Also, the environmental and community development director says there has been an increase in illegal construction in Malibu.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
The man who coached the Los Angeles Lakers to four NBA titles in the ’80s received the go ahead to begin building his retirement home in Malibu. The Planning Commission on Monday unanimously approved Pat Riley’s application to build a 5,829-square-foot, three-story home.
Riley, who currently lives in Miami where he works as the president of the Miami Heat, said at Monday’s meeting he plans to retire “in a couple years” and would like to move to his Malibu property. When Riley, who has been the subject of retirement rumors, was asked after the meeting if that meant he would be stepping down soon from his job with the Heat, he said he meant to say he planned to retire “sometime in the near future.”
Riley said he would also like to be involved in the community, and joked that he would work as an assistant scout for Pepperdine University’s basketball team.
Riley’s application received mild opposition. A dispute with his neighbor over viewshed issues was resolved between them an hour before the meeting. And Malibu activist John Mazza opposed the project for not fitting with the neighborhood character due to its size.
A three-story home is unusual in Malibu and Riley needed a variance to get the permit for one. But city staff wrote in the commission’s report that most of the homes on Riley’s street had three stories, so his home would fit with neighborhood standards.
Also at the meeting, Environmental and Community Development Director Vic Peterson said the amount of illegal construction in Malibu had risen in the past three to four months. He said the city’s code enforcement officer has been issuing three or four stop-work notices per day for people building without a permit.
Peterson said people usually stop construction once they receive a stop-work notice from the city, but he said there have been cases of the city being ignored. In those situations, Peterson said, the cases are handed over to the city’s prosecutor.
Additionally at the meeting, Commissioner Regan Schaar said she was disappointed with what she said was an inability for her to get a message to the City Council that she would like to see a plan created before development begins in the Civic Center. Currently two major development projects, La Paz and Schultz, are being reviewed by city staff, and will eventually come before the commission and the City Council for review. Schaar said she would like the city to develop some sort of an organized plan before addressing those projects.
Peterson said he could start giving updates during Planning Commission meetings on how staff review of those projects, including the drafting of environmental impact reports, is going.
The commission also approved coastal permits for a 6,012-square-foot home on Pacific Coast Highway and for a 2,212-square-foot addition to a home on Fernhill Drive.