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There's an allure about Sunken City that's hard to resist.
Explorers from as far away as Europe are drawn to the post-apocalyptic landscaped ruins, the collapsed remains of what once was a San Pedro neighborhood offering an edge-of-the-world view of the vast Pacific Ocean.
The 6-acre property at the eastern end of Point Fermin Park is dotted with "No Trespassing" signs - often scrawled over with graffiti - because it's also dangerous. Many people have fallen to their deaths after getting too close to the cliff's edge.
But now a group of residents in the Point Fermin area wants the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, which owns the land, to reopen the area, saying much of it has been stable for decades.
Built in 1987 at the cost of $140,000, a permanent wrought-iron fence that surrounds the property is already easily breached by young people who come to the area by the dozens, although police have stepped up surveillance. Fines for those caught trespassing can be as high as $1,000.
"You cannot close an attractive nuisance that's also a beautiful part of San Pedro," Graham Robertson said during a presentation at this week's Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council meeting. "The kids are enjoying it and the rest of us are excluded."
Robertson heads up Sunken City Watch, a local group that advocates for opening the area to...