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4 | April 19, 2018 | Malibu surfside news news
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California Coastal Commission
Malibu hotel lot’s zoning swap gets commission’s blessing
Sycamore Park
controversy, local
assembly bills also
discussed
Suzanne Guldimann
Freelance Reporter
Although only one Malibu-specific
item was on
the Coastal Commission’s
Thursday, April 12 agenda,
several issues with the potential
to impact the community
were discussed at
the meeting in Newport
Beach.
The commission officially
approved a zoning
change amendment
that designates the Malibu
Beach Inn’s parking lot as
commercial property, instead
of open space.
It’s unusual for oceanfront
property to lose its
open space designation,
but in this case, the zoning
change corrected what was
described as a mistake created
during the early years
of the newly incorporated
City of Malibu.
It’s a small but important
step for the owners of the
inn, Mani Brothers Real
Estate Investment Group
in West Hollywood, who
purchased the property in
2015 and acquired an outstanding
Coastal Act violation
as part of the $80 million
transaction. In 2016,
the new owners agreed to
fund construction of two
public beach access stairs,
pay a $200,000 penalty to
the Coastal Commission
to remedy the outstanding
violations, $300,000 to the
Mountains Restoration and
Conservation Authority to
maintain and operate the
access ways, and $425,000
for a crosswalk with a signal
to enable pedestrians to
safely cross PCH.
They also began the process
to address the zoning
inconsistency with the City
of Malibu. That change is
now officially approved.
Commissioners air opinions
on legislative items
The California Coastal
Commission weighed in
on a number of upcoming
legislative items, and raised
concerns over three proposed
bills that could have
a major impact on Malibu,
along with other communities
in the Coastal zone, if
approved.
Assembly Bill 2797, a
bill authored by Malibu-area
Assemblymember Richard
Bloom, was blasted by
coastal activist Susan Jordan.
Jordan explained that
the language in the bill,
intended to fast-track lower
income density-bonus
housing, would potentially
enable developers to override
the Coastal Act.
“It’s all about the words,”
Jordan said, cautioning the
commission about the proposed
legislation’s unintended
consequences.
Coastal Commission
legislative analyst Sarah
Christie agreed that the bill,
as written, is problematic.
“Blowing a hole in the
Coastal Act is not what
they are trying to do,” she
said, after indicating that is
exactly what the bill’s current
language does.
Christie said that Coastal
staff has reached out to the
bill’s sponsors in an effort
to address the issue.
“We were concerned and
advocated for the coastal
zone to be excluded,” said
Christie, explaining that
when the request was rejected
the staff endeavored
to compromise.
“We are trying to make
it less bad,” she said. “If
that’s not successful, [staff]
will ask the commission
for a formal motion to oppose.”
Commission Chairwoman
Dayna Bochco concurred.
“If it is not going to improve,
I think we ought to
take a position on it,” she
said.
Senate Bill 827 also
received extensive criticism
during public comment.
Activist Jill Stewart,
speaking for the Coalition
to Preserve LA, described
the bill as “the single worst
example of legislative ignorance”
she had ever seen,
and “a terrible idea.”
The bill, authored by
Bay Area state Sen. Scott
Weiner, seeks to exempt
development along transportation
corridors from the
California Environmental
Quality Act, Local Coastal
Programs and municipal
zoning for height, parking,
and density. It “defines
transportation” corridor as
any major road having bus
service every 15 minutes
during peak commuting
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hours, or within a quartermile
of a transportation
hub.
“It’s terrible for the
coastal zone and for producing
affordable housing,”
Stewart said.
The commission is expected
to take a position on
both bills at a future meeting.
The commissioners voted
to oppose AB 2754, a
bill introduced by Marinarea
Assemblymember
Marc Levine.
“AB 2754 would amend
the Coastal Act to exclude
agricultural activities,”
Christie explained. “They
would no longer require a
Coastal Development Permit
unless there is a finding
of special impact.”
The legal analyst provided
a partial list of activities
that would be excluded, including
cultivation tillage,
dairying, vineyards and
even raising animals for the
fur trade.
“The assumption that
those activities don’t cause
impacts to coastal resources
is quite a sweeping assumption,”
Christie said.
“It dramatically changes
the balance for how coastal
resource protection is
brought to bear.”
“The legislature is seeking
a solution to a problem
that does not exist,” Coastal
Commission Executive Director
Jack Ainsworth said.
If AB 2754 passes, it
could potentially have an
impact on Malibu and unincorporated
Los Angeles
County, where vineyards
and animal husbandry have
been major points of contention
in recent years.
On the other hand, two
bills received the panel’s
blessing.
One of those was AB
2864, which specifies the
Coastal Commission as a
trustee agency in the advent
of an oil spill. As a trustee
agency, the CCC would
take a key role in assessing
damages, and determining
fines for the operator to
cover clean up and restoration.
AB 2614 also received
unanimous support. The
bill proposes a program
to provide disadvantaged
youth with outdoor recreation
opportunities. In the
Malibu area, that would
mean bus trips to the beach
and the Santa Monica
Mountains.
Sycamore Park battle
subject of MRCA public
comment
Malibu was also briefly
discussed during public
comment, when Mountains
Restoration and Conservation
Authority spokesperson
Jessica Nguyen
presented her agency’s
perspective on the dispute
between the MRCA and
Sycamore Park homeowners
who object to the public
using the neighborhood’s
private proscriptive easement
to access MRCA
property at the end of the
single-lane road.
The MRCA and its sister
agency, the Santa Monica
Mountains Conservancy,
counter that buying the
property gives them the
right to open the road to the
public. The agencies see the
road and the property as an
essential trailhead for and
link to the Coastal Slope
Trail and also to the highly
popular Escondido Canyon
Park, which regularly experiences
overflow crowds at
the Winding Way trailhead
on Pacific Coast Highway.
Nguygen described the
escalating situation as “the
most recent outrageous access
issue in Malibu,” and
shared cellphone camera
video of MRCA Executive
Director Joe Edmiston in
an argument over access
with the homeowners’ security
guard.
Nguygen criticized the
City of Malibu for issuing
a notice of violation for the
picnic tables, garbage cans
and signage installed on the
MRCA property without
a Conditional Use Permit,
and for failing to issue a
NOV to the homeowners
who she said installed a kiosk
for the security guard,
also without a CUP.
No one from the homeowners
group was there to
present their perspective on
the issue, but at least one
commissioner was swift to
side with the MRCA.
“I try and be optimistic
about the City of Malibu’s
shared desire to enhance
public access,” responded
Commissioner Mark Vargas,
adding that he hoped
the situation could be resolved
by commission and
City staff. “A Notice of
Violation for park signage
and a bench is not in [the
City of Malibu’s] best interest.”
“I’m really disappointed
in the City of Malibu for
opening on a NOV over a
picnic table,” Ainsworth
said. “This comes on the
heel of the City turning
over a new leaf.”