Time as Foe : Cityhood: Malibu turns to the Legislature to speed incorporation. At stake may be its ability to block the county’s plans for a sewer system.

Stymied in the courts, Malibu cityhood backers have turned to the state Legislature in a bid to speed incorporation of the seaside community.

Cityhood supporters last week enlisted the aid of state Sen. Ed Davis (D-Santa Clarita) to introduce a measure that would nullify Los Angeles County’s authority to delay Malibu’s becoming a city until next March.

Supporters say the measure faces an uphill fight, but a lobbyist for Malibu predicted passage, saying enough legislators will be persuaded that the community should not be forced to wait nine months after approving cityhood.

“Nobody can make a guarantee, but I would say its chances look reasonably good,” lobbyist Joe Gonsalves said.

Elated cityhood supporters said the measure offers the best chance yet to break free from the county’s jurisdiction at the earliest possible date.

“We view this as a new ray of hope in our efforts for a speedy incorporation,” said Missy Zeitsoff, a member of Malibu’s unofficial City Council.

Although voters in June approved cityhood with 84% of the vote, county supervisors have delayed the actual incorporation until next March in a bid to start work on a controversial sewer system in Malibu before a new city government has the chance to block it.

“What the county has done has left a bad taste in people’s mouths,” Gonsalves said. “The presumption is that when you vote for something, you’re entitled to what you voted for.”

Gonsalves said he and his son, Anthony, agreed to work on Malibu’s behalf free of charge after being approached by members of the unofficial council, which has functioned as a sort of government-in-waiting since the June election.

“Since there’s no city yet, they really don’t have the means to pay for our services, so we agreed to get involved as a favor,” said the elder Gonsalves, who has worked on behalf of Malibu cityhood advocates in the past.

A spokesman for Davis, whose district once included Malibu, said the senator got involved because he is “particularly sympathetic” to the community’s plight. Davis represents the new cities of Santa Clarita and Agoura Hills, where there were also struggles to escape from the county’s shadow.

“In Malibu, you have a city approved by voters and an elected City Council being kept sitting on its hands, and he thinks there is obviously a ring of injustice to that,” Davis aide Charles Fennessey said.

Supporters said Thursday that they were still attempting to find a sponsor for the bill in the Assembly. The Assembly Local Government Committee gave the measure its unanimous endorsement last week.

As prepared by Davis, the measure affecting Malibu is one of several provisions attached to a bill involving the governing of elections in the state. Legislators are expected to consider the matter as early as this week.

Supporters say that once the measure is in the Assembly, they hope to have it amended to become an emergency bill, which, although requiring a two-thirds majority of both houses, could become law immediately after Gov. George Deukmejian signed it.

If approved by both houses without the necessary two-thirds majority and signed by the governor, the measure would become law in January. That would still allow Malibu to incorporate three months earlier than otherwise, Fennessey said.

However, Los Angeles County officials have already begun exerting pressure to kill the measure.

“After fighting to build that sewer as long as they have, the county is not about to roll over and play dead on this one,” said one legislative aide, who asked not to be identified.

In addition, the bill faces opposition from the County Supervisors Assn., which says it would diminish the authority of county officials throughout the state whenever communities in the future try to incorporate.

Besides the possible effect the measure might have on the county’s plans to build a $43-million Malibu sewer system, county officials say the measure would improperly interfere in a matter that should be left to the courts to decide.

“The county obviously believes this is bad precedent,” said Clancy Leland, a lobbyist for the county in Sacramento.

Overturning a lower-court ruling, a state appeals court in Los Angeles ruled last month that the County Board of Supervisors had the authority to delay the incorporation date until March.

Cityhood backers have filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court, but the high court is under no obligation to consider the matter. Even if it chooses to do so, it could let the appeal linger for months, rendering the issue moot.

While not giving up on the appeal, the Malibu council has focused more of its attention on a possible legislative remedy, since the three-judge appellate court decided in favor of the county.

“We intend to proceed on all fronts,” Zeitsoff said.

Times staff writer Mark Gladstone contributed to this story.