County Planning approves Pepperdine expansion project

0
466

The Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission approved the application for the Pepperdine University Campus Life expansion project today at its regular meeting downtown.

The project proposes nearly 400,000 square feet of new development on 365 acres of existing campus land. The development would add 468 beds, expand athletic stadium seating by almost 2,000 to a total of 5,470 seats, add outdoor lighting to the women’s soccer field, build a welcome center and add a parking lot for the School of Law.

The Malibu City Council at its April 25 meeting voted to support the project, but had asked for the project planners to address concerns about traffic safety and the additional costs of paying for monitoring that would result from additional stadium seating and possible additional students.

However, the county Sheriff’s Department in a December letter to the planning commission indicated that there would be no significant impacts in safety from the project.

Another concern of local residents was the additional noise impact from the new stadium for baseball and soccer. Pepperdine University agreed to prohibit games from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. to alleviate those concerns.

The California Coastal Commission must approve the project.

Check back for updates on this story.

—Laura Tate