County Halts Fight Over Sewer System Proposal for Malibu

The Board of Supervisors declared a cease-fire Tuesday in Los Angeles County’s long struggle with Malibu’s leaders to build a controversial sewer system in the seaside community.

By a 5-0 vote, the supervisors unanimously approved a measure that calls for the county to halt efforts to build the proposed $43-million project for 90 days in return for a promise from Malibu’s leaders to try to devise a sewer plan of their own.

The turnaround by the county had been widely anticipated for weeks, ever since Supervisor Pete Schabarum, a frequent Malibu nemesis, announced his retirement and court-ordered redistricting culminated in the election Gloria Molina, whose first full day on the job was Tuesday.

But for Malibu cityhood partisans, whose incorporation efforts had been stymied since last June by county legal maneuvers, it was nonetheless a moment to savor.

In remarks directed mostly toward Malibu’s mayor-elect, Walt Keller, veteran Supervisor Kenneth Hahn summed up the vote’s significance:

“There was a war between Malibu and the county government. The war is over. You won. Now we’ll help you get settled.”

“I couldn’t be happier,” Keller said afterward. “A lot of us have waited for a long time to hear the words we just heard.”

The mayor-elect said Schabarum’s departure and Molina’s arrival heralded “a bright new day” in Malibu’s dealings with county government.

Malibu will become a city March 28, almost 10 months after voters--stirred by opposition to the county’s sewer plans--overwhelmingly approved cityhood.

The county has long argued that a sewer system is necessary, saying that pollution caused by leaking septic tanks poses a health threat.

Opponents contend that the county’s plans are too big and too expensive, and would foster widespread development.

In a further gesture of goodwill, the supervisors also voted to drop county opposition to a provision being considered in the Legislature that would enable Malibu to collect more than $1 million in property taxes for the fiscal year that begins in July.

Malibu’s leaders have pushed a measure by state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita), which includes the provision, as a means of recouping the money. Without the measure, the county would be able to keep the money because of its failure to file certain documents with the state by last Dec. 31 while trying to thwart cityhood.

“What we’re talking about is correcting an injustice,” said Supervisor Ed Edelman, who introduced both motions favoring Malibu.

The vote to drop opposition to the tax provision was 4 to 0. Supervisor Michael Antonovich abstained.