Court Fight for Malibu Cityhood Planned

With their backs to a row of new condominiums marching up a nearby hillside, angry Malibu leaders announced plans Saturday to go to court to force a cityhood election that could bring new growth controls to their 20-mile coastal strip.

Members of the Malibu Committee for Incorporation said they intend to file a lawsuit against Los Angeles County Dec. 19 unless county supervisors do an about-face and authorize a cityhood vote by seaside residents.

Last week, supervisors decided to indefinitely postpone a decision on the long-sought Malibu incorporation election until construction permits are issued for a Malibu sewer system the county wants built. That could add another year to an incorporation effort that has already dragged on for about two years, committee leaders asserted.

“People out here are incensed,” said Carolyn Van Horn, who heads the 1,000-member cityhood group with neighbor Walt Keller.

“The Board of Supervisors has put every obstacle possible in our path. The way in which we’re treated is so insulting. It’s frightening how blatantly they’ve put themselves above the law.”

Keller and other committee leaders stood on the redwood deck of Van Horn’s home on Point Dume to announce the possible legal challenge. He said Malibu residents fear that the election delay and the county’s proposed sewer system will benefit developers eager to build additional condominiums and apartments along Pacific Coast Highway.

Keller said the intent of the lawsuit will be to force supervisors to set an April, 1990, election date for the 20,000 people who live between Topanga Canyon and Leo Carrillo State Beach.

If the supervisors fail to comply, then a judge can set the election, Keller said.

Graham Ritchie, the committee’s lawyer, said supervisors will violate state law if they fail to call an election within 60 days of hearing an incorporation request. That clock started ticking Oct. 19 for Malibu residents, he said.

Supervisor Deane Dana, who represents the Malibu area, could not be reached for comment Saturday. Last week, however, Dana blamed the state Coastal Commission for the delay, complaining that the panel has approved a sewer plan for Malibu that is smaller than the one county officials want.

Supervisors said they hope to meet with Coastal Commission officials this week to work out a compromise that will allow both the sewer and the election to proceed.

If no agreement is reached, supervisors can legally delay their action on the Malibu election, county lawyers have indicated. On Saturday, Ruth Benell, executive officer for the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission, a body that oversees incorporation efforts, agreed that state law does not require supervisors to act within 60 days.