The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a plan Tuesday by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky to upgrade Waterworks District 29 and resolve what some have called a “de facto building moratorium” in Malibu.
The supervisors’ vote instructs the Los Angeles County of Public Works director to prepare a comprehensive, long-range capital improvement master plan that will meet current and future domestic and fire protection water demands for the district. It also requires the director to “actively seek a partnership with the City of Malibu and other appropriate stakeholders” during the planning stages for the project. The director must report back to the board by June 14 with an estimated timeframe for the planning, and issue progress reports every 60 days to the board thereafter.
The board also instructed the county Fire Chief “to assist land owners in assessing the infrastructure requirements for a proposed development as early in the review process as possible.” The cost of a comprehensive overhaul has been estimated at $140 million.