Judge Asked to Bar Canyon Development : Environmental: The city’s suit contends that the project violates the Coastal Act, and accuses lobbyists for the builder of improper conduct.

Malibu has asked a judge to throw out the California Coastal Commission’s approval of a project to grade 1.2 million cubic yards of earth and build 55 luxury homes in Encinal Canyon.

In a lawsuit against the commission and the developer, VMS Realty Partners of Chicago, and its subsidiary, the Anden Group, the city contends that the project violates provisions of the 1976 Coastal Act meant to protect public views and the shape of natural landforms.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, also accuses lobbyists for the developer of improperly contacting members of the Coastal Commission before the public hearing. It is the first legal action initiated by Malibu since it became a city in March.

“We’re talking about a project that is bordered on three sides by Malibu, and where all of the environmental impacts will be felt by Malibu,” said Christi Hogin, a city attorney.

VMS-Anden in 1989 persuaded a county commission to draw the city boundaries so as to exclude the rugged, 254-acre property.

An attorney for the developer called the lawsuit groundless and without merit.

“That a new city should begin its days by suing outside its jurisdiction is a novel approach to establishing its priorities,” said attorney Timothy A. Tosta.

The commission approved the project in July by a 6-4 vote, overruling its staff, which had recommended that the project be scaled back to include no more than 34 homes and about 900,000 cubic yards of grading.

At the time, several commmissioners warned that to give VMS-Anden what it wanted would set a precedent for other developers to begin massive grading of what in the past has been considered undevelopable land.

The decision capped an intense three-year struggle by VMS-Anden to win approval for the project. The commission had twice postponed the matter after its staff recommended rejection.

VMS-Anden had originally sought to grade 8 million cubic yards of earth to accommodate 69 homes and an 18-hole golf course. Los Angeles County supervisors approved the 69 homes in June, 1990, after the developer dropped plans for the golf course.

Opponents contend that if the subdivision approved by the coastal panel is built, the new homeowners in an area frequently beset by brushfires could be in danger, because the development is to have only one access road.

The lawsuit also alleges that there was substantial “off-the-record information passed from the developer and its representivates to coastal commissioners that was not divulged to other parties and therefore other parties were denied the right to rebut,” said Curtis Coleman, another Malibu city attorney.

Tosta, the lawyer for VMS-Anden, disputed that claim.

“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black,” he said. “From what I understand, (the other side) was involved in more ex parte (one-sided) communication than I’ve seen in years.”