Malibu : Tougher Coast Zone Review

Los Angeles County supervisors this week moved to strengthen the environmental review process for proposed developments in the Malibu Coastal Zone, following a judge’s ruling that the county has failed to properly safeguard environmentally fragile areas in the coastal region.

Acting on a motion by Supervisor Ed Edelman, the supervisors Tuesday directed county officials to develop an ordinance establishing an Environmental Review Board, as called for by the county’s Malibu land-use plan and the state Coastal Act.

In his motion, Edelman said he hoped the review process will “restrain inappropriate development and protect the resources.” Edelman said he was prompted by a Sept. 26 decision by Superior Court Judge Ronald M. Sohigian, who upheld a lawsuit filed against the county by the Sierra Club and other plaintiffs.

The groups had criticized the county for not adequately reviewing entertainer Bob Hope’s proposed golf course and residential project in the Corral Canyon area of Malibu before approving it in December, 1989. The California Coastal Commission rejected a scaled-down version of the controversial project last year, and the state is attempting to acquire the property for parkland as part of a complicated land swap.

Sohigian ordered the county to set up the advisory review board, and demanded that the supervisors comply within 160 days.