Enviro and Surf Groups Challenge of Legacy Park Approvals

• City Council Appears Posed to Ignore Their Appeal and Approve Project Construction Bids

BY BILL KOENEKER

At its regular meeting next Monday night, the Malibu City Council is scheduled to hear an appeal by several environmental groups and surf organizations of the municipal planning commission’s approval of plans for the development of Legacy Park.
Santa Monica Baykeeper, Heal the Bay, the Malibu Surfing Association and Surfrider Foundation have jointly filed an appeal and will ask the city council to overturn the planning panel’s approval of permits and entitlements for a detention pond, or basin for stormwater storage, restoration of coastal habitat and a public park on the 15-acre parcel formerly known as the Chili Cook-Off site.
At the same time, depending upon the appeal outcome, the city council is set to review the final plans and design element for Legacy Park, direct the staff to advertise the project for bid and prepare a Request for Proposal for construction management services for the project, touted by some on the council as the major accomplishment of their governance.
However, the appellants who are trying to stop the project and may proceed to seek to do so in the courtroom if the appeal does not go their way, contend that the project, as it is currently designed, will not address what they consider Malibu’s most serious water quality issue, the disposal and treatment of sewage from commercial development in the Civic Center area.
The Legacy Park project at one time included plans for an integrated wastewater and stormwater management system, but the city halted plans for the wastewater system, saying it was not feasible to use Legacy Park for this purpose.
The coalition of challenging groups hase disagreed with that decision, and it appears they and the city are on a collision course. It may be up to a judge to ultimately decide the matter.
It was revealed recently that construction costs for improvements to bring about Legacy Park might be as high as $15 million, according to a memo to council members.
The revelation was made in a staff report written by Barbara Cameron, the grants coordinator for the city, who recommended the municipality apply for a $8.4 million loan from what is called the State Revolving Fund, which allows cities to apply for long-term, low interest loans for specific construction projects. The Legacy Park project is likely to be eligible for the program, Cameron said.
City officials have expressed the hope that the project could then be eligible for a state “loan forgiveness” program and the money would, in essence, become a grant.
Currently, the city has raised $6.1 million from grants and private donations for the project. That includes $2.5 million from Santa Monica College, $2 million from the Annenberg Foundation and another $1 million from the Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space grant program, according to city officials.
Last week, without comment, the city council approved going forward with an application for the loan.
The staff has indicated there are still a few design issues they would like the council to give direction on and input, including what type of material should be used for trellis work, whether medians should be installed along Civic Center Way, if wheel stops can be used in lieu of curbs and how artwork needs further consideration.
The memo also discusses the independent Technical Advisory Committee’s review of the park plans and indicates that all comments and suggestions made by the TAC were fully discussed and evaluated “and either implemented or determined not viable for the Legacy Park site.”
Municipal officials insist the design for Legacy Park includes substantial pollution reduction for Malibu Creek, the lagoon and Santa Monica Bay. “The project meets the goal for compliance with bacteria for Total Minimum Daily Loads as imposed by the State Water Board. In addition, the project reduces the amount of stormwater discharged into the creek and maximizes the reuse of both stormwater and treated effluent for irrigation,” wrote the city’s Special Projects Manager Granville “Bow” Bowman.