Permanent facilities are being negotiated as part of the requirement to the Measure S bond.
Katherine Peach / Special to the Malibu Times
Class offerings from Santa Monica College will make a return this spring semester to Malibu after a 20-year hiatus, SMC officials announced Friday. The credit classes are a part of a pilot program.
Plans for a Malibu SMC satellite campus have been in progress thanks to a $135 million Measure S bond passed by Santa Monica-Malibu voters in 2004. A permanent campus is to be built with $25 million of the bond money. The spring classes will take place temporarily at Webster Elementary School in the Civic Center area.
Negotiations to purchase a site for the campus next to City Hall were aborted by SMC Board of Trustees in 2006. Katharine Muller, dean of external programs, told The Malibu Times the seven-acre Yamaguchi Family Trust-owned property did not meet the college’s needs. A legal agreement restricted any release of details as to why the college cut off negotiations.
“We made a commitment through our bond measure to the community,” Muller said. “Even though we haven’t been able to find a better location, this pilot program will help us plan for a more permanent situation. We are grateful to the county for letting us use the facility, but it is not a long-term solution.”
SMC and city officials discussed other possible sites for a campus in Malibu in 2006, such as the Malibu Bay Co.-owned Ioki property located on the northeast corner of Stuart Ranch Road and Civic Center Way. Pepperdine University offered a 9.2-acre parcel of land located behind county property. Any location must adhere to seismic codes and facility requirements.
The Malibu satellite program will offer six general education classes at Webster in art, English, geography, photography and psychology. Spring semester classes will be offered Tuesdays through Thursdays, late afternoons and evenings beginning Feb. 16. Muller said officials based the course offerings on classes that current students within the Malibu ZIP code were taking that did not need extensive supplies or facilities.
Noncredit courses have been offered by SMC through its Emeritus College for continuing education and dual enrollment for students at Malibu High School.
Further negotiations are being discussed between SMC, the City of Malibu and Los Angeles County for a potential campus site. The old Sheriff substation owned by the county, which was located on Civic Center Way near the Malibu court house may be a possible solution, despite Sheriff Lee Baca being quoted as disagreeing with the decision due to inference with patrol abilities.
The office of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has expressed support for the former sheriff’s substation as a possible location for the campus. Joe Bellman, representative for Yaroslavsky, said things are progressing in talks regarding use of that site. He said that it was premature in the negotiations to discuss specifics.
“Parties continue to talk and Zev is confident that we can reach an agreement that all parties can live with,” Bellman said. “We are continuing to work with the various departments.”