Local News in Brief : Sewer Bill Approved

A bill designed to stop Los Angeles County from retaining control over sewers in Malibu if the coastal community becomes a city has been approved by the Assembly Local Government Committee.

The bill, authored by Sen. Gary Hart (D-Santa Barbara), is an attempt to block the Local Agency Formation Commission from making county control over sewers a condition of approval for Malibu cityhood.

Hart’s bill, which now heads to the full Assembly for a vote, could create confusion over which government body has authority over incorporation petitions. LAFCO, the state panel that handles cityhood matters, is expected to vote on the county’s sewer request Wednesday.

For the past two weeks, County Supervisors Deane Dana and Pete Schabarum have lobbied fellow LAFCO commissioners to persuade them that a “significant health hazard” exists in Malibu and that the county needs to place a regional sewer system there to offset the problem.

Unless the county is granted jurisdiction over sewers, Dana wrote in a letter to LAFCO commissioners this week, it will continue to face countless lawsuits over landslide areas in Malibu.

Schabarum has prepared a written motion that would allow the county to retain jurisdiction over sewers in Malibu for up to 10 years after Malibu incorporates. Malibu residents will likely vote on the cityhood measure in March.