State to Buy Malibu Land and Create a Public Beach

After listening to two hours of impassioned debate, the State Coastal Conservancy agreed Thursday to pay $10 million for a pristine stretch of private coastline in Malibu and open it to the public.

The decision comes after attempts by the landowner to develop 16 luxury homes along Lechuza Beach in western Malibu.

Members of a homeowners group that fought the development spoke out against the conservation deal at the meeting.

Although they said they supported the concept of a public beach there, they argued that they should have been part of the negotiating and planning process and that the 1,100-foot stretch of coastline is only worth $2.5 million.

“This is an ill-considered decision,” said Terence Sternberg, attorney representing the Malibu Encinal Home Owners Assn. “The only person who won out was the developer, who got $10 million for property he couldn’t give away.”

About 30 people attended the contentious hearing, with the number of foes and backers evenly split over the sale. Lechuza Beach, about a mile east of El Matador State Beach, has been at the center of a long battle in Malibu.

Environmentalists argued in the early 1990s that allowing more homes on Lechuza Beach would set a devastating precedent and open wide stretches of private beaches to development. Now some opponents of the conservancy deal worry that the agency is buying a beach with poor public access and say more study is needed.

Norman Haynie, owner of the property, said: “The public will get to use this beach, and that makes me happy. But it irritates me that the wealthy homeowners did everything they could to stop it.”

In 1992, the California Coastal Commission twice rejected his requests to build on the land.

His attorney, Sherman Stacey, said that building homes would have brought his client a lot more money but that he is satisfied the beach will be an asset to the public.

Conservancy board Chairwoman Sara Wan said she wants to involve the homeowners group in discussing how the beach will be managed.