Injunction Considered to Block Trancas Park Construction

• Malibu West HOA Approves Only Legal Option that Could Halt Dozers

BY BILL KOENEKER

What appeared to be a settlement of the Trancas Canyon Park litigation by the Malibu Township Council with city officials seems to have reversed gears in the final stretch.
The city and MTC were set to have a status conference report before the presiding judge on this Wednesday after the city had made an offer and the MTC board was expected to vote on it.
Malibu City Attorney Christi Hogin said that the MTC’s attorney, Frank Angel, had been slow to get back to her about a settlement offer. “It was not much of a dispute,” Hogin said.
Angel last week acknowledged a settlement offer, but would not reveal what it was about until he had talked to his clients.
However, the Malibu Surfside News has learned that the Malibu West Homeowners Association has voted to allocate $32,500 in funds to the MTC to seek an injunction to stop the construction at Trancas Park.
Last week, bulldozers arrived at the fenced off lot and began grading the flat pad. At the beginning of this week, they started on the hillside, but work was stopped by the forecast of rain.
Hogin said this is the first she has heard of the development. “I’ve gotten no notice of an injunction. MTC has made no effort to stop us,” the city attorney said.
Angel was not available for further comment this week.
The News obtained a sample ballot on which HOA members approved legal fees “to support the Malibu Township Council seeking an injunction to stop construction of Trancas Park.”
The information sheet states the city is unwilling to “scale back the grading from the approved 77,000 cubic yards and unwilling to legally prohibit future league play at the park. Given the changes made to the original park’s design, the MTC does not want to continue the lawsuit unless the neighborhood is supporting that effort.”
Hogin expressed surprise at the purported turn of events, saying she thought differences over the project were resolved, such as the fate of the so-called bat cave and league play prohibition.
She declined to comment about how a court might view an attempt to obtain an injunction at this time. “We thought they were going to settle,” she said.
The ballot instructs HOA members that, “If the injunction succeeds and the litigation goes forward, the lawyer advises that the MTC has about a 50 percent chance of prevailing in the lower court case.”
It notes that “the potential delay of five or six months during litigation may be a motivation for the city to agree to concessions, including potentially a permanent restriction against league play. If the MTC is successful getting a Temporary Restraining Order to stop the grading at that point, it would require fundraising up to an additional $31,000 to complete the lower court case.”