Billionaire Larry Ellison wants to build a 152-space parking lot for construction workers, while celebrities battle over a possible view obstruction on Point Dume.
By Homaira Shifa / Special to The Malibu Times
The Planning Commission on Tuesday heard a request by billionaire Larry Ellison for a 152-space temporary parking lot next to city hall and a pitched view battle by celebrities on Point Dume.
Ellison leases the land from Wave Property, Inc., owned by Pepperdine University, and has expressed the primary objective of the application is to minimize construction-related impacts to the Serra Retreat and Carbon Beach neighborhoods.
The staff report indicates the purpose of the parking lot, located near Malibu City Hall at 3542 Coast View Drive, would be to serve construction activities at the former Pierview and Windsail Restaurants on Pacific Coast Highway, as well as Ellison’s residence at 3469 Cross Creek Road. Although his representatives have refused to confirm it, it is well known throughout Malibu that Ellison owns the restaurant sites.
Construction workers would park their vehicles in the 1.5-acre parking lot, then take shuttles to the work sites, each of which is more than two miles away from the parking lot. Shuttles would run from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The parking lot would be permitted through 2015, even though construction at the old Pierview and Windsail sites is expected to finish this year.
According to the staff report, Ellison originally requested that the parking lot also serve upcoming development projects in the Carbon Beach area and the Malibu Racquet Club, which he also owns. But Malibu Planning Director Joyce Parker-Bozylinski said that request was denied because an application for the construction of those buildings has not been submitted.
Check The Malibu Times website for an update on the outcome of the meeting, which occurred after the paper went to print.
Another controversial item on the agenda involved a new home on Point Dume that has drawn the ire of several celebrity neighbors. A property owner on Grayfox Street has requested a permit to tear down an existing house, built in 2004, and construct a new 6,922 square foot house. A proposed one-story breakfast nook, which projects closer to the slope than the existing house, appears to be the offending edifice.
In a letter sent to the City, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith stated, “We strongly oppose this design both in footprint and most significantly in volume-by that we mean it’s too tall, it’s too close, and it’s robbing us of our established legal view and our privacy!”
Several other neighbors have sent letters to the city opposing the project, including comedian Don Rickles, actor Sean Penn and Smith’s bandmates Anthony Kiedis and Flea.
The primary concern voiced in the letters to the City is “obstruction of ocean view.”
Alan Block, an attorney representing the applicants, says the project meets all of the requirements of the city’s LCP and Municipal Code and the California Coastal Act.
“The contentions (Smith’s) are without merit and are being made by the Smiths’ lawyer in a desperate attempt to preserve a partial loss of ocean view that the Smiths will suffer if the project is approved,” Block wrote in a letter to the city.
Another item of note on the agenda involved a request for a wine-tasting room at the PCH commercial property owned by Malibu City Councilmember Jefferson Wagner. Applicant Marissa Coughlan requested a conditional use permit (CUP) for Malibu Beach Wines, a retail beer and wine store, to conduct tastings at 22775 PCH. Malibu Beach Wines has been pitched as a place for local Malibu vineyards to sell their wines. The staff report states that smaller vineyards sometimes have difficulty producing wine in large enough quantities to sell to corporate businesses such as grocery stores and convenience stores.