An amendment to the City of Malibu’s Local Coastal Program to allow lighting for sports events at Malibu High School is back on the California Coastal Commission’s agenda. Barbara Rodriguez of the commission’s South Central Coast office said the amendment is “tentatively scheduled” for the commisson’s October meeting. The amendment would allow lighting of the sports field at MHS as late as 10:30 p.m. on 18 per year. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District would have to obtain a conditional use permit from the City of Malibu in order to take advantage of the amendment.
The school district asked the Coastal Commission in 2009 for a permit to allow 16 nights of temporary lights at Malibu High. The commission rejected the request because the LCP does not allow for lights, and a permit approved in 2000 by the Coastal Commission for athletic facilities at the high school specifies that lights be banned. The proposed LCP amendment would make them legal.
Malibu High had been illegally lighting its athletic field for night football games for many years. There were a few complaints from neighbors about this, but nobody put up much of a fight. This changed when the district announced its intention for more than 200 nights of lighting per year, something district officials have officially withdrawn from their official stance, although some district officials said the SMMUSD could advocate for this later. The district was forced to seek a permit for the lights, and the Coastal Commission rejection meant an end to lights for now.
The Malibu City Council passed the resolution to allow 18 days of sports lighting in March 2010.