The greenery in front of City Hall has been converted into a staging yard for Southern California Edison.
As part of a Wildfire Mitigation Plan, the electric company will be conducting inspections of its equipment in the Malibu area prior to increased fire danger in the upcoming summer months.
According to a statement shared by the City of Malibu, the SCE work entails:
*Overhead infrastructure inspection (i.e. power lines)
*Equipment maintenance
*“Vegetation management” such as tree trimming or removal
The space in front of City Hall, located at 23833 Stuart Ranch Road, will serve as a central location for SCE personnel.
The statement said the electric company applied for two permits—an over-the-counter permit to prepare the site for use and another emergency coastal development permit to use the lot for SCE equipment and truck staging.
The move to use the lot as a staging area raised the ire of some in the community, who have cited its ecological significance and claimed it was part of a protected wetland.
A city official later explained that the lot, which was privately owned, was not a known wetland but was located adjacent to one, and with that in mind the SCE use was set back 100 feet from the adjoining lot. Edison reportedly agreed to seed the lot with native seeds after its use was done.