The Malibu Community Alliance (MCA) is again being wrongly blamed for delaying the start of the Malibu High School (MHS) Campus Improvement Project (CIP). Our experience with this school district has been similar to others who have been trying to separate from it because of its disregard for our community.
MCA’s Coastal Commission appeal happened in May of 2013 and was solely focused on outdoor lighting so that outdoor lighting at MHS wouldn’t be an ongoing environmental problem. The district’s own Environmental Impact Report (EIR) found that the new MHS lighting plan would’ve been far worse than existing lighting impacts on the environment and neighborhood. It would have lit up the ridgeline, creating much more light pollution and trespass. We appealed the lighting portion of the project to the commission because of the district’s continuous disregard for the environment and the community.
In June 2013, Coastal Commission staff hosted a meeting with MCA and the district. Four months later, the district produced a revised lighting plan that was not designed for outdoor use. MCA responded within two weeks. Over a year later, in October 2014, the district presented another revised plan. MCA provided a detailed response in February and, at MCA’s request, Coastal Commission staff hosted a second meeting on April 21, 2015. At that time, the district and MCA agreed to the necessary changes for an acceptable lighting plan. However, the district did not produce the revised plan until months later on Oct. 6.
When MCA became aware of the PCB issue, we asked the Coastal Commission and the City of Malibu to confirm that our appeal wouldn’t preclude necessary renovations. On Aug. 9, 2014, Senior Deputy Director at the Coastal Commission Jack Ainsworth and Planning Manager for the City of Malibu Joyce Parker-Bozylinski issued statements confirming our appeal did not prevent the District from moving forward.
We now have a lighting plan that will reduce light pollution by 65 percent, and are working to finalize the settlement agreement. MCA has done its part to resolve this issue quickly. We encourage the district to do the same.
Cami Winikoff