The Malibu High School (MHS) Sharks football team has not played its last homecoming game under the lights. Though legal wrangling may continue, those in favor of night games at the high school have won another victory, coming out on top in the California Court of Appeal.
California Court of Appeal Justice Laurie D. Zelon wrote the opinion in favor of the City of Malibu on Wednesday, April 27, upholding an earlier decision that the city acted lawfully when handling the permitting of permanent outdoor sports field lights at MHS.
The lights, which have already been constructed at the school, will remain standing unless further action is taken and proves successful.
The appeal was filed after a February 2015 Los Angeles Superior Court ruling said the city was within its rights to approve sports lights at MHS.
“The city did not abuse its discretion in approving the field lights on June 25, 2012. No further environmental study was required for the Field Lights Project,” Superior Court Judge Richard L. Fruin, Jr. wrote in the original 2015 ruling.
The 2015 decision came three years after Malibu City Council approved the lights.
According to plaintiffs — who include homeowner group Malibu Community Alliance (MCA) — the City of Malibu and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) ignored California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) stipulations since they did not take into consideration certain scientific literature and did not consider the field lights together with other ongoing projects at the high school.
They also alleged that the City Council overstepped its authority by superseding the Planning Commission, which did not discuss the item.
In 2012, the majority of Planning Commission members had to recuse themselves from the decision based on conflicts of interest, making the body unable to have a quorum on the issue. Therefore, it passed by the commission and was sent straight to City Council, a move the MCA and co-plaintiffs argued was illegal.
This was addressed in the April 27 decision, which quoted then-Assistant City Attorney Gregg Kovacevich.
“City Attorney Gregg Kovacevich explained that the commission was ‘unable to produce an unconflicted, unbiased quorum’ because three of its five members had disqualifying conflicts of interest,” Zelon’s decision states.
It goes on to detail each conflict of interest, as described by commissioners, quoting Kovacevich.
“Commissioner [Jeffrey] Jennings lives within close proximity, and his participation is [therefore] precluded by the Political Reform Act. Commissioner [Roohi] Stack serves as treasurer for the Shark Fund, which is the main fundraising body for Malibu High School, and she has made a $500 donation earmarked specifically in support of the lights,” Kovacevich was quoted as saying. “And Commissioner [Mike] Piersen has also made a donation of $500 to support the lights at Malibu High School. So for that reason, the item is going to be moved directly to the City Council for a hearing in the first instance [on June 25, 2012].”
In opposition to this, the MCA filed the 2012 suit against the City of Malibu and SMMUSD. Their arguments were also summarized in the appeals court decision.
“Petitioners argued that under the local ordinances, ‘[t]he only way [an application for a CUP or CDP] can be decided by the city council is on appeal of a decision by the planning commission. Absent an appeal, the City Council ha[s] no authority … to issue [the permits],’” the decision recounted. “Petitioners also re-asserted that under the rule of necessity, the planning commission was required to render a decision regardless of whether it could provide an impartial forum because no other entity had authority to act.”
This argument did not hold water in either the superior or the appeals court.
According to Assistant City Attorney Trevor Rusin, the appeals court ruling “affirmed the city took the proper action.”
“This should be the end of the litigation,” Rusin, speaking at a Wednesday night special City Council meeting, went on to say. “They can ask for reconsideration, they can also ask to appeal to the Supreme Court of California — you never know.”
The district released a congratulatory statement on Thursday.
“We are extremely pleased with this decision that once and for all provides our athletic teams with much-needed lighting for practice and competitive play,” Jan Maez, associate superintendent of business services, said in the prepared statement.
In a brief emailed statement Wednesday night, MCA President Cami Winikoff did not rule out the idea of continuing the fight against lights at MHS.
“We are disappointed with the judge’s decision, but we are continuing to explore all our options,” Winikoff said.
As of Monday, May 2, Winikoff and the MCA were still weighing their options.