County Sees Health Hazard : Cityhood Link to Sewers Urged

The Local Agency Formation Commission should not approve Malibu’s incorporation proposal without imposing a condition that Los Angeles County retain jurisdiction over sewers in the coastal area, a top county official told the panel Wednesday.

Tom Tidemanson, director of the county Department of Public Works, told LAFCO commissioners that the condition was necessary to offset the “negative impacts” outlined in a draft environmental impact report being reviewed by the state panel. The report concludes that if Malibu incorporates but does not approve a new sewer system, existing septic tanks will continue to contribute to a health hazard in the area.

The county, which recently approved a $43-million sewer system in Malibu despite the outcry from hundreds of residents, is trying to remove any obstacles that could hinder the construction of the new waste-water disposal system. Tidemanson said that if Malibu incorporates before the system is built, it will “raise the possibility, perhaps even the probability, that it will be able to frustrate indefinitely the implementation of any sewer project.”

Lacked Authority

The county tried to impose the same condition on LAFCO last year, but attorneys for the panel ruled that LAFCO did not have the authority to allow the county to retain jurisdiction over sewers. Tidemanson said Wednesday that the county counsel’s office disagrees and will seek to amend the cityhood petition before LAFCO votes on it. Cityhood backers are trying to get the petition approved as early as next month in order to place the issue on the November ballot.

Walt Keller, co-chairman of the Malibu Committee for Incorporation, said he was not surprised by the county’s tactics, and expressed hope that LAFCO would again reject the county’s request.

“They already decided that it was illegal for them to do it once, so I would expect that they would rule that way again,” Keller said. “If they go with the same approach, it shouldn’t pose a problem for us.”

Keller and other leaders of the incorporation drive in Malibu asked LAFCO to correct the “inaccuracies” in the environmental study. Cityhood proponents say the study is biased because it relies heavily on data provided by Los Angeles County, instead of information provided by the cityhood committee’s experts, which concludes that the county’s fears of a health hazard are widely exaggerated.

County officials insist that a sewer is required in Malibu, based on staff studies that they say document a “significant health hazard” in the beachfront community. The findings allowed the county to impose a sewer system in Malibu without a vote by the community.

Cityhood advocates want to put the incorporation issue to a vote and wrest control over sewage from the county before the new system is built. Without sewers, large commercial and residential projects cannot be built in Malibu, and cityhood backers want to preserve the rural character of the popular coastal area.

The California Coastal Commission and the Malibu Township Council have filed lawsuits challenging the legitimacy of the county sewer plan, and hearings on the suits will begin next week.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered the environmental impact report shortly after LAFCO approved Malibu’s cityhood petition in August. Although the report mirrors the county’s finding of a health hazard, it says that a new city of Malibu could find ways to replace failing septic tanks and would have the authority to enforce new regulation governing their operation.

Keller told LAFCO commissioners Wednesday that the report underscores the ability of a new city to address sewage problems in Malibu. He said the report satisfies the court order and “moves cityhood one step closer to an election.” LAFCO, which handles incorporation matters throughout the state, is expected to approve the study at a hearing May 10.