Baykeeper Files Lawsuit against City over
La Paz Approval
• Critic of Local Wastewater Policy
Says Malibu OK’d Project without Addressing Key Concerns
The green light given to the proposed La
Paz shopping center by Malibu city officials is being
challenged in court by the Santa Monica Baykeeper.
The Environmental Impact Report that
was approved by the city council and the planning
commission is also the subject of litigation by the
enviro group.
“The city is up to the same
shenanigans as always, approving development without
taking into consideration the very real impacts to
the local beaches and waterways,” said Tom Ford, the
executive director of Baykeeper. “If constructed, La Paz
has the potential to harm Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon,
Malibu Beach and Surfrider Beach. These resources
have already suffered enough; a full EIR is absolutely critical
and must be finalized before moving forward. The
city’s approach to planning is flawed and needs to
comprehensively address the city’s persistent water
quality problems.”
City Attorney Christi Hogin was not
available for comment.
The EIR failed to provide a complete
description of the development and failed to evaluate the
environmental impacts associated with flooding, water quality
and stormwater in an area with proven chronic water quality
problems, which remain unresolved to this day, according to the
group.
Don Schmitz, the consultant who shepherded
the approval of two projects, a
99,000-square-foot-retail/office center and a
132,000-square-foot alternative with a city hall, or
other municipal amenities, that includes a development
agreement that requires the approval of the California
Coastal Commission, said after eight years of planning, coupled
with detailed studies and environmental review, “It is a
solid permit.”
Schmitz was asked if the project is being
challenged by the Baykeeper as part of its widely
publicized dispute with the city over groundwater problems in
the Civic Center for which the Baykeeper says a
centralized plant is needed.
Schmitz deferred responding to the
question, but did say, “We believe that the
wastewater system designed for La Paz will in no way contribute
to the current groundwater issue in the Civic
Center.”
Brian Gaffney, the attorney representing
Baykeeper, disputed those claims. “The environmental
analysis done for the La Paz project is completely inadequate.
The city approved a project without knowing the
development’s full scope and details. Malibu certified an
EIR for a project they don’t have all the information
for.”
As part of the litigation, the
Baykeeper requests that the La Paz development be halted
until a full EIR is complete.
Schmitz was asked if the alternate proposal
pending Coastal Commission review is also open to
litigation. “That is an issue that will be thoroughly
vetted and decided by the court,” he said.
Schmitz added that he did not expect the
litigation to impact the forward progress of the project.
“That is my understanding, unless the court acts
otherwise,” he said.
Both projects were approved by the
city council after assurances by the developer that the
proposed amenity—giving land and funds to the
city—could be used to build a centralized sewage plant
for the Civic Center.
Council members said they were willing to
forgo having land for new city quarters, if the land could be
used to address the area’s wastewater issues.
