The battle between the citizens of the City of Malibu and the California Coastal Commission seems to have brought everything in the Malibu to a grinding halt.
By Arnold York/Publisher
When the Coastal Commission certified the Malibu Local Coastal Program (LCP) on Sept. 13 over the city’s strong objections, the commissioners apparently thought, or at least pretended to think, they were washing their hands of the entire matter. As far as they were concerned, they had done everything they were told to do by the Legislature in Assembly Bill 988-that is, to write and finally certify a local coastal plan after consultation with the city. Hereafter, from their point of view, it was in the hands of the city to carry out the Coastal Commission’s marching orders as set forth in the Malibu LCP.
If they thought the local citizenry would meekly comply, they should have known better. At least coastal Chair Sara Wan and Executive Director Peter Douglas had the experience to know that trying to force something down Malibu’s citizens’ throats would never work. There is absolutely nothing that crystallizes this town like a threat from the outside. The Coastal Commission has now become the enemy.
Within a very short period of time after certification, a petition was circulating in the city for a referendum on the new Malibu LCP. In a matter of a few weeks more than 2,600 signatures were gathered and delivered to the Malibu city clerk, (which far exceeded the 900 or so votes to get it onto the ballot). People all over the city were literally lining up to sign the petition. Once the petition for a referendum was filed with the city clerk it blocked the Malibu LCP from going into effect, or at least that is the city’s position.
The Coastal Commission staff takes an entirely different view and, in fact, in a letter to the city from its staff counsel, Ralph Faust, told the city there could be no referendum on the Malibu LCP because it was the action of a state agency. And although the state agency can tell the citizens of Malibu what to do, it doesn’t work the other way around, so Faust’s advice is the City Council should ignore the voters of Malibu and do as the Coastal Commission tells it to do. That is, to process all the applications for coastal permits. The city’s response to the Coastal Commission, although rendered with all of the appropriate polite legalese, when reduced to its essentials was, you know what you can do with your advice-and we’ll see you in court.
The poor people already in the development pipeline are caught in the middle. The Coastal Commission staff sends them back to the city saying it’s the city’s job to process permits, and the city says with the referendum it doesn’t have the power to do anything and sends applicants back to the Coastal Commission.
Everybody’s lawyers are opining, while their meters are running full blast. The truth is that no one knows the answers because there are no answers. This is all what we call first impression because it’s never happened before, which is a lawyer’s delight and a litigant’s nightmare.
What’s happening was totally predictable. The Legislature was very stupid in passing a bill that was based on a premise that you could force a community, especially an affluent and well-educated community like Malibu, to follow orders it didn’t like. It was also sorely mistaken in delegating that much authority to the Coastal Commission in the rather naive belief that somehow it could create a consensus with a club. Lastly, the original bill, AB 988, which even though they deny it, I’m totally convinced was a Sara Wan/Peter Douglas bill, was fatally flawed in that it required the Coastal Commission consult with the city, but not necessarily listen to the city. Which meant it gave the ultimate power to the Coastal Commission, which, in its inimitable style, it abused.
It will soon become apparent to the governor, the speaker and the pro tem, if it hasn’t already, that whatever they were promised for AB 988 is not coming true. Not only will it not end Malibu Days at the commission, but also it has succeeded in turning an annoyance into a war, and no one knows where it might end up.
There are two solutions to this dilemma-one short range and one long range. For the short range, it’s the courtroom and I suspect everyone is going to sue everyone else. There is a cadre of local Malibu lawyers, some very expensive legal talent, lining up to volunteer some time, take some depositions, and assist the city in the lawsuit that’s sure to come, but it’s an expensive and unpredictable way to proceed.
There is a better way, the longer way, and that is to revisit the Malibu LCP, make the changes that will make it workable and get the Coastal Commission out of our face. Unfortunately, that’s never going to happen until there are some changes in the makeup of the membership of the Coastal Commission, and Sara Wan is out as the chair and perhaps off the commission, and Peter Douglas and his cronies have been replaced. They’ve been there too long. They no longer listen to anyone, and they simply exercise power in an arbitrary and frequently silly manner. It’s time for them to go.