The city would build a wastewater treatment facility at the site, and perhaps a park. However, it must first convince Malibu Bay Company to sell.
By Jonathan Friedman/Special to the Malibu Times
Negotiations are underway for a radical change to the Malibu Bay Company (MBC) Development Agreement (DA). At a special meeting last week, the City Council unanimously gave the approval for City Attorney Christi Hogin to meet with MBC representatives on a new deal in which the city would purchase the Civic Center area’s Chili Cook-Off site. There, it could build a wastewater treatment facility, something many believe the city desperately needs. Also, a park could be built on the land.
However, for the whole process to work, the city would need to acquire several grants and loans for both the purchase of the land and the facility. It would also have to convince the MBC it would be better off selling the land rather than developing 185,000 square feet of it for commercial use as planned in the current development agreement.
“This is such a monumental opportunity if it all comes together … ” Councilmember Sharon Barovsky said. “It is a chance to clean up the lagoon.”
According to city staff, the project would require funding in excess of $20 million. The city is applying for several grant funds to get some of that money, which would also be paid for through a percentage of matching funds from the city. Also, the creation of an assessment district would be used.
Although only a small handful of people attended the meeting, all who were there strongly favored the council’s action. Among them was Ozzie Silna, a member of Malibu Community Action Network (CAN), which has previously spoken out against the MBC Development Agreement.
“Our position is against major overdevelopment,” Silna said in a telephone interview. “This would be something to cleanse the lagoon and the ocean, and deal with pollution issues.”
While Silna said he supports what the council is trying to do, he stressed that he is not ready to start campaigning on behalf of the MBC. Silna pointed out that it would not necessarily be an easy goal to achieve getting the MBC to sell the land. He added there are still several more issues that trouble him with the agreement, including the residential development at the Trancas property.
Hogin is also expected to take another look at the MBC’s donation agreement of 18.87 acres of land on its Point Dume site and other issues involved in the agreement during her meetings. She said she expects to have some sort of idea on how the negotiations are going by Friday, June 13. She added that the council’s schedule to review the agreement might have to be altered if the negotiations are successful, since it would change a lot of people’s take on the agreement.
MBC spokesperson David Reznick declined to comment on the company’s view of the proposal.
At Monday’s meeting, the City Council conducted a workshop on the agreement. Nothing was mentioned of the latest happenings; rather, the council heard an overview of the agreement from Senior Planner Scott Albright. The council then asked numerous clarification questions and asked for staff to bring back more information on certain items. Also, several members of the public spoke at the meeting. Seven people spoke in favor of the agreement, while four spoke against it.
But the highlight of the meeting came when Councilmember Joan House spoke for about 20 minutes on the history of the agreement. House was a member of the three person ad-hoc committee along with then-Councilmember Tom Hasse and the former city manager. The Planning Commission, which unanimously recommended the City Council reject the agreement, had suggested that the MBC’s top-notch negotiators outsmarted the committee.
“I’ve heard a lot of rumors about how the negotiations supposedly went,” she said. “But the truth is that there were the three of us and three people representing the other side. There were no lawyers there in some smoke-filled room.”
Several other councilmembers spoke in defense of House. Councilmember Barovsky said she was somewhat offended by the Planning Commission’s comments. Kearsley also advocated for her.
“I believe they got the best deal the Malibu Bay Company was going to give,” Kearsley said. “The idea that somehow we had amateurs lined up against professionals is not true.”
The council meets again next Wednesday for a public hearing on the agreement. At that time it will discuss the MBC’s proposed donation agreement.