City grants two-year building extension for Malibu La Paz project

The Malibu Planning Commission on Monday approved a two-year extension to a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) to build the 112,000-square-foot La Paz shopping center and office complex in Malibu’s Civic Center.

The city’s planning department had recommended a four-year permit extension on the La Paz project, but the Planning Commission modified the approval down to two years in a 3-0 vote after the necessity of a four-year extension was called into question by members of the commission as well as local activist Hans Laetz.

The project was originally approved by the Malibu City Council in 2008 with a four-year CDP. That CDP expired in November 2012, without ground being broken. 

Most CDPs issued by the city are for one or two years, Laetz said, and La Paz should not be treated differently.

“It is not reasonable that La Paz gets double the period of all other projects in Malibu,” Laetz said. 

Don Schmitz, one of the La Paz applicants, defended the project based on its large scope and the several regulatory agencies involved in its approval.

“This is not a single-family home,” Schmitz said.

But Planning Commission Chair Jeff Jennings said a two-year permit was fair, saying he did not want to give the project too much of a cushion.

“I want to make sure the project applicant continues to move forward at a good pace,” Jennings said. “Four years is a long time and it’s easy to kind of sit back on it.”

Laetz also questioned current traffic mitigation plans to build a right-hand turn lane at the northeast corner of Cross Creek Road and Pacific Coast Highway, an intersection controlled by the state agency Caltrans. 

Schmitz said his group continues working closely with Caltrans on the traffic plan and the City of Malibu will ultimately not be the agency to give a stamp of approval to the traffic plan.

“Caltrans has been very involved in this process, including the environmental impact report that the City of Malibu certified [in 2008],” Schmitz told the Commission. “…This is not the jurisdiction of the City of Malibu, it is the jurisdiction of Caltrans.”

Schmitz said four years elapsed without any ground being broken on the La Paz project because the applicant was held up by litigation, working with Caltrans on traffic plans and gaining county water board approval on wastewater system plans.

For extended coverage of the La Paz CDP extension, read The Malibu Times print edition this week.

Staff Writer Melissa Caskey can be reached at melissa@malibutimes.com and 310-456-5507 ext. 121.