It was six years ago, in 1999, that the Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy first came before the Malibu City Council and recommended a program to acquire and restore the Chili Cook-off property as a means of reducing the pollution problems in Malibu Creek and Surfrider Beach. In 2001, we published a Chili Cook-Off Whitepaper report. That Whitepaper documented studies conducted by leading environmental and State agencies that supported this acquisition and restoration project.
In 1999, the MCLC also began working with the state agencies that issue grants under Proposition 12 and Proposition 50, The Water Quality Act for the Acquisition and Protection of Coastal Wetlands and Watersheds. We encouraged these agencies to view the Chili Cook-Off project in a favorable light. This effort laid the foundation that culminated in the agencies’ willingness to commit $10 Million in State Grants to the City of Malibu.
From the very beginning, these agencies made it clear to the MCLC, and to the City of Malibu, that the final release of the grant funds would require Malibu to complete a series of clearly enumerated tasks. Despite having over a year to complete these tasks, and after the expenditure of considerable staff, consultant and attorney time and taxpayer dollars, the City Council failed to meet the requirements. Then, with just six weeks before the expiration of the willing seller agreement, the City informed us that it had lost the grants, which accounted for roughly 40% of the total funds needed.
Council Member Barovsky has confidently spoken about the City’s ability to secure these grants once the Chili Cook-Off property is acquired. We encourage the Council to diligently pursue this opportunity. Four days preceding its meeting on Nov. 14, the City Council notified the MCLC of the Council’s “Notice of Intent” with which it would officially declare its commitment to restore the Chili Cook-Off once it is acquired.
The MCLC is still committed to helping the City complete the acquisition. Upon the submission of an accurate report from the City we will deliver our challenge funds into an escrow account for the purchase. If the property is not purchased by Dec. 31, 2005, then the MCLC will expect the donations to be refunded.
Steve Uhring
Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy