The city’s Public Works director said this week that if all goes well, the design and environmental impact report process could be completed within three years. Actual construction of the water management program could begin then.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
What many call the Crown Jewel of Malibu is now in the hands of the city. Escrow closed last week on the Chili Cook-Off site, and now the 20-acre piece of land that stretches along Pacific Coast Highway from Webb Way to Cross Creek Road is city property.
“This is a dream come true for the people of Malibu,” Mayor Andy Stern said in a press release. “We can finally begin to realize the dream of cleaning the water that until now has been polluting our most valuable resources. And it will provide residents and visitors with a beautiful central park in the heart of Malibu. It certainly beats a shopping center that would add to traffic and cause more pollution.”
Now that Malibu owns the Chili Cook-Off site, work can begin on creating a design for transforming the property into a park that will be part of a wastewater/storm water treatment program. No set proposal has been made but the general concept involves the construction of a wastewater treatment plant on the Pepperdine University-owned property behind the old City Hall on Civic Center Way, which the university has offered to donate to the city in exchange for development benefits. However, that property is on the market, so the donation is not a guarantee with a new property owner. The plant would operate as a sewage collector for the Civic Center properties. The wastewater would then be treated and sent to the Chili Cook-Off site, where it would be partially dispersed into vegetation and groundwater and be used for other purposes such as toilet water. The Chili Cook-Off property would also be used for storm water management through the creation of wetlands, a small pond and other habitats.
The most significant reason for the desire by Malibu to treat the wastewater and manage the storm water by curbing the amount of water runoff is to limit the amount of pollution entering the Malibu watershed.
Public Works Director Granville “Bow” Bowman said this week that if all goes well, the design and environmental impact report process could be completed within three years. And then actual construction of the water management program could begin. Malibu will need to acquire more money either through loans or grants to pay for the program’s development.
The long road to acquisition
The city’s purchase of the Chili Cook-Off site marks the end of a multiyear saga in which the Malibu has attempted to buy the property.
The site has long been a desire for acquisition by many people in Malibu. But owner Malibu Bay Co. was also interested in developing the property.
The proposed Malibu Bay Co. Development Agreement, which was formed after more than a year of meetings between city and Malibu Bay officials, involved developing more than 180,000 square feet of commercial and office space on the property. When the proposal went before the Planning Commission in May 2003, the commissioners recommended that the City Council reject the deal.
But the council never got a chance to consider the commission’s recommendation, as the development agreement was adjusted in the summer to include an offer by Malibu Bay to sell the property to the city for $25 million if it could come up with the money within three years. The proposal was approved by the council but rejected by the voters in November, because they feared the other development issues involved in the agreement.
In the fall of 2004, Malibu Bay again offered to sell the Chili Cook-Off site to the city for $25 million, this time if Malibu could come up with the money by Dec. 31, 2005. With its offer, Malibu Bay listed a series of sales terms, which it updated later in the year. Included among the terms were that after a municipal purchase, nothing could be built on the property other than a wastewater treatment facility, although the city could replace the three buildings currently on the property-Malibu Lumber, Malibu Animal Hospital and Coldwell Banker-as long as the new structures do not exceed certain height and square footage requirements. However, no educational facility can be built on the property. Additionally, the terms sheet states the Chili Cook-Off site “shall not be used for picnic facilities or for athletic fields or facilities for sporting activities of any kind, including but not limited to jogging, soccer, baseball, football, tennis or basketball.”
The Dec. 31 deadline was later extended because of a request from Malibu Bay to allow it to continue negotiating with an unnamed party about renting the vacant structure previously occupied by Malibu Lumber. However, no deal was reached between Malibu Bay and the unnamed party prior to the purchase. City Attorney Christi Hogin said last week that the city would most likely have to hire an agent to continue negotiating with possible tenants.
The city controversially accumulated most of the money to pay for the property from the issuing of more than $17.4 million worth of certificates of participation, which are similar to bonds but do not require voter approval. The certificates will be paid off over the next 30 years through rent money generated from the structures on the Chili Cook-Off site. (For more on why this was controversial, see the City Council election article in this issue.)
Of the more than $17.4 million worth of certificates of participation the city issued, approximately $15.7 million of the money generated will be used to fund the Chili Cook-Off site purchase. The rest of the money will be spent on other costs associated with the issuing of the certificates. To pay for the property, the city has other money coming from the public fundraising campaign ($2.4 million), Santa Monica College Measure S bond money ($2.5 million), Los Angeles County ($700,000), a grant from the State Water Resources Control Board ($2.5 million) and the city’s General Fund ($1.2 million).