After hinting at legal action for several weeks, the longstanding civic group Malibu Township Council (MTC) has filed suit against the City of Malibu and the Malibu City Council for allegedly violating state open meeting and public record laws.
The civil suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday by MTC attorney Frank Angel, alleges city officials violated the Ralph M. Brown Act by “secretly negotiating” a proposal to swap 532 acres of city-owned Charmlee Wilderness Park in western Malibu in exchange for 83 acres of Malibu Bluffs Park controlled by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC).
MTC believes a majority of the council—Mayor Lou La Monte, Mayor Pro Tem Joan House and Councilman John Sibert—was aware of a potential swap before it was discussed in public on Jan. 14, hence violating the state’s Brown Act, an open meetings law.
Angel, on behalf of MTC, also accuses the City of Malibu of withholding public records pertinent to the swap, including emails, texts and memorandums exchanged between city staff and council in the weeks leading up to a Jan. 14 City Council meeting at which the council voted to enter swap negotiations.
In weeks leading up to the suit, city officials and City Attorney Christi Hogin have argued that the MTC’s claims are “baseless.” Earlier this week, City Councilwoman Laura Rosenthal called MTC’s legal threats a distraction and an attempt to deter the exploration of the swap.
“The MTC supporters want things to slow down because they don’t like even the possibility of this swap,” Rosenthal said.
Check back with malibutimes.com for more on the lawsuit and reaction from City of Malibu officials and MTC members. To read the MTC’s legal complaint in its entirety, see the PDF attached at left.