Via Acero StreetMalibu, California 90265

Nearly four acres on the private road that winds up Ramirez Canyon, with the Pacific in view from the upper slope and neighbors on estate-sized parcels. Raw land, sold as it stands. This page puts the whole file in front of you, including the questions a buyer will want answered before building. Every figure names its source.

Offered at$499,000

3.93 ACassessor · 170,973 SF
±4 AClegal description · title
$126,972per acre at asking
Private roadrecorded 30-ft access easement
Vacantno structures · land only
Malibujurisdiction · confirm with city

The land

A canyon parcel on Via Acero, below the ridge and above the creek.

The parcel runs south from Via Acero, a private road that climbs from Ramirez Canyon Road, down the slope toward the wooded canyon floor. The Assessor records it as 3.93 acres (170,973 square feet); the title company’s legal description calls it four acres, more or less. It is vacant land with no structures, and the Assessor carries no improvement value. The homes along Via Acero sit on parcels of one to five acres, and the upper part of the lot looks south over the canyon to the ocean.

For context, the one recorded land sale nearby in the two years before listing was 5900 Ramirez Canyon Road: 3.26 acres, about half a mile away, which sold for $1,300,000 in January 2024. That works out to roughly $398,800 an acre, against $126,972 here. One sale is thin evidence, and it closed before the January 2025 fires.

Photographs June 2024 · area and sale figures from the April 2024 Assessor property profile

Title and access

Owned in fee, reached by a recorded easement.

The preliminary title report (Equity Title, 17 May 2024) describes two parcels. Parcel 1 is the land itself, held in fee. Parcel 2 is an easement for ingress, egress and utilities along the private road, so access is recorded rather than assumed. The report also lists older easements that cross the road and its approaches. They are summarized here so you can see the shape of it before you ask for the full report.

Parcel 1: Fee±4 acres, Rancho Topanga Malibu Sequit
Parcel 2: Access easement30-ft strip for ingress, egress, utilities
Vesting: Family trustsale by the successor trustees
Power: 1945 easementSouthern California Edison, pole lines
Water: 1948 easementMalibu Water Co., pipeline and a 40-ft well site
Gas: 1956 easementSouthern Counties Gas, pipelines

Road easements
Easements for road purposes recorded in 1942, and 1961 reservations for ingress, egress, utilities and slope work along the road. They affect Parcel 2 and the roadway. Title’s plat marks each one in color.
Mineral rights
Oil, gas and minerals were reserved in a 1942 deed, but without any right of surface entry.
Easement locations
An easement recorded as “over Parcel 2” runs with the road, not across the building area. The plat is drawn at a scale the title company disclaims. Anything that affects the building envelope needs a survey.

Source: preliminary report 3910124-03414, Schedule B items 2–10 · plat 4467-33, Equity Title

The file

Every document on hand, organized the way a buyer reads it.

Each entry says, in plain language, why it matters. Two documents hold personal information about the sellers, so they are sent on request rather than posted. Everything still outstanding is named in the next section.

Start with the read-me8 documents, served from this site. No sign-in, no permission request

Site MediaAerial photographs of the lot and Ramirez Canyon, June 2024.5

Aerial, the lot and Via AceroThe mowed parcel and the private road that serves itPhoto Aerial, south toward the oceanThe canyon, neighboring estates and the Pacific beyondPhoto Aerial, wide toward the oceanThe same outlook from higher and further eastPhoto Aerial, canyon and neighboring homesHow the lot sits among the homes along Via AceroPhoto Aerial, lot and canyon slopeGrade from the road down toward the wooded canyon floorPhoto

Title & AccessWhat is owned, and the recorded easements that reach it.1

Preliminary title report, Equity Title order 3910124-03414Dated 17 May 2024. Held back from the open web because it carries personal information about the sellers; sent to a buyer’s agent on request. A current report is to be orderedOn request

Title plat, parcel and access easementsAssessor map 4467-33 with Parcel 1 (the land) in red, the Parcel 2 access easement in green and recorded road, pipeline and utility easements marked. Indicative, not a surveyOpen

Maps & RecordsWhere the parcel lies, and what the public record says.1

Parcel map on aerial, with creek and riparian overlayBoundary drawn over aerial imagery with the mapped stream, wetland and riparian layers. It shows a creek corridor crossing the southern part of the parcel. Indicative, not a surveyOpen

Assessor property profile, 20 April 2024Lot area, assessed value, tax status and recorded transfers. Holds the sellers’ mailing addresses, so it is sent on request rather than postedOn request

8 documents on this site · 2 on request · file names carry each document’s own date and source

Not yet settled

What a buyer should confirm, stated before they have to ask.

Jurisdiction and zoning
The parcel is believed to lie within the City of Malibu. The Assessor still carries a county zoning code (LCRA1Y) that predates the city’s 1991 incorporation. Ramirez Canyon is generally zoned for one- to five-acre rural residential lots. If this parcel’s designation carries a five-acre minimum, at 3.93 acres it would be an existing lot of record. Confirm the zoning, the lot-of-record status and the permit path with Malibu Planning before relying on any of it.
Geology
There is no soils, geotechnical or engineering-geology report for this parcel, and none is offered. The City’s own description of Ramirez Canyon says the geology is “extremely complex” and records four mapped slides in the watershed, active debris-flow areas in the upper watershed, and a liquefaction zone in the floodplain. That describes the canyon as a whole, not a finding about this lot. Budget for a geologist’s feasibility review before removing contingencies.
The creek
The parcel map shows a mapped stream and riparian corridor crossing the southern part of the parcel. The City describes Ramirez Creek as a significant blueline stream with native riparian habitat. Malibu’s Local Coastal Program requires development buffers from riparian habitat, and a Coastal Development Permit governs new construction. The likely building area is the upper part of the lot, near the road. Confirm the buffer line on a survey.
Wastewater
Malibu has no public sewer in this area. A new home needs an onsite wastewater treatment system, and the City commonly requires an advanced system on hillside lots. No percolation test or septic design is on file. Siting the system is one of the first things to settle.
Water
No will-serve letter is on file. The purveyor is believed to be Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29. Fire flow is often the binding constraint on a building permit, so ask the district about both water service and fire flow.
Archaeology and habitat
The City describes Ramirez Canyon as an extension of the Chumash village of Sumo at Paradise Cove, with sites spanning thousands of years. Expect archaeological and biological surveys to be part of any application.
Title items to clear
The 2024 preliminary report shows the trust as owner and lists standard requirements for a trust sale: a trust certification, trustee authority, a statement of information and an owner’s declaration. A current report will be ordered for escrow.
Still to come
A current preliminary report, a natural hazard disclosure report, a seller vacant land questionnaire and a boundary survey. They will be added here as they arrive. Ask for status.

Canyon conditions quoted from the City of Malibu General Plan, Neighborhood Descriptions

Open in Maps34.034941° N, 118.797511° W · Via Acero, off Ramirez Canyon Road