Rambla Pacifico Neighborhood

Rambla Pacifico Road begins at Pacific Coast Highway immediately west of Las Flores Canyon. Rambla Pacifico originally led to the top of the bluffs adjacent to the La Costa subdivision. From there the road travelled up the mountain to eventually join Piuma Road at the summit of Saddle Peak. Many fine homes have been built along the route and its side streets, ranging from modest dwellings to elaborate, architectural masterpieces. All have spectacular views of the mountain and canyons extending to include the Malibu coastline, Catalina island, Point Dume, LA city lights, and even the whole of Santa Monica Bay.

Rambla Pacifico Road is closed at this landslide since 1984 (2006 photo).

Unfortunately landslides began in 1978, undermining part of the road in 1984. A half-mile loop of lower Rambla Pacifico Road, approximately one-half mile from its intersection with PCH, has been closed ever since. Residents above the closure must drive an extra four miles up Las Flores Canyon to a cross road above the slide to get up to their homes. In the mid-2000s a new private/public road was proposed to connect lower Rambla Pacifico with its upper portions, a proposal still in discussion in 2008.

While the slide is inconvenient on a daily basis, that is not the main motivation for a solution to the long-time road closure. In the event of fire or other disaster, the residents above the slide are much too isolated and hard for emergency personnel to reach. During the Malibu fire of November 2, 1993, homes on Rambla Pacifico were damaged as the fire passed through.

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