltrans ROW on PCH and Topanga Canyon Blvd, and Topanga Beach (LA Co.). Steelhead in the Santa Monica Bay are on the brink of extinction and Topanga Creek is the only stream with a reproducing population. However, conditions in Topanga Lagoon are not optimal to support growth and rearing opportunities and the existing narrow channel opening under the bridge over Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) limits the opportunities for steelhead to enter Topanga Creek or for smolts to emigrate. The remnant lagoon is currently less than one acre and is bordered by 30-foot tall banks of fill.
Between 2019 and 2024, numerous technical studies were completed resulting in the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for circulation between February 12, 2024 and April 12, 2024. All project alternatives included an ~ 90-acre area, development of parking, advanced onsite wastewater management, and other visitor services along Topanga Canyon Blvd. After extensive review and preparation of Response to Comments, the three project landowners identified the preferred hybrid alternative 3A.The FEIR was certified in September 2024.
The preferred hybrid alternative combines the Alternative 3 bridge and roadway with the Alternative 3 footprint that retains up to 15 structures of the Topanga Ranch Motel on the north side of PCH. The footprint of Alternative 2 was selected for the south side of PCH as it has preferred placement of the helipad. Alternative 3A functionally retained a smaller motel footprint, did not shift the alignment of PCH, and expanded the lagoon area to 8 acres by replacing the existing 79’ long bridge which is a fish migration barrier with one that is 440’ long. An additional ~ 30 additional acres of habitat enhancement would also occur in the project area. Visitor servicing facilities on Topanga Beach would be shifted inland to address SLR and integrated coastal access (parking, trails), visitor services development, and emergency response would be developed.
Since the completion of the FEIR, the Palisades Fire (January 2025) burned all the buildings on the State Parks land. Due to this impact, State Parks will take some time to revisit the project design. However, the bridge and lagoon portion of the project, as well as the LA County portion will move to the 30% to 60% design phase.
