City Readies New Court Fight with Conservancy

BY BILL KOENEKER

City Attorney Christi Hogin announced at this week’s Malibu City Council meeting that members had unanimously authorized her to proceed with a lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission over its denial of the city’s Local Coastal Program Amendment and approval of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s override LCPA.
Hogin talked about how the SMMC was allowed by the Coastal Commission to utilize “an obscure provision” of the Coastal Act that allowed the Conservancy to submit an LCPA override. “The Coastal Commission made law in Malibu,” said Hogin.
The CCC staff acknowledged it was only the second time in its history it had allowed an override provision and the first was under a different set of circumstances. The city attorney also talked about challenging what she called procedural errors.
When asked after the meeting about legal strategy, Hogin said, “Certainly, a centerpiece of the city’s challenge will be the improper use of the override provision of the Coastal Act.”
But that won’t be the only legal angle. “We have other claims that we will raise as well, including the inadequacy of the environmental review and the violation of due process,” added Hogin.
The city attorney said a new lawsuit will be filed. The municipality had filed a legal complaint months before the commission meeting, but that lawsuit was dismissed after the judge said the city had to complete the administrative process.