Order to Shut 70 State Parks Mobilizes Chatsworth Volunteers

Santa Susana Mountain Park Association members moved into high gear upon recently hearing Gov. Jerry Brown plans to shut down their beloved historic park due to the state’s budget crisis.

State parks are being required to shoulder a $22-million shortfall. California has a $26-billion budget deficit, so 70 state parks are on the hit list.

Board Vice President, John Luker, said on Monday that the closure of Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park is a done deal.

“Spread the word. This is a time people need to step up,” Luker told about two dozen people at an Association’s meeting held in the community room of the Rockpointe Homeowners Association in Chatsworth. “This is the worst case scenario and yet a good opportunity for the people of Chatsworth to step up.”

Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park has faced possible closures in the past.

As a result, a volunteer group called, Santa Susana Volunteers, was formed in December 2009 to combat the possibility.

The now more than 60 volunteers patrol the area looking for graffiti and homeless encampments and to pick up trash whenever necessary.

Last year, they logged in 3,700 hours and have been trained by the state.

The Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park is located in the Santa Susana Mountains on the border between Los Angeles and Ventura counties. It is an undeveloped hiking park rich in historical, cultural and natural resources. Due to previous budget cuts and staff reductions, State Parks depend heavily on volunteers and partnerships to help keep the park clean, safe, and accessible for the community.

So, local docents, patrol the park, map trails, organize citizen watch hikes and are preparing a new visitor information center.

Brown announced on Friday that the park was on the shut-down list with closures to begin after Labor Day.

Luker said the group has several options to accomplish within the next 14 months in order to hopefully keep the park open to visitors.

He said those he spoke with in government offices are befuddled about what Brown’s decision actually means.

“Nobody knows what a closed park looks like, what the ramifications of permanently closing a park means,” Luker said.

Forty percent of the state’s historical parks are closing, according to the Brown plan.

“It’s a tragedy,” said Luker, who was recently named Chatsworth’s citizen of the year. “A closed park … will not allow people in. People will innocently pull down the gates, the homeless will move in and the cost to send law enforcement into the area might be higher than keeping it open.”

Luker reported that park volunteers cannot replace a paid employee, which means the volunteers need to be “legalized.”

“We need to turn the Santa Susana Volunteers into a cooperating agency, or a 5013c nonprofit organization before the state will pay any attention to us,” Luker said.

He also said the group should petition lawmakers to change the laws as part of the solution.

Luker questioned how much money the state actually spends on Santa Susana and is looking into that facet of the puzzle.

He said he has three concerns about the park’s potential closure:

1) If there is no ranger roaming the hills, Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s will have to be call upon in times of trouble.

2)  If the volunteers take over, a liabilityinsurance policy, costing an estimated $700-$1,000, will become necessary and for a group without any funding, that’s a financial hurdle to overcome.

3) Getting the cooperating agency status.

Getting a proposition on the November ballot, taxing property homeowners a slight annual tax, was also discussed as a possible rescue attempt to keep Santa Susana from shutting down.

The purpose of the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park, according to its website www.ssmpa.com is to preserve the important links to California's history as well as the fragile connections between ever-diminishing wildlife habitats.

The park provides visitors with quality recreational and educational experiences
along its historic trails. Framed by sculptural sandstone escarpments, the park’s boulder-strewn landscape contains significant natural and cultural resources.