Las Paz-City Development Agreement Up Before Coastal Panel

• Neighbor’s Appeal of City-Approved Trancas Country Market Expansion Plans Is Postponed

BY BILL KOENEKER

The California Coastal Commission had two scheduled Malibu agenda items next week on its March calendar when the panel meets in Santa Cruz next week.
An appeal by Hans Laetz of Zuma Impact, LLC of a decision by the Malibu City Council approving permits and entitlements for the remodel and expansion of the existing Trancas Country Market shopping center at Pacific Coast Highway and Trancas Canyon Road has been postponed.
Laetz, a Malibu Park neighbor who overlooks the shopping center, said he had not requested the postponement and it was his understanding that only the applicant or CCC staff could make such a request.
Trancas Country Market co-owner Dan Bercu successfully sought permits from the Malibu City Council after an appeal to the planning commission for the remodel and expansion of the existing shopping center that includes the addition of 25,728 square feet of commercial space, a new parking lot, new alternative onsite wastewater treatment systems, landscaping with associated variances/site plan review and conditional use permits.
When Bercu was asked to comment on the postponement from the March CCC agenda, he replied, “No comment.”
An agenda item that will be heard next week is the City of Malibu’s attempt to get approval from the coastal panel for the proposed development agreement it seeks with the developers of the La Paz office/retail complex in central Malibu and other changes sought to comply with the Coastal Act.
The city is using a Local Coastal Program Amendment to accomplish its goals. The item is set for a public hearing and action by the commission on a request by the city to amend its certified LCP to change the land use and zoning designation of two parcels in Malibu Civic Center area from Community Commercial to a new proposed designation of Town Center Overlay or TCO.
The TCO designation would have specific development standards for the new zone and a development agreement to permit an increase in allowable floor area ratio from 0.15 to 0.20 in exchange for a public benefit.
However, the commission staff report recommends that the commissioners deny the language used by the city and deny the proposed LCPA, but approve the amendment itself, subject to three modifications.
The CCC staff report indicates for the first modification it wants the commission to delete the city’s request to remove the Community Commercial land use designation from the two parcels to use a the new land use designation of TCO.
“The change in the underlying land use designation to an overlay designation is not necessary and would create an inconsistency in the LCP’s existing format for overlay districts.” the commission staff report states.
Consequently, the coastal staff’s recommended modification that is required would be to delete the proposed land use plan map change from CC to TCO.
The commission staff report also notes that the actual public benefits in the development agreement in exchange for the FAR increase are not formally spelled out in the LCPA.
The staff wants the inclusions of such language in the document.
The proposed language reads “Pursuant to a development agreement between the property owner and the City of Malibu, the allowable Floor to Area Ratio is increased from 0.15 to 0.20 for the following public benefits:
1) 2.3 acres to be conveyed to the City of Malibu for the purpose of a city hall or [other] municipal use;
2) $500,000 contribution to the city hall or municipal use infrastructure construction fund associated with the development of the 2.3 acre parcel acquired by the city;
3) a pedestrian and bike path from city hall [or other city use building] throughout the project connecting to Civic Center Way;
4) an Offer-to-Dedicate a public trail easement fronting along Civic Center Way [this would become a segment of the planned Malibu Pacific Trail-Coastal Slope Trail]; and
5) conceptual architectural plans for the city hall [or other city use building].
The third suggested modification includes adding a map showing the boundaries of the TCO district.