Civic Center development plan moves forward

By The Malibu Times · Thu Jun 21 2001

The Malibu Bay Company's plan for developing its properties in the Civic Center, Trancas Canyon and Point Dume has cleared a hurdle on its way to approval, but there are still many obstacles to overcome.

The city's Planning Commission on June 12 took comments from the public in a scoping hearing on the preliminary draft of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the Malibu Bay Co. development proposal. As the name implies, a scoping hearing examines the scope of environmental concerns the city expects an EIR to study.

An EIR that is acceptable to the city and that complies with California Environmental Quality Agency (CEQA) standards is essential for the development to proceed.

The project would include development of seven sites in the Civic Center and four sites at Trancas. In exchange, Malibu Bay Co. proposes to give the city nearly 19 acres of now vacant land at Point Dume plus $5 million for construction of a community center and sports fields on that land.

Critics of the project say the Civic Center developments would be too high a price to pay for the Point Dume give-back. Specifically, they say the Civic Center plan would create a traffic overload and sewage control problems.

Proponents say traffic could be mitigated by increased shuttle bus services. They also say choosing the right commercial use for open land could ease traffic congestion. A hotel, for example, would not generate traffic at peak hours, as would an office building.

Sewage and wastewater treatment facilities, however, would need to be expanded beyond the septic tanks that now service the area. The Malibu Bay Co. plan would use a vacant seven-acre parcel one block west of City hall, known as the Smith site, as a new wastewater treatment and storage area. It does not specify the type of facility to be installed there.

Those two issues will be an important focus for the EIR.

The city hired a longtime environmental studies firm, Envicom Corp. of Agoura, to prepare an EIR at an estimated cost of $350,000, to be paid by Malibu Bay Co. Following the city's scoping directions, Envicom will finalize a draft EIR that will be sent to the State Clearinghouse for distribution to several state agencies including the Fish and Game Dept., the Parks and Recreation Dept., and the Coastal Commission, among others. It will also be mailed to all who attended the scoping session last week.

By November or December, according to planning director Barry Hogan, a revised EIR draft that includes changes and recommendations from state agencies and local interests should be ready for public hearings before the City Council "if all goes as planned." After deliberating further revisions, the council must then either approve or reject the EIR.

If approved, city law mandates that any development of more than 30 acres must be voted on by the public in a general election. That could be as early as April, 2002 or in June or as late as November.

The seven sites marked for development in the Civic Center include:

• The Chili-Cookoff site across from City Hall, 19.61 acres. After a 10-year moratorium, commercial uses would expand to 185,000 square feet from the current 29,354 square feet.

• The now-vacant Ioki site west of City Hall, 9.28 acres, would be home to 85,000 square feet of "garden office, post office, and limited retail."

• The Small Island site off the northwest corner of Ioki, 1.11 acres, would get a one-story, 12,088 square feet general commercial building.

• The Winter Canyon site, 4.21 acres, now used for a septic facility, would be dedicated to unspecified "wastewater processing and continuation of wastewater disposal."

• The now-vacant Smith site three blocks west of City Hall, 7.10 acres, would also be used for wastewater treatment and storage, after a 10-year moratorium.

• The Knoll Canyon site south of Winter Canyon, 4.36 acres, would remain permanent open space, with no specified development.

• The St. John's site, 1.67 acres. New development would expand the present St. John's Urgent Care facility and keep the Unocal 76 service station that is there now.

The four Trancas sites proposed for development include:

• A 24.87-acre parcel north of Pacific Coast Highway for 13 single-family homes on 15 acres and 9.87 acres of permanent open space.

• Expansion from 29,000 square feet to 62,000 square feet of retail commercial use on a 12.39-acre parcel at the southeast corner of the above residential property.

• Two single-family units on 5.24 acres of the former Riders and Ropers property.

• Five single-family units on two acres of now-vacant beach front property.

• The Point Dume gift property consists of 18.87 acres to be used for a community center and sports fields.