Southern California Edison (SCE), which took up residency this summer in a lay-down lot at the foot of Stuart Ranch Road in the Malibu Civic Center, abruptly packed up and left on Monday. The departure came just days after the Malibu Planning Commission approved a controversial permit extension to allow for emergency repair work on Malibu’s electrical infrastructure.
“SCE had made a decision to vacate the lot; I believe they’d done so today,” City Manager Reva Feldman announced at the Monday, Aug. 26, Malibu City Council meeting. “The reasons were the rent from the property owner had increased and they were concerned about any downtime.” The departure raises questions about how the lot—which had cement added to it without the city’s approval—would be properly cleared, as mandated by the planning commission.
There was also the question as to how SCE will continue emergency repairs, since last week the utility’s spokesperson stated their trucks will have to come from Moorpark, a distance of 20 miles or more, to Malibu every day without the Civic Center location.