The owners of U2 rocker David Evans’s proposed development on Sweetwater Mesa Road above Serra Canyon are going public. Documents sent to The Malibu Times by Fiona Hutton, whose public relations firm was retained by the owners about a month ago, identify the owners as Evans, Tim Delaney, Gillian Delaney, Chantal O’Sullivan, Lisa Menichino, Dean McKillen and Patrick McKillen.
Hutton said in a telephone interview with The Malibu Times that Derek Quinlan, who according to the L.A. Times was a former owner with Evans, has sold his parcel to a man named Anthony Kilduff.
The owners propose to build five large estates on separate parcels on the 156-acre property, which according to previous reports was purchased by Evans in 2006 with his wife. The project calls for five houses to be built—three exceeding 12,000 square feet, and two smaller ones of approximately 8,000 and 7,000 square feet—along with a 1,600-square-foot access road. Local residents and environmental activists are opposed to the project because significant grading would be required to complete the construction. The residents have expressed concerns over landslides, while environmental activists say the construction would harm the property’s fragile ecosystem.
Previously, only the names of companies, Delaware limited liability limited partnerships (LLLPs), had been known to the public, but Hutton said the owners had revealed themselves to the coastal commission in fall 2010. While the documents were not posted with the staff report for the project on the commission’s website, Hutton said public concerns over secrecy were misplaced because the information is part of the public record and could have been obtained upon request.
Affidavits were sent by the owners to the commission in October and November of 2010 revealing themselves. Morleigh Properties LLLP is co-owned by Chantal O’Sullivan and Lisa Menichino. Mulryan Properties LLLP is co-owned by Tim and Gillian Delaney. Dean McKillen and Patrick McKillen identify themselves as co-owners of Ronan Properties LLLP. According to Hutton, Evans owns Vera LLLP and Kilduff owns Lunch LLLP.
The project has been scheduled several times in the past few years to go before the coastal commission for approval, but has been withdrawn each time. It has received both local and international media attention, due to the celebrity of Evans—who goes by “The Edge”—and also because the coastal commission has branded the project a “coordinated development scheme,” rather than five separate properties by distinct owners.
Further controversy ensued recently when the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy voted to drop its opposition to the project in April in exchange for $1 million in donations and consulting work and a slew of conservations and development restrictions around the homes that would allow for the construction of a trail through the property in the future.
Critics of the deal, which is contingent on the coastal commission approving the project, charged that the owners of the project had effectively bought off the SMMC, while SMMC head Joe Edmiston countered that the donations would be valuable and beneficial for future users of the trail.