Court misses deadline on Broad Beach lawsuit decision
A three-judge panel on the California Court of Appeal’s 2nd District was supposed to have ruled by last Thursday on the Trancas Property Owners Association’s lawsuit challenging the city’s settlement agreement with developer Trancas PCH, but as of Tuesday no decision has been issued.
The panel heard arguments in June in which the property owners association alleged that an agreement between Malibu and Trancas PCH that allowed the developer to build 32 town homes on 8.5 acres of a 35-acre property violated the California Environmental Quality Act among other things.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled against the property owners association last year, and an appeal was filed shortly after that.
Most Malibu schools show API improvement
Three of the four Malibu schools improved in the latest Academic Performance Index, or API, report, which was recently released. The API report is an accountability system that allows a statewide comparison of academic performance and growth. The API scores range from 200 to 1,000, with 800 being the statewide target.
Point Dume Marine Science Elementary scored a 921, up 14 from last year. Webster Elementary School received a 901, up 38 from last year. Malibu High School earned an 831, up 21 from last. Juan Cabrillo Elementary School was the lone Malibu school to receive a lower score from the previous year, dropping from an 844 in 2004 to an 843 this year.
For the first time, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District as a whole earned a score higher than 800, with an 806.
Lawsuit filed regarding planned development near Calabasas
Calabasas developer Brian Boudreau, who has plans to build the Malibu Valley Inn and Spa in Calabasas, accused opponents of the project of using misleading statements on a sample ballot to be distributed to Calabasas residents this fall, according to the The Acorn. The ballot will be used when city residents vote on Nov. 8 on the proposed development, which would be located just east of Las Virgenes Road on Mulholland Highway.
Boudreau asked the author, Calabasas resident Mary Hubbard, to change the language used on the ballot and filed a lawsuit with the Los Angeles Superior Court when she did not respond.