Fish and Game casts more doubt on the Ahmanson development.
Malibu expresses concern over impact to traffic and water quality.
By P.G. O’Malley/Special to The Malibu Times
The California Department of Fish and Game finally got around to submitting its comments on the Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) for Ahmanson Ranch last week, missing Ventura County’s deadline by three weeks. But the delay didn’t bother opponents of the development who insisted the Fish and Game document, which comments on the SEIR’s lack of detail, was well worth waiting for.
“Fish and Game is just one more public agency casting doubt on the environmental review process for this development,” said Tsilah Burman, executive director of Rally to Save Ahmanson Ranch, which has been calling for the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to authorize an entirely new EIR to replace the original report certified in 1992.
And, finally, the City of Malibu made its position known on the 3,050-home, two-golf course development near the 101 Freeway and Las Virgenes Road.
City Manager Katie Lichtig sent a letter to the Ventura County Resource Management Agency regarding the city’s position on the SEIR.
The letter states the city is concerned about excessive commuter and beach bound traffic and irreparable environmental damage to the water quality of Malibu Lagoon and Surfrider Beach. Amd the “EIR is outdated and does not adequately address traffic and water issues.”
Tim McGarry, spokesperson for developer Washington Mutual, sees the Fish and Game response as just part of the process.
“It’s clear there are areas where they want more information,” McGarry said. “And we’re going to work to provide it.”
Although the impetus for requiring a supplement to the original Environmental Impact Report was the discovery of two endangered species on the Ahmanson property-the San Fernando Valley spineflower, previously thought to be extinct, and the California red-legged frog-according to Fish and Game scientists, the developer has not been sufficiently forthcoming about how it expects to protect either species.
One question the Fish and Game document raised was whether Ahmanson consultants had adequately catalogued all the sites on the property where the plant might exist.
“In a situation like this with so much at risk,” said agency environmental scientist Morgan Wehtje, “it’s not adequate to say you’re going to develop a plan. We can’t analyze the effect of mitigation if we don’t know what it is. What if it doesn’t work? What if conditions change?”
While the Fish and Game letter commended the Ahmanson Land Co. for its efforts on behalf of both species, the agency expressed concern about the developer’s inclination to postpone formulation of “measurable objectives, success criteria and performance criteria” until it applies for permits further down the road. It also made it clear that the SEIR as it stands is inadequate for the department to use to evaluate whether or not these permits should be issued.
Similar questions were asked by the Malibu City Council in its comments regarding the Ahmanson SEIR. Specifically, the city expressed concern that “many important studies, plans and mitigation” had been deferred, including mitigation management programs for both the spineflower and the frog.
“This is a comment period,” said McGarry, “and all these agencies are doing what they’re supposed to do-making comments and raising issues.”
In all, the city charged Washington Mutual had “deferred” specific planning in a total of 14 areas, many of which directly affect Malibu residents, including storm water pollution control from urban runoff once the project is built, golf course management, and the developer’s proposal to use the Tapia Water Reclamation facility in Malibu Canyon for 10 years until it builds its own sewage treatment plant.
Specifically, the city noted that alternative methods of effluent discharge had not been considered in the environmental document, should Tapia be unable to develop solutions to wastewater disposal during periods when it is not permitted to discharge into Malibu Creek. The Fish and Game document also expressed concern about the effects on wildlife habitat once Washington Mutual begins installing water and sewer lines to move waste to the Tapia facility, and reclaimed water back to the project to irrigate parks and golf courses.