In a raucous meeting in the new City Hall Monday night, the Malibu City Council deadlocked on several motions that would have resulted in the city taking a stance for or against the Malibu Lagoon Restoration Project, before ultimately deciding to remain neutral. With Mayor Pro Tem Laura Rosenthal absent, the council reached a 2-2 stalemate on a motion that would have directed staff to prepare a letter to Governor Jerry Brown indicating that the City of Malibu supported the restoration plan, with the condition that modifications be made.
Councilmembers Jefferson Wagner and Pamela Conley Ulich voted yes, and Councilmember Lou La Monte and Mayor John Sibert voted no.
Several councilmembers called the lagoon issue “radioactive.”
The City of Malibu has no power to stop the project, as it takes place on California State Parks-owned land, but opponents of the project were hoping the council would send a letter to Governor Brown indicating the City of Malibu’s opposition to the project.
Members of the Wetlands Defense Fund, which opposes the project, notified The Malibu Times on Tuesday that they had filed a preliminary injunction in state Superior Court to delay the start of the project.