If the appeal by environmental groups is denied, the city will move forward in the approval of final designs and the environmental impact report, and the construction phase of the project.
By Olivia Damavandi / Staff Writer
The next steps of the Malibu Legacy Park Project will be determined Monday night when the city council will vote whether to approve or deny an appeal against the project’s environmental impact report by four environmental groups.
If the appeal is denied, city staff recommends the council review and make any necessary changes to the plans and design elements of the Malibu Legacy Park Project, located on more than 15 acres along Pacific Coast Highway and Webb Way, provide direction to complete the final plans and place the project out for bid.
If the appeal is upheld, then staff recommends its continuation to a currently undetermined date.
Environmental groups Santa Monica Baykeeper, Malibu Surfing Association, Surfrider Foundation and Heal the Bay filed the appeal in January in response to the Planning Commission’s approval of the project. The groups say Legacy Project’s EIR violates the California Environmental Quality Act by not addressing Malibu’s water quality issue of disposal and treatment of sewage from commercial developments in the Civic Center area.
The city, however, says plans for a wastewater treatment facility are currently underway and that the Legacy Park Project as designed will substantially reduce pollution of Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon and Santa Monica Bay.
The project meets the goal for compliance with bacteria TMDL (total maximum daily load) as imposed by the State Water Resources Control Board, the city states in its latest report, and will benefit the environment while providing a community park.
The Legacy Park Project was initially designed to treat both storm water and wastewater, but the city then decided it would serve only as a storm water treatment facility, in addition to being a community park.
The overall cost to design and construct Legacy Park is estimated at $15.6 million. It is anticipated that project construction and management costs will be funded from a variety of sources such as private donations, private and public grants, State of California Revolving Fund Loans and City of Malibu general fund reserves.
Currently, the city has obtained $6.1 million in public donations and grants. In addition, the city is applying for $8.4 million in federal stimulus funding through the State Revolving Fund Loan.
The parkland was purchased by the city in 2006 for $25 million. In addition to the vacant land, the purchase included three commercial properties, including the Malibu Lumberyard land, which is now the site of the Malibu Lumber Mall, and the Coldwell Banker and Malibu Animal Hospital properties.
It is the city’s plan that income from the three properties would support park maintenance and pay off the certificates of participation sold to help meet the purchase price.
Final designs
In its latest report, the city states that final design issues of the Legacy Park Project in need of council direction and input include the types of materials that should be used for trellis work, whether or not medians should be installed along Civic Center Way between Webb Way and Cross Creek Road, if wheel stops should be used in lieu of curbs and what type of artwork should be utilized.
The question of whether a median should be implemented on the portion Civic Center Way in front of the Malibu Library and courthouse has been debated at a number of council meetings. At a meeting on Jan. 26, public speakers said the medians would hinder parking egress, slow down traffic, obstruct emergency vehicles and reduce the speed at which they could reach their destinations.
Anne Payne of the Malibu Optimist Club said that though the medians would be aesthetically pleasing, they would preclude the use of public property.
Rebekah Evans, president and CEO of the Malibu Chamber of Commerce, voiced concern that the medians would curtail the amount of parking necessary for the Malibu Arts Festival, an annual event put on by the chamber during the last weekend of July.
As proposed, Civic Center Way will be paved as a three-lane roadway, 32 feet wide. It will also include angled parking that will be constructed with permeable pavers, consistent with the design utilized on Cross Creek Road. The design team recommends that a median not be implemented on Civic Center Way.
Also under consideration is the replacement of concrete curbs with wheel stops. Concrete curbs are recommended for this project because they are used to channel trash and debris to places where they are easily retrievable. The city report states that without curbs, storm water runoff would be directed to discharge directly onto the park and adjacent landscape areas.
Removal of the curbs would most likely require the site to be lowered by about 18 inches and may require pumping units to be installed, the city states.