MHS Meetings Tackle Contentions

• Field Lighting and Traffic Concerns Take Center Stage

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District has scheduled two meetings this month that will address aspects of Malibu High School’s planned measure BB improvements.
On Wednesday, Jan. 14, a meeting will present the school’s plans for athletic facility improvements, which include permanent concrete bleachers and a highly controversial plan to install permanent field lighting that has many Malibu Park residents crying foul.
Proponents of the plan have stated that for the school to remain competitive, there will be an increased need for night games, not only for the football program, but for sports like lacrosse and soccer, as well as Title IX requirements that mandate equal time for female students’ sport activities.
Critics of the project contend that the California Coastal Commission permit, issued when the school expanded the playing fields in the 1990s, expressly prohibits permanent or temporary field lighting, and that the temporary lighting that has been used in recent years for a limited number of football games has been in violation of the school’s permit.
Residents have raised concerns over a number of potential negative impacts to the environment that permanent lights could generate. They have also expressed corncern over the potential for a negative impact on the quality of life, not only in Malibu Park but in areas as far away as Point Dume.
The school district, at its Aug. 21 meeting, voted to approve hiring CAA Planning to facilitate negotiating a new coastal development permit with the coastal commission to allow for permanent field lighting at the MHS athletic field. The firm of Glenn Lukos Associates was also engaged by the district to conduct the biological field study for the field lighting project.
A second meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 27, will address design and sustainability objectives for the improvement project, which will include traffic and safety improvements, a new parking lot, and a new library and administrative building, in addition to the proposed athletic facility improvements.
Both meetings will be held at the school auditorium, starting at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend and provide input.
Information on the Measure BB improvements and meetings is available on the district’s Web site: www.smmusd.org