On behalf of the majority of Malibu residents who believe that the battle to maintain Malibu’s rural character, as required by the city’s General Plan, is a battle worth fighting, I would like to thank you for your help and support during the construction of Malibu’s LCP by the Coastal Commission. I am pleased to report that we were able to keep Malibu’s new LCP consistent with the major provisions of the 1986 County LCP that has been governing our community for the last 16 years. This means that our goal to protect and perpetuate Malibu’s rural character is in our hands, and is still an achievable objective.
The City Council failed in its attempt to undermine some of the environmental provisions required by Malibu’s General Plan. For example, their arguments to weaken the makeup of the city’s Environmental Review Board were rejected and Malibu will retain a strong Environmental Review Board as required by our General Plan.
The City Council did make progress in their plan to place 1.25 million square feet of development (the equivalent of 10 Malibu Colony Shopping Plazas) in the Civic Center. They convinced the Coastal Commission to ignore the city’s requirement to develop a comprehensive Civic Center Specific Plan prior to permitting commercial development projects in the Civic Center.
Prior to beginning any development in the Civic Center, the city is required to provide us with a “detailed picture” of what the Civic Center will look like when it is fully developed. This picture, “A Civic Center Specific Plan,” is required by our General Plan to insure that commercial development in the Civic Center does not create clogged roadways, more pollution in Malibu Creek and Surfrider Beach, or destroy the rural nature of our community. With your support, we will petition through a number of channels to insist that the City Council prepare the required Civic Center Plan.
Under pressure from the developers and with support from the City Council, the Coastal Commission will allow the Malibu Bay Company and the LaPaz Civic Center development projects to come before the city for consideration. The Malibu Bay Company EIR has just been released and we have just begun our analysis of this document.
I encourage you to watch the last meeting of the Coastal Commission where the Malibu LCP was deliberated. It will be playing on the Malibu Public Access TV station, channels 15 and 3 beginning Sept. 17. The meeting is broken down into an hour of presentation by the City Council followed by an hour of presentation by the “Save Malibu” representatives. After that you will see presentations from the public at large.
Watch the city’s presentation and you will see them describe the drainage and water storage ditch that is incorporated into the City Council’s vision for the Civic Center as a wetland. The “Save Malibu” presentations, led off by Don Henley, provide a clear picture of why we are fighting to protect the Malibu’s unique natural environment and highlight some of the past actions taken by our City Council to undermine that protection. Unfortunately, in the middle of the public comment portion of the meeting you will see a vitriolic presentation by City Council advocate Wade Major, that is an embarrassment to everyone who lives in Malibu. This was the presentation referenced in the L.A. Times.
Thank you again for your help and support in saving the Malibu that is special to all of us.
Steve Uhring, President
Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy