Malibu Township Council Initiates Suit over Trancas Park

• Seeks to Overturn City Council Approval of Plans and Permits and Decertify EIR

BY BILL KOENEKER

The Malibu Township Council last week filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the city council’s approval of Trancas Canyon Park. Local attorney Frank Angel is representing the community organization.
The lawsuit wants the court to order the city to rescind the permits it granted itself and decertify the Environmental Impact Report for the project based on the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.
City Attorney Christi Hogin told the Malibu Surfside News, “I have not seen the lawsuit, but I have received the notice of intent to sue. It is baffling that MTC would file a lawsuit over Trancas Park, especially given that the city council has directed reductions in the grading to preserve the bat cave and the ridge. Moreover, the city has conducted a community workshop and it appears that staff may be proposing additional revisions to the park. MTC seems to be in too big a hurry to oppose the park.”
MTC’s legal brief argues the city certified an EIR that was incomplete and failed to prepare and circulate a revised draft EIR “despite the addition to the final EIR of significant new information after circulation of the draft EIR, but prior to the certification of the final EIR.”
Angel’s law firm says there was new information, which was not addressed or considered in the draft EIR that deprived the public of “meaningful opportunity to know of and thus offer comments on substantial adverse environmental effects.”
In a press release, Angel said the legal action was taken hours before a city-sponsored workshop where a large turnout explored redesign of the park at municipal officials’ request.
He explained, “While MTC is encouraged by the outcome of the workshop...legal action became inevitable because the statute of limitations to challenge the March 9 plan expired before the outcome of the redesign process would be known.”
Angel said MTC will offer the city a litigation standstill agreement that would hold the legal proceedings in abeyance while good faith efforts toward approval of a scaled down project proceed.
“This will not only optimize the chance for the redesign process to succeed, but also spare the city legal fees and costs,” Angel added.
A notice announcing the city’s approval action was filed with the county clerk on March 24. Because CEQA’s statute of limitations expired on April 23, MTC needed to act by that date, he said.
The lawsuit also indicates that while the council directed the staff to bring grading and retaining wall changes back to the council for a site plan conformity review, “The council did not direct the staff to cure any EIR inadequacies or other CEQA violations.”
City council members made no remarks about the litigation at this week’s meeting and members are scheduled to consider the proposed revisions made by the public at last week’s park workshop at a meeting on May 26.