Opponents say there is not enough information in the city/college agreement on how $25 million of that money would be spent in Malibu. Supporters say there is no “perfect plan” and that the agreement will address the needs of the community.
By Jonathan Friedman/Assistant Editor
Measure S, the $135 million Santa Monica College bond measure, goes before voters on Tuesday. The measure needs 55 percent approval to pass. If this happens, it would allow for $25 million worth of capital projects in the city of Malibu, including the purchase of land for an educational facility and other uses.
Malibu and the college have signed an agreement that calls for the purchasing of land in Malibu, on which a 25,000-square-foot educational facility would be built and possibly a wastewater treatment facility and ball fields. No specific property is named in the measure, but many have expressed hope that the Chili Cook-Off site, the coveted property that lies along Pacific Coast Highway between Webb Way and Cross Creek Road, would be it.
Measure S has united many traditional political opponents in Malibu. The two people leading Malibu’s portion of the campaign are Mayor Sharon Barovsky and former Planning Commissioner Richard Carrigan, who opposed each other during last year’s Malibu Bay Co. Development Agreement (Measure M) election. Environmental philanthropist Ozzie Silna, who led the opposition to Measure M in last year’s election, has also thrown his support behind Measure S. Until recently, vocal Malibu opposition had been limited to the usual tax opponents such as Doug O’Brien and Tom Fakehany. But earlier this month, former Mayor Joan House came out against the measure.
House said she is against the measure because there is not enough information available, and she fears some parts of the agreement signed between the college district and the city put Malibu at a disadvantage. One of those portions is a statement that the city would have “no responsibility for or control over the operation of the new center [educational facility] or center support facilities.”
“This means the city cannot limit the hours of the facility, the number of students, the size of the classrooms,” House said.
But Barovsky counters this concern by pointing to a portion of the agreement that states that the college must follow the city’s zoning laws. She added that with the inclusion of hallways, bathrooms and a community room in the educational facility, the number of classrooms would be limited to 12 and the number of students at any one time to about 350. House and architect Ed Niles have disputed those numbers.
Barovsky added, when listening to House’s concerns, “You can never have progress if you demand the perfect. There will never be a perfect plan. But this is a plan that will address the needs of this community, giving us open space and taking land out of commercial development and addressing our environmental needs.”
However, House said the measure leaves too many questions unanswered. She said this includes the lack of a traffic study or environmental impact report on a possible educational facility. She said another passage in the agreement also might override the statement that restricts the college to following the city’s zoning laws.
The Chili Cook-Off site has been assumed by many to be the property the city and college district hope to purchase with the bond money because it has been a desired site for municipal purchase for so many years. The Chili Cook-Off site’s owner, Malibu Bay, after refusing last year to enter into any more land deals with the city, agreed to become a willing seller of the property last month. Malibu Bay would sell the property for $25 million, with the city having until Dec. 31, 2005 to come up with the money. According to Malibu Bay’s offer, the city could build nothing on the site except a wastewater treatment facility. But any of the existing three structures-Prudential Malibu Realty, Malibu Lumber and the Malibu Animal Hospital-could be rebuilt, allowing for the creation of the educational facility.
The Yamaguchi Family Trust has also offered to sell its 17 acres of Civic Center properties to the city for $20 million. In addition, the Crummer property, located next to Malibu Bluffs Park, has been put on the market for $24 million, although no letter has been sent to the city. Councilmember Ken Kearsley said last month that the bond money could be spread around to buy more than one property, while money from the state and private donations could be used to fit the rest of the bill. This could allow for an educational facility to be built on one property while sports fields would be constructed on the others.