Supporters of a $15 million bond measure that would allow the city to buy open land for the public met once again, Thursday night, at a public meeting in Serra Retreat to discuss legal language in the bond and to further organize.
The coalition, composed of people who come from a variety of backgrounds, hopes the city will buy vacant properties with the bond money. But what the land will be used for is still in debate and they have placed that issue on the side for now, say supporters.
“They [the group] are beginning to think about the whole plan rather than just pieces of it,” said Georgianna McBurney , a Malibu resident who has been involved in local politics for a long time.
It appears that everyone agreed the priority should be placed on purchasing open land and obtaining funds to match possible grants, she said.
However, since the meeting, the group has had to face another front because the Planning Commission is looking at a draft guidelines for a Civic Center Village that may inflate the value of parcels in Malibu, thereby decreasing the bond’s land-purchasing power.
The group has decided to put up a united front in an attempt to get community support for the bond measure. They also adamantly fought the concept proposed in the Civic Center guidelines at the Planning Commission meeting on Monday.
Also, two weeks ago, while the group discussed the logistics of the measure with the City Council, the Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy, which is part of the measure’s core coalition, was in Long Beach before the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project attempting to get funding to purchase two parcels in the Civic Center area.
They stated to the recovery project that both the State Department of Parks and Recreation and the City of Malibu (potentially) supported their effort to acquire open space in the vicinity of the Malibu Lagoon, but a state parks official quickly responded in a letter to Mayor Tom Hasse that the California State Parks is not an official sponsor or participant in this proposal.
In an interview pertaining to the meeting on Thursday, supporters said they are working with a bond expert who will help them draft the best possible bond wording. They also want to place a cap on spending for anything that is not for purchasing land when the money does come in.
The coalition established a steering committee that will learn more about what each group wants. Various committees will be formed.
“Everybody realizes that if any part of the coalition fails, they can lose the bond measure,” said McBurney. “We need a 66 2/3 percent vote, which is hard to get, and that’s where the main effort will have to go.”
At this point in time, the coalition works independently from the council, said Mayor Hasse. The measure is due in front of the council by early July, he said.
The coalition’s next organizational meeting will take place on March 22, at Serra Retreat at 7 p.m.