Malibu Cityhood Bid Clears a Major Hurdle

After months of delays and political maneuvering, the state Local Agency Formation Commission on Wednesday moved the beachfront community of Malibu a big step forward in its drive to become an incorporated city.

Besides approving Malibu’s cityhood petition, the commission rejected a request by Los Angeles County to retain control over sewers even if residents vote to become a city. The sewer issue has been the most contentious in the cityhood campaign and had posed a major stumbling block for backers of incorporation.

The decision is a setback for county officials who have sought for 20 years to build a regional sewer system in Malibu and have fought to make it a condition of incorporation. Cityhood advocates have campaigned to keep the sewer and incorporation issues separate.

The commission’s action compels the Board of Supervisors to set a date for Malibu residents to vote on cityhood, possibly by next March.

LAFCO commissioners received a standing ovation from Malibu residents following their 4-3 vote at the end of a tense three-hour hearing. The vote came after weeks of intense lobbying, by Supervisors Pete Schabarum and Deane Dana pressing for county control of sewers and by incorporation backers fighting to block the county’s efforts.

“This is great. This is fantastic,” said Mike Caggiano, a member of the Malibu Committee for Incorporation. “They hit Goliath (the county) in the head with a rock. The only problem is that now we must go into Goliath’s arena (to get the measure on the ballot).”

Surprisingly, Supervisor Ed Edelman, who sits on the LAFCO board with Schabarum, cast the panel’s swing vote, saying that the state agency “is probably not the right place” to decide the sewer question. However, Edelman admonished Malibu residents that they “can’t dodge the sewer issue forever.” The supervisors still have time to force a county-built sewer system, paid for by Malibu residents, on the community before the cityhood election.

County officials had tried to convince LAFCO commissioners that a sewer system is needed in Malibu to offset a “significant health hazard” created by leaking septic tanks. In addition, Tom Tidemanson, director of the county Department of Public Works, testified that the sewer system is needed to reduce the county’s liability in Malibu’s landslide areas, where numerous lawsuits have charged that water from leaking septic tanks contributes to hillside instability.

Furthermore, according to a report by the county Department of Health Services, nearly half of the 562 beachfront homes inspected in Malibu in March had illegal waste-water bypass lines from their septic tanks or were discharging waste water onto the ground. Yet the county has cited only a handful of the homeowners and has continued to approve building permits for new homes and businesses in the area that rely on septic tanks.

Several LAFCO commissioners questioned the county’s claims, however, saying that there is insufficient evidence to show that a health hazard exists in Malibu.

“If there is a true health hazard in Malibu, then the county already would have been doing something about it,” said LAFCO Commissioner Nell Mirels. “You might as well not have a (cityhood) vote if you attach this (sewer) condition because the people will just vote against it anyway.”

Graham Ritchie, attorney for the incorporation committee, argued that Schabarum’s motion to allow the county to retain control over sewers in Malibu for up to 10 years after incorporation exceeded the commission’s powers. LAFCO, which handles incorporation matters, voted last month to reject the county’s request on sewers, but Schabarum amended the motion and asked the panel to reconsider it.

“You’re not really the sewer assessment district board, but they’re (the county) trying to make you one,” Ritchie testified. “You’re being used as a piggyback to the county to get its assessment (for sewers). You should just decide whether a city is viable, and if so, let the people have a chance to vote on it.”

The cityhood campaign was launched last October after more than 1,000 angry Malibu residents showed up at a supervisors’ hearing to protest the county’s plan to install an $86-million sewer system along the coast. Supervisors delayed the plan and set up a citizens advisory committee to study alternative sewer systems for Malibu. That committee is expected to make its recommendations to the county this fall.