It was like the good old days: The citizens of Malibu driving downtown to do battle with the forces of evil bent on crushing us to their will. Most of us were a bit grayer and a little longer in the tooth than during cityhood days, but the old spirit was still there– sort of.
This time the enemy was the California Coastal Commission whose proposed land use plan for Malibu sought to turn us into some sort of a vassal state.
Well, if the commission expected us to play a compliant American colony to Coastal Commission Director Peter Douglas’s George III, it must have been sorely disappointed. However, I suspect the coastal commissioners were not terribly surprised that Malibu came ready to fight. We have a reputation for being the Chechnya of local cities and it’s probably a well-deserved reputation, although, I must admit this council is trying hard to change that and get along.
Nevertheless, despite everyone’s best intentions, the relationship between the City of Malibu and the California Coastal Commission has been steadily deteriorating since the passage of AB988 last year that transferred the power to create the Malibu Land Use Plan from the City of Malibu to the California Coastal Commission. Each side has charged that the other wanted to go it alone, and since the legislation gave the Coastal Commission the ultimate say, the draft currently on the table is the Coastal Commission’s draft with precious little input from the city, which has really got the city’s nose out of joint.
This brings us to the meeting downtown, which was really the first encounter between the entire Coastal Commission and the entire Malibu City Council, face-to-face, mano-a-mano. There had been earlier meetings–staff to staff–city workshops and, most recently, a Coastal Commission workshop, but this was decision point and everyone was tense.
The draft land use plan that the coastal staff had put forward was highly controversial. If passed as proposed, it might turn Malibu into a commercial visitor-serving paradise, in which all the ultimate decisions on just about everything would have been appealable to the Coastal Commission. It pretty much declared all of Malibu as an ESHA (environmentally sensitive habitat area), or a buffer zone around an ESHA, or a scenic corridor, and it put out a bunch of restrictions that effectively turned us into a vassal entity of the Coastal Commission. It included some very sensible environmental protections along with some environmental whacko stuff. And there was more than a little bit of getting even in the proposed plan. For example, commission staff scuttled a ball field deal on Bluffs Park (the proposed Crummer development agreement), saying the fields had to go and put a hotel up there instead. On Point Dume, where the city and Coastal Commission had been in litigation over parking spots, a deal had been previously worked out for 10 to 12 parking spots and a nature bus to bring people to the preserve. Now the Coastal Commission is proposing public parking on many Point Dume streets, leaving some Malibuites feeling very double-crossed.
Frankly, when I first read the plan I was surprised how provocative some of it was. On the other hand, I had seen legislative negotiation close up and it isn’t unusual to include a bunch of garbage you know is not going to be acceptable, so you have something to jettison later on when serious negotiations get going.
Also, the proposed plan is truly complicated and the city wanted more time to look it over and discuss it and propose changes. It was unclear if the commission would resist any delays and try to push it right through.
The hearing opened with commission staff and their leader, Director Peter Douglas, initially coming on hard and a bit confrontational in opening statements, but then the strategy shifted. Commission staff acknowledged the complexity of the draft LCP, and suggested there be a second hearing and a final decision in January so everyone would have a chance to look it over and suggest changes. Then commission staff said they were dropping their idea of a hotel at Bluffs Park and instead were in agreement with the Crummer deal, which would move the ball fields and allow eight single-family homes on the Bluff, giving the state its land back.
Then after staff comment, governmental agencies and the public had their say. Later in the afternoon the coastal commissioners spoke. The following is what they said.
- They thanked their staff profusely for their hard work and for the staff draft of the land use plan. Then they encouraged the Malibu City Council to contact them directly, which could mean the commissioners are just giving good PR, or they recognize there are many problems with the draft and intend to deal with them hands-on and not let Douglas call the shots. It’s hard to say. Only time will tell if the Coastal Commission runs Douglas or if he runs them.
- A commission subcommittee of Commission Chair Sara Wan and Commissioner Cynthia McClain-Hill offered to meet with the council subcommittee of city Councilmembers Jeff Jennings and Sharon Barovsky and go over the plan, line by line if necessary, and work out differences. If they’re serious and not posturing, then maybe, just maybe, they can come to agreement on something we can live with.
I would venture a guess that the Coastal Commission is nervous, very nervous, and that they definitely want to keep a lid on this thing for several reasons.
For one thing, there is presently a case before the Court of Appeals, which could declare the Coastal Commission unconstitutional. The Coastal Commission has already lost in the trial court and Malibu has just filed an amicus brief in the case. Stripped of the legal verbiage, it means we agree the Coastal Commission is unconstitutional as presently composed and we want it abolished. Ultimately, this case is going to go to the California Supreme Court, a very conservative Supreme Court, I might add, and if the Coastal Commission says it’s not worried, it’s lying.
Also, despite its adamant denials, I’m fairly certain that AB988 was the Coastal Commission’s bill with an assist from Resources Secretary Mary Nichols. If this turns into a full-fledged legal battle, with Malibu resisting all the way, the governor, the speaker and the president pro tem are going to be very upset. True, they’ll be upset with us, but they’re going to be even more upset with the people they appointed to the Coastal Commission because I suspect they went along with AB988 to fix the situation, not to start a war.
There are changes coming soon. Bob Hertzberg is leaving as Assembly speaker and Herb Wesson will replace him, which might mean four new commission appointments. The governor is going into a re-election campaign, and if Richard Riordan’s campaign gathers any traction, watch Gov. Gray Davis get very, very cautious. The last thing he wants is a war in Malibu, the land of milk and money.
What I’m suggesting is that it’s all up for grabs. Both sides have some good cards and some bad cards, and only time will tell who’s the better player.