I am writing to let your readers know that the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District embarked on a visionary project to make the Malibu Middle School and Malibu High School state of the art. The proposed Malibu Middle and High School Campus Improvements Project will provide new classrooms, library, laboratories and administrative offices for the high school, and new classrooms, library and administrative offices for the middle school. The Project will also add new and expanded parking and drop-off and pick-up areas to relieve traffic congestion and improve student safety. The shared athletic field will be improved with synthetic turf and permanent lights. Other infrastructure upgrades are also included and any existing hazardous material, such as asbestos, will be removed. This Project is made possible through the 2006 Measure BB Bond.
As part of the planning process, the District will be preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts. The District completed the first step in the process by publishing a Notice of Preparation and an Initial Study. A public scoping meeting on the Project was held on Sept. 24 at the schools’ shared library. We understand that a number of interested persons were not aware of the Notice of Preparation. To give those who missed the scoping meeting adequate time to review and comment on the Project’s Initial Study, the scoping meeting’s presentation materials are posted on the District’s web site www.smmusd.org and the period for commenting on the Initial Study has been extended from October 13, to 5:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 26. The public’s comments on the Initial Study will be used to help guide the impact analyses in the Draft EIR.
The District will be holding three public outreach meetings before the Draft EIR is prepared that will focus on key areas: traffic and parking; athletic field improvements, and design and sustainability. The dates for these meetings have not yet been set. Interested persons should periodically check the District’s web site for the next meeting date.
A public comment period will also be provided on the Draft EIR, which the District is planning to release with the start of 2009. The comment period will be 45 days and during that time two additional public outreach meetings will be held to maximize the public’s involvement. We are excited about the Project and welcome the community’s support and comments.
Janece L. Maez
Assistant Superintendent
Business And Fiscal Services