MALIBU—The city of Malibu continues its opposition to the action by the County of Los Angeles to move high-risk juvenile prisoners, many of whom were convicted of serious and violent crimes, including murder, to the Santa Monica Mountains just north of Malibu, filing a letter of protest with the County on September 14, 2022. Malibu previously filed a letter of protest on July 13, 2022.

“Safety is Malibu’s number one priority and moving high-risk juvenile prisoners to Camp Kilpatrick raises too many serious safety concerns, for the surrounding residential communities including Malibu, as well for as the inmates and the facility staff,” said Mayor Paul Grisanti. “Malibu will continue to strongly oppose this proposal.”

View the City’s September 14, 2022 letter: https://www.malibucity.org/DocumentCenter/View/30751/Letter-to-County-re-Transfer-of-SYTF-Offenders-to-Camp-Kilpatrick.

View the exhibits with the City’s September 14 letter: https://www.malibucity.org/DocumentCenter/View/30753/Attachments-to-City-Sept-14-letter.

View the City’s July 13, 2022 letter: https://malibucity.org/DocumentCenter/View/30291/MalibuCity_letter_toCounty_opposing_camp_kilpatrick_7-13-2022.

The city of Malibu indicated in a news release they objected to the County’s failure to conduct any environmental review in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) related to the permanent Secure Youth Track Facility (SYTF) designation of Camp Kilpatrick, which is located north of city limits in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The city’s September 14 letter is in response to the County’s announcement in September 2022 that there are 52 men ages 18 to 25 dispositioned and ready to immediately transition to Camp Kilpatrick as a “temporary” SYTF, despite staffing shortages and security challenges at the open-style campus. Malibu understands the need to provide permanent, quality rehabilitative facilities for juvenile offenders, the environmental effects of such facilities on the surrounding community must be analyzed and addressed.

The County has not adequately analyzed the project’s potentially significant impacts related to wildfire safety and evacuation of prisoners and staff, emergency access, public services, and other impact areas, particularly given that Camp Kilpatrick was surrounded by flames during the 2018 Woolsey Fire. Malibu asked that the County postpone consideration of the project until an adequate CEQA analysis can be performed.

The Las Virgenes – Malibu Council of Governments (LVMCOG) voted unanimously on March 15, 2022 to officially oppose the proposal to move the prisoners to Camp Kilpatrick. The LVMCOG is a Joint Powers Authority that works together to address regional priorities and issues that impact the cities of Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu and Westlake Village. It took the position at the request of Malibu Councilmember Karen Farrer, who is also the LVMCOG President.

Concerns shared by Malibu and the LVMCOG member cities include:

-The Camp Kilpatrick facility was not designed to house high-risk offenders, raising concerns about the potential impacts to the safety of the surrounding communities, and the safety of the County staff at the facility.

The Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar is where these youth prisoners currently spend most of their time while in pre- and post-adjudication status, so remaining at that facility would be least disruptive to their care and supervision. Establishing routines, minimizing changes and offering stability is a best practice.

Juvenile Hall was recommended by the Los Angeles County Probation Department as the housing solution that makes sense from a programmatic and financial perspective.

The Board of Supervisors voted on March 15, 2022 to move the prisoners to Camp Kilpatrick, develop a plan for renovations of the facility, and comply with CEQA within 120 days. The County missed this deadline without explanation.

The open letter to the surrounding communities by Supervisor Kuehl is available to view at: https://www.malibucity.org/DocumentCenter/View/29523/Supervisor-Kuehl-Open-Letter-to-Malibu-and-Surrounding-Communites_31022

The proposal by the County Probation Department supporting keeping the youth prisoners at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall is available to view at: https://www.malibucity.org/DocumentCenter/View/29525/Dept-of-Probation-Proposal-for-a-Secure-Youth-Track-Facility-at-Nidorf-Juvenile-Hall-2-8-2022

The press release from Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the sole vote against moving the prisoners to Camp Kilpatrick, is available to view at: https://www.malibucity.org/DocumentCenter/View/29524/Supervisor-Barger-Press-Release-Alternative-Proposal-for-Juveniles-3-11-2022.

Malibu will post updates and background information on this issue on the website at: www.MalibuCity.org/YouthPrisoners.