Developer Drops Plan for 3 Malibu Mansions

Developer Sheldon Gordon has abruptly withdrawn his latest plan to build three mansions in Malibu’s exclusive Sweetwater Mesa area before the California Coastal Commission could consider the matter.

“Emotions are simply running too high,” said Joseph Petrillo, Gordon’s attorney.

In June, the panel revoked Gordon’s permit to build four luxury homes after he was accused of grading 14 times the amount of earth his permit allowed. Gordon, who owns the Ma Maison Sofitel Hotel in West Los Angeles, was accused of grading 560,000 cubic yards of earth at his 184-acre property overlooking the Pacific Ocean, exceeding a permit that limited grading to 40,000 cubic yards.

The case has become a cause celebre for environmentalists, who hailed the revocation as a signal that the coastal panel was ready to clamp down on accused violators of the state’s 1976 Coastal Act.