Local News in Brief : Pepperdine’s Plan to Expand Rejected

After tumultuous debate, the California Coastal Commission took the advice of its staff and unanimously rejected Pepperdine University’s latest plan to expand its Malibu campus, saying the university did not provide adequate information on how the plan would affect the coastline and the Santa Monica Mountains.

However, the commission expressed willingness to continue negotiations with university officials and assist them in preparing geological studies, sewage plans and traffic surveys. Andrew Benton, Pepperdine’s vice president for administration, said he was pleased that the commission had given the university an opportunity to “fill in the gaps” and was confident that within three months the university would be able to present a revised plan.

The rejected plan called for 2.1 million square feet of new campus buildings to accommodate 5,000 students by the end of the century, double the current enrollment.

The university was successful, however, in its bid for a 50,000-square-foot humanities and visual arts center.