Baykeeper Files Lawsuit against City over La Paz Approval

• Critic of Local Wastewater Policy Says Malibu OK’d Project without Addressing Key Concerns

BY BILL KOENEKER

The green light given to the proposed La Paz shopping center by Malibu city officials is being challenged in court by the Santa Monica Baykeeper.
The Environmental Impact Report that was approved by the city council and the planning commission is also the subject of litigation by the enviro group.
“The city is up to the same shenanigans as always, approving development without taking into consideration the very real impacts to the local beaches and waterways,” said Tom Ford, the executive director of Baykeeper. “If constructed, La Paz has the potential to harm Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon, Malibu Beach and Surfrider Beach. These resources have already suffered enough; a full EIR is absolutely critical and must be finalized before moving forward. The city’s approach to planning is flawed and needs to comprehensively address the city’s persistent water quality problems.”
City Attorney Christi Hogin was not available for comment.
The EIR failed to provide a complete description of the development and failed to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with flooding, water quality and stormwater in an area with proven chronic water quality problems, which remain unresolved to this day, according to the group.
Don Schmitz, the consultant who shepherded the approval of two projects, a 99,000-square-foot-retail/office center and a 132,000-square-foot alternative with a city hall, or other municipal amenities, that includes a development agreement that requires the approval of the California Coastal Commission, said after eight years of planning, coupled with detailed studies and environmental review, “It is a solid permit.”
Schmitz was asked if the project is being challenged by the Baykeeper as part of its widely publicized dispute with the city over groundwater problems in the Civic Center for which the Baykeeper says a centralized plant is needed.
Schmitz deferred responding to the question, but did say, “We believe that the wastewater system designed for La Paz will in no way contribute to the current groundwater issue in the Civic Center.”
Brian Gaffney, the attorney representing Baykeeper, disputed those claims. “The environmental analysis done for the La Paz project is completely inadequate. The city approved a project without knowing the development’s full scope and details. Malibu certified an EIR for a project they don’t have all the information for.”
As part of the litigation, the Baykeeper requests that the La Paz development be halted until a full EIR is complete.
Schmitz was asked if the alternate proposal pending Coastal Commission review is also open to litigation. “That is an issue that will be thoroughly vetted and decided by the court,” he said.
Schmitz added that he did not expect the litigation to impact the forward progress of the project. “That is my understanding, unless the court acts otherwise,” he said.
Both projects were approved by the city council after assurances by the developer that the proposed amenity—giving land and funds to the city—could be used to build a centralized sewage plant for the Civic Center.
Council members said they were willing to forgo having land for new city quarters, if the land could be used to address the area’s wastewater issues.