Tensions between two feuding developers reached new heights Monday, with one attempting to buy and donate land for the city if it denied the other’s project. But the Malibu City Council ultimately approved an environmental report (4-1) and development standards (5-0) for a project to build five blufftop homes next to Bluffs Park, bringing the long in-the-works proposal one step closer to fruition.
Richard Weintraub, who plans to build a luxury hotel directly across the street from the housing development, said the homes would obstruct views and reduce the value of his yet-to-be-built hotel. He added that additional plans to donate land to the City of Malibu for a skate park or little league fields would make it difficult to attract visitors from outside Malibu.
“It’s incongruous for me to hear tonight that there could be skateparks or ball fields directly across the street from a luxury hotel,” Weintraub said.
At one point, Weintraub offered his own plan to help the city purchase a piece of land known as the Wave Property in Malibu’s Civic Center to use for athletic and recreational fields near the Malibu Library if the council ruled against the development, called the Crummer project.
Developer Robert Gold, who is leading the Crummer project, maintained the accuracy of environmental and view assessments performed by City of Malibu planners during an environmental impact report (EIR).
“The EIR concluded … the project would not significantly impact views from the [Rancho Malibu Hotel] site,” Gold told the council. “If you cannot rely on the recommendations of your staff, then nothing will get done.”
Known as the Crummer Project, Gold is seeking to build five large homes on a 24-acre bluff site while donating 1.74 acres and $1 million to the City of Malibu. Four of the five homes are designed to be two stories, ranging from 24 to 28 feet tall and averaging 11,068 square feet. One of the homes is one story. The city is expected to build a skate park or ball fields on the donated acreage.
The council’s decision to approve the EIR and development standards does not yet give Gold and his team a green light for construction. Groundbreaking still hinges on the Malibu Planning Commission, which has yet to grant coastal development permits for construction of the homes.
Council chides hotel developers
Weintraub’s development firm Green Acres has been campaigning against the Crummer Project for several months. In December, the firm mailed brochures to registered Malibu voters encouraging opposition to the project. Green Acres has also been conducting telephone polls gauging community opinion of the project. But the firm’s approach was met with condemnation from the council.
Councilwoman Laura Rosenthal said she had been a recipient of a polling phone call from Green Acres attempting to create panic over the site’s geological safety.
“I was surprised [the poll] didn’t ask me whether I thought there was an active volcano under this site,” she said.
She also took issue with Green Acres partner Fred Gaines’ argument that square footage for each home should be downsized to 6,000 square feet.
“I’m going to remember that when you come here and say, ‘Why can’t my hotel be 275,000 square feet?’” Rosenthal told Gaines.
Other residents register view concerns
The dispute with the developers of the hotel project obscured opposition from roughly a dozen other residents who spoke out Monday against the project, most of them who live in the Civic Center area. The residents complained that the homes would drastically obstruct public ocean views from Pacific Coast Highway, Bluffs Park and neighborhoods above the Civic Center.
Some lamented that the Crummer homes would unavoidably obstruct views.
“I would love nothing better than for that field to remain completely open,” Planning Commissioner Mikke Pierson told the council. “Unfortunately, under the zoning that was passed down… they have a right to develop it.”
After the meeting, Gold said his team was still working to complete its application for construction permits with the city. Once the application is complete, Planning Director Joyce Parker- Bozylinski said Gold and his team would be back before the Planning Commission at a later date.
Under Monday’s resolution from the City Council, Gold can plan homes up to 28 feet in height, but the Planning Commission could force Gold to lower the heights to 18 feet. The council also eliminated an option for the homes to include “above ground” basements after many argued the basement would essentially make the homes three stories tall.
Though the Planning Commission has authority to issue permits for construction, the proposal is appealable to the City Council. Parker-Bozylinski said a small portion of the project falls into the California Coastal Commission appealable zone.