This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

SMMC Has New Malibu Camping Proposal

Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy officials say a few tweaks should satisfy a Los Angeles Superior Court judge's objections to the previous proposal.

The  has already appealed the  voiding the California Coastal Commission's approval of its Malibu overnight camping proposal. But the state agency will also attempt to get its proposal finalized through an administrative process. The SMMC board on Monday approved a resolution for Executive Director Joe Edmiston to submit an updated version of the proposal through the same controversial procedure it had used for the previous version. Whether this is legal is a matter of dispute.

The revision includes more specific details on the proposal's features for overnight camping at  and the parks at  and  as well as trails, sites for day-use, the use of Ramirez Canyon for large gatherings and various other features. Also, it has a new name: "Malibu Parks Public Enhancement Plan – Public Works Project." The old name was almost the same except that the word "plan" was used instead of "project." 

These changes were made to satisfy a portion of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John A. Torribio's ruling "that specific 'public works projects' be identified in any subsequent application" that uses the Local Coastal Program amendment override procedure, which is what was used for both the previous and updated versions of the proposal.

Find out what's happening in Malibuwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Torribio also wrote in his ruling that the Coastal Commission "exceeded its authority in granting the proposed amendment using the 'override procedure.'" Attorneys for the city and the SMMC disagree on whether the Coastal Commission would be exceeding it authority if it allows the SMMC to use the override procedure for the revised proposal. Laurie Collins, head legal counsel for the SMMC, said in an interview on Wednesday that it would not.  Christi Hogin wrote in an email to Malibu Patch that it would.

Edmiston told the SMMC board at the meeting on Monday that he expected the revised proposal would be challenged.

Find out what's happening in Malibuwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I'm sure whatever we do will be challenged," Edmiston said.

The override procedure is a seldom-used method that allows an applicant to bypass a local jurisdiction and present a proposal to the Coastal Commission if it is for a public works project or energy facility. The application must meet specific criteria, including that the project "meets the needs of an area greater than [the local jurisdiction]." SMMC officials decided to use the override procedure in late 2007 when the , citing fire concerns in the aftermath of two major wildfires, rejected the plan for overnight camping (although it approved other features of the proposal, including trails).

The SMMC's decision to use the override procedure again will go to Coastal Commission Executive Director Peter Douglas, who has 30 days to determine if the it can be used for this proposal. If he determines it can, the proposal would go before the City Council, which would have 90 days to approve or reject it. If the council rejects the proposal, then it would go before the Coastal Commission, which would decide whether the override procedure could be used. If it determines it could, the state panel would later vote on the actual proposal.

This series of events took place for the previous version of the proposal, leading to the court decision that the Coastal Commission was not allowed to authorize the procedure. Additional lawsuits from the city and Ramirez Canyon homeowners challenging the commission's approval of the actual proposal remain on the table. They became moot when the judge decided this month that the commission should not have even been considering the proposal. However, if the SMMC and the Coastal Commission (which also filed an appeal) get that decision overturned, then the other lawsuits could be resurrected.  

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?