City staff is told to renegotiate development agreement to allow for wastewater treatment plant instead of a city hall, and to have both versions of the project heard Nov. 10.
By Vicky Shere / Special to the Malibu Times
The City Council on Monday told developers of the Malibu La Paz commercial and office building project for the Civic Center area that they want to have a wastewater treatment plant instead of City Hall in one version of the project.
In a 4-1 vote, Council-member Jefferson Wagner against, the council directed staff to re- negotiate the public benefit portion of a proposed development agreement to allow for: a wastewater treatment plant as a municipal use on land donated by the developer; connected landscaping to Legacy Park; pathways for pedestrian and golf cart traffic; development of a neighborhood evacuation plan, which includes use of the project’s underground parking by adjacent property owners; and to come back with an application on Nov. 10.
There are two versions of the proposal. One is 99,000 square feet and the other is 132,000 square feet. Both include a collection of retail, restaurant and office buildings ranging in size from 6,000 square feet to 17,000 square feet on the 15-acre property located on Civic Center Way between Papa Jack’s State Park and the Malibu Library.
The larger project includes a development agreement with the city in which La Paz would donate 2.3 acres of land and $500,000 to Malibu to build a city hall or “municipal building,” according to the staff report. The larger option would require an amendment to the city’s Local Coastal Program because of its size, among other issues. This option would require final approval from the California Coastal Commission. The smaller project would not need to go before the Coastal Commission, unless it is appealed.
The council’s action might mean the beginning of the end of an application submitted nearly nine years ago by Chicago developer Malibu La Paz Ranch LLC.
The Planning Commission in January recommended the council reject the larger project and approve the smaller one.
On Monday, 27 speakers addressed the council during public comment.
City Attorney Christi Hogin said the council’s actions would give the developers a clear idea of what would be approved.
“The developers are looking for closure, too, after nine years,” Hogin said.
Early in deliberations Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich said she wanted the wastewater treatment plant for the entire Civic Center area because of the urgency and expense of dealing with water issues.
“We’re dealing with wastewater and storm water issues,” Conley Ulich said. “We’re spending as much money for Legacy Park as our budget and Legacy Park still needs a wastewater component. We’re getting sued about water quality issues and are paying $400 an hour in legal fees. Maybe a wastewater treatment facility at the site could go a long way to cleaning up the ocean.”
Representatives of two of the most vociferous opponents of the project told The Malibu Times they were skeptical of the outcome.
“[The city] has sorely needed a wastewater treatment plan for the Civic Center area for many years,” Kirsten James, Heal the Bay’s water quality director said. “There are lots of questions to be answered.”
Mark Abramson, director of watershed programs for Santa Monica Baykeeper, who, along with the National Resources Defense Council sued the city over violations of the federal Clean Water Act, was more direct.
“The groundwater in the Civic Center is 42 percent septic. They’re going to need a big plan with big storage. They’re going to have to deal with Serra Retreat and Malibu Colony, and how they disburse treated wastewater throughout the area.”
Additional opposition comes from the neighbors of the project.
The Gustavon family’s attorney Alan Block sent a 26-page letter to the City Council detailing their dismay over the proposed development.
“The La Paz Ranch project, if approved as proposed, will have significant adverse impacts that are the product of an oversized project on an inappropriate site in the midst of a rapidly growing and developing area,” Block wrote in his letter. “These impacts will have serious consequences for the environment and for Malibu’s citizens-and for what, a shopping center with high-end specialty boutiques?”
Regarding the wastewater proposal, Block said, “It was a little unexpected what they came up with. I’m not sure if it wouldn’t require a further EIR.
“I would have been curious on what the developer would have to say [on building a wastewater treatment system],” he added.
Conley Ulich also opened the door for neighborhood evacuation through the project’s underground parking by noting how close fire came to adjacent property owners Eric and Tamara Gustavon, and Jean Paice Phillips and Samantha Turner-Phillips homes.
Councilmember Sharon Barovsky said the idea of using more than two acres of donated land for wastewater treatment was very appealing to her.
“What I’m hearing from the environmental community is that the city is not concerned about wastewater treatment,” Barovsky said. “I think [having a wastewater treatment plant for the entire Civic Center area] will prove that we are serious about addressing wastewater concerns.”
Wagner voted against the motion because he said the project was too big and salts from the wastewater would leach into the groundwater and into Malibu Lagoon.
“There are too many complexities that have not been answered,” Wagner said. “This project is too dense, we’re attracting more use to Malibu, and it rings of Tammany Hall around here.”
He told The Malibu Times that he would have voted for the smaller version if it did not include restaurants, the source of the most contaminants.
Councilmember John Siebert, a former planning commissioner, said he voted for the motion because as a scientist he was used to reevaluating his position based on new facts.
In voting for the motion, Councilmember Andy Stern, also a former planning commissioner, said, “As projects go through the process, they get better. The applicant did a lot of work. I can support the motion [as presented.]”