SMMUSD Board Will Address BB Plans

• MHS Improvement Project Is on the Agenda for Discussion

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

Malibu High School’s Measure BB improvement plan will be on the agenda as a discussion item at the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board of education meeting in Malibu on Thursday, Feb. 5. Although the athletic field lighting plan is expected to dominate (see story on page 2), that is just part of the agenda.
According to the meeting agenda, “Over 40 written comments and e-mails have been received from neighboring residents, community groups, public agencies, and other organizations. A total of over 150 members of the public, school community and public agency staff have participated in the five public meetings including over 70 speakers.”
The discussion and related presentation planned for the Feb. 5 meeting “is intended to bring the public and the board up-to-date on these efforts, as well as highlight the public and agency input received.” According to the agenda, the board is anticipating that “staff will return to the March 5 board meeting with specific scope and budget recommendations, especially as related to traffic and parking.”
The board will also be voting to approve additional funds for several key of the plan. One of these items includes $8046 for renderings of the proposed field lights, that are required “as part of the Environmental Impact Report process at MHS and the associated public meetings.”
District staff report that additional renderings are required “to represent the athletic field lighting in various configurations and at different times of day.” The renderings are intended “to demonstrate to the community the impact of the proposed lighting at the public meeting. This effort is also required in support of the application to the California Coastal Commission for a Coastal Development Permit.”
A related amendment would allow for “additional professional planning services to support the CCC approval of the [lighting] project. In order to expedite and coordinate the preparation and filing of an amendment to the CCC.” The amendment request acknowledges that the CCC’s CDP specifically prohibited either temporary or permanent field lighting, and states that “recent communications with CCC staff indicate that an amendment to CDP-04-99-276 may be required, if permanent lighting is anticipated in the MHS athletic field project.”
The board is also expected to approve an amendment to the contract with Glenn Lukos Associates to provide “additional biological support services and public outreach meetings support for the athletic field lighting project,” in the amount of $8970, to “approve the survey and identification of a known Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area near the Malibu High/Middle School site, and to approve additional support to the public outreach meetings for the project.”
The SMMUSD board meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 5, at Malibu City Hall. For more information and the agenda, visit the district’s Web site at: www.smmusd.org