I wrote a letter to the School Board in support of filing for reconsideration with the California Coastal Commission last week and here is what was said, “The most powerful argument in favor of pursuing reconsideration was the importance of providing school-sponsored night time activities for our kids. It is priceless!”
How many nights of lights? 16 nights is what was presented to the Coastal Commission in October and denied. This is exactly the number of nights that would be reconsidered. Regarding the $650,000 that Steve Uhring claims the district spent to prepare its first presentation to the Coastal Commission, that is completely false. Steve and others have used this figure before and know that it represents costs for satisfying California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements for at least six school sites. While we may all gasp at the soft costs associated with school construction, it is all expended in support of strict and rigid guidelines developed by the state of California to guarantee exact health, safety and environmental standards for our students and our communities and to make sure we not only build safe schools but that we consider that school’s impact on the environment. Californians and Malibuites would accept nothing less.
Many Coastal Commissioners came to that October hearing with the intent to support staff’s recommendation to approve a CDP amendment to allow temporary lights for 16 nights at MHS. Unfortunately, they were swayed by the false communications and presentations of Steve Uhring and others in the final hour. Many students, parents and MHS supporters are incensed by the misinformation campaign cooked up by some in our community that resulted in the Coastal Commissions denial.
Colleen Baum