Consultants review biological resources, noise, air quality and aesthetics.
By Cristina Forde/Special to The Malibu Times
Following a comprehensive review by City Attorney Christi Hogin, consultants briefly summarized the Malibu Bay Company Development Agreement’s likely impact on biological resources, noise, air quality and aesthetics as detailed in the lengthy Environmental Impact Report (EIR) at the third Planning Commission special session Feb. 25.
Hogin told the commissioners that their job is to decide if the agreement will “give the public benefits in return for 10, 20 years of certainty. What you’re looking at, is it a good deal? It is not up for negotiation. If I were you I’d look at ‘what is a better deal? Do the benefits warrant giving this kind of certainty for the next 20 years?'”
During what Hogin called “this cumbersome process,” the commissioners do not have to decide on specifics, she said, like vegetation vs. ball fields.
The commissioners must find, she said, ” … If the environmental risks are tolerable or intolerable” and decide if the experts have done their research properly.
Katherine Patey, director of biological services for Envicom, said that urbanization will introduce “plants, pets that are not there now” and will require “mitigation measures to make sure these are minimized.”
The environmental consultant told the Planning Commission the introduction of urbanization that will accompany development by the Malibu Bay Company would bring “unavoidable significant impact.”
She said, however, that much of the 110.71 acres at the Civic Center, Point Dume and Trancas Canyon sites that are included in the 20-year Development Agreement (DA) between the city and the Malibu Bay Co. already have been environmentally degraded by “vagrants, dumping and abuse over time.”
Of the 26 people in the Hughes Auditorium seats, three spoke as members of the public. Jack Corrodi said, “We have a great development agreement here,” adding that Malibu is lucky to have a developer who owns all 12 subject parcels. “If we had 12 separate owners we’d have a rat fight on each piece of property.”
Ozzie Silna was skeptical about the tradeoff.
“What is the city getting [at the Point Dume site]?” Silna said. The city, he said, “will allow 80,000 to 90,000 square feet at the Civic Center, 20 or more residences and expanded shopping. It’s a huge price to pay for two ball fields, a senior center and five million dollars.”
Charlene Kabrin urged the commissioners to look at the plan’s visual impact in terms other than whose view will be blocked, noting that a sea of cars in a parking lot has its own impact.
“Look at the site from many different directions,” she said.
Biologist Patey said that some experts believe that because the sites are already degraded, there is “not as much diversity” in the natural environment.
In regard to the consultants’ research on birds, she said, “The public is mistaken that we only did three days. We had Jim Jennings and others for more than 20 days. We also did intensive literature research and used local resources. It is more than adequate coverage.”
The development agreement calls for mitigation measures to protect Least Bell’s Vireo and Southwestern Willow Flycatcher birds, and Tidewater Goby and Southern steelhead fish.
Wildlife movement to and from the mountains, she said, is already “highly restricted” by existing development but “the Trancas [site] still has enough undeveloped land that wildlife movement is still available.”
Subconsultant Hans Giroux said, “In contrast to biology which is site specific, air quality is a regional issue. Air quality does not respect political boundaries.” The thresholds of significance set by the AQMD, he said, are high.
The worst-case scenario during development, he said, would be to have three major grading operations going on at the same time. With three at once, he said, the impact of diesel fuel would temporarily exceed the AQMD threshold.
Also a concern is the amount of noise construction would generate. Giroux said there would be peaks in construction noise that will be “locally temporarily significant,” because “PCH is noisy and the city’s desirable noise exposure is high.”
He said the project would not worsen noise in a measurable way.
Principle Cartographer Dr. Jack Blok, using graphics, said his studies show that development at most of the Bay Co. sites would have no or little visual sightline impact.
The 13 residences on 15 acres at lower Trancas Canyon, all a uniform 18-foot height, will block “a little bit of blue ocean” from neighbors above but “they don’t form a conspicuous and solid mass view.”
The Trancas beach lot build-out would block ocean view from the highway.
At the Trancas commercial site, the Bay Co. would keep the Starbucks building and replace HOWs Market with a larger market, moving the new buildings away from the creek area.
Architect Ed Niles said that his designs [see photo] of bucolic or simplified structures utilize pitched roofs that come down to the ground, intermingling with trees, inviting people to walk through. They use natural colors, wood and copper, and are not stylized like a mission design.
“Malibu was a ranch,” Niles said. “There was a quietness about it. It should remain a place of human scale.”
Commissioners John Sibert, Robert Adler and Chairman Richard Carrigan were present. Commissioner David Fox had a conflicting engagement and Commissioner Deirdre Roney was nursing a sick family.
The entire EIR is available for inspection at the Malibu Library, City Hall and on the city’s Web site.