Voters have one month to make up their minds on one of the largest development deals in Malibu’s history. Below is a general overview of the deal.
By Jonathan Friedman/Special to The Malibu Times
MBC Development Agreement€ City purchases Chili Cook-Off site
for $25 million within three years
€ MBC develops three of its Civic Center Area sites-the Ioki, Island and St. John’s properties. The remaining three sites will be left as open space
€ MBC commits itself to building a new urgent care facility on the St. John’s site
€ MBC constructs a 5,000-square-foot community center at Point Dume
€ MBC develops its remaining Point Dume property under the current zoning laws
€ MBC builds 20 homes at its Trancas properties and develops the commercial portion of its Trancas land
€ MBC donates $2.5 to the city, of which $1.5 million must go toward ball fields and up to $1 million for capital facilities for an urgent care center
€ MBC grants a conservation easement in Trancas Creek for creek restoration and construction of a footbridge that will link trails from the commercial site to a path leading to the beach
€ Also, there are plans for commercial and residential development on its Trancas property.
If the city fails to come up with $25 million in three years to purchase the Chili Cook-Off site, then a new scenario comes in to play
Alternative Scenario
€ 185,000 square feet of development is built on Chili Cook-Off site
€ MBC donates entire 18.87-acre Point Dume site for ball fields and community center
€ MBC donates $5 million for ball fields and a community center.
€ The Trancas and Civic Center area development other than the Chili Cook-Off site remains the same in both scenarios
On Nov. 4, Malibu voters will be asked to make a decision on Measure M, the Malibu Bay Company (MBC) Development Agreement. Measure M comes after more than 10 years worth of attempts by the MBC to develop its 12 properties in Malibu and the city’s efforts to either limit the development or prevent it completely. This week The Malibu Times presents a general overview of the agreement. In the coming weeks, we will go into greater detail on the three general areas of the city (Point Dume, Trancas Canyon and the Civic Center) affected by Measure M.
With the agreement, the MBC is allowed to develop eight of its properties over a 20-year period. As for the remaining sites, three must remain as open space and the fourth, the Chili Cook-Off property, could be purchased by the city for $25 million. Grants, loans and funds from the city would be used to purchase the land. The city could then build a wastewater/stormwater treatment facility and possibly a park on the site.
Although the City Council unanimously approved the agreement in late July, city law requires it to go before the voters for a final say.
The agreement is a revised version of the one drafted in 2000. Following a series of public hearings beginning in late 2002, the Planning Commission, in May of this year, unanimously recommended the City Council reject the original agreement. The commission’s biggest criticism was that the deal, which included 185,000 square feet of development on the Chili Cook-Off property, allowed too much construction and did not give the city back much in return.
In reaction to the commission’s decision, the city and the MBC went back to the negotiation table in June. Over the next two months, City Attorney Christi Hogin met with MBC attorney Dick Volpert to hammer out a new deal. The revised agreement has many similarities to its predecessor, but it includes several radical changes. The most significant is, rather than the Chili Cook-Off site being developed, the city has three years to buy the property for $25 million.
There are numerous outcomes that could occur now that the City Council has approved the agreement. One is that Malibu voters could reject the deal. If that happened, the MBC or anybody it might sell its properties to could then develop the sites under what the zoning laws allow, or the company could try to negotiate a new deal with the city.
Voter approval, however, guarantees nothing. In the case of a successful election, the city would be on a 3-year clock to collect enough money through grants and loans to purchase the Chili Cook-Off site. If it fails to do this, then the MBC could develop the site under the old agreement. Also, since the agreement would have to go before the California Coastal Commission, either the MBC or the city could pull out of the deal if the commission puts conditions on it that are unsatisfactory to either side. Lastly, if any lawsuit over the agreement is still ongoing at the conclusion of the 3-year period, then the deal is off, unless extended by mutual agreement. Malibu Community Action Network (CAN), the leading opposition group to the agreement, has already filed a suit. Issued earlier this month, the suit will not go to court until March, at the earliest. CAN member Ozzie Silna said his group has more suits planned if this one is unsuccessful.
CAN’s membership includes environmentalists and slow-growth advocates. The group’s president is Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy member Steve Uhring. Other names affiliated with CAN include John Mazza, Efrom Fader, Lucile Keller, Tami Clark, Bob Purvey and Bob Carmichael. The group has said the new deal still allows too much development. CAN also has a problem with the original agreement being connected to the new one. Many CAN members are also skeptical about whether the proposed treatment facility could actually work, and those who want one say the Chili Cook-Off site is not the right location for it.
The Measure M proponents are a group called Yes on Malibu and the MBC itself. Yes on Malibu is headed by longtime community activist Georgianna McBurney and Melanie Goudzwaard, who headed Jeff Jenning’s successful City Council campaign in 2000. Yes on Malibu is supported by the entire City Council as well as a range of people who are attracted to various features of the agreement, including the MBC’s promise to build a new urgent care facility, the construction of a community center at Point Dume and the possibility of a park at the Chili Cook-Off site. The group has also promoted the proposed treatment facility as the best solution to cleaning Malibu’s various polluted waters.