Coastal panel postpones vote on 5-mansion project on Malibu bluff

The California Coastal Commission on Thursday postponed a vote on a controversial project to build a gated community of five large homes on a Malibu bluff top.

Commissioners, meeting in Pismo Beach, expressed concerns about the sizes and heights of the so-called Malibu Coast Estates.

The property owners, including Oaktree Capital Management, had proposed building homes averaging about 11,000 square feet on the 24-acre site, catercorner from Pepperdine University along Pacific Coast Highway.

Malibu activists had sharply criticized the project because the houses would block views of the famed coastline.

In exchange for getting the panel’s approval, the property owners had agreed to donate $2 million to the state Department of Parks and Recreation, and $1 million and 1.74 acres to Malibu.

The parks department had planned to use its $2 million to begin the process of providing low-cost overnight accommodations in the area of Topanga State Park known as Lower Topanga, along Pacific Coast Highway.

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