Night games will continue to be played at Malibu High School.
On May 13, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District spokespeople reported, the court of appeal denied a challenge to the April 27, 2016 decision that kept the lights on at the school. A three-judge panel denied a petition filed by the Malibu Community Alliance (MCA) on May 12 to rehear the case.
Since field lights for night games were first approved years ago, the MCA has been challenging the legality of the decision, with the first judge’s ruling coming down in favor of the lights in February 2015. The second legal challenge ended with the April 2016 decision, and the third was denied this month, the SMMUSD reported.
“We are pleased that the Court ruled in favor of the district again. It is disappointing that we must continue to use taxpayer dollars to fight legal battles instead of spending our funds on facility projects that will benefit our students,” Jan Maez, associate superintendent of business services, said in a statement provided by the district.
The MCA had argued that the City of Malibu’s decision to grant a permit for the lights was illegal, since the Malibu City Council, rather than the Malibu Planning Commission, held the hearing and granted the permit. Both the superior and appeals courts held that the city’s process was legal, due to the Planning Commission’s inability to hold a quorum, based on members needing to be recused for donating toward the field lights project.