Hearing Pushed to February on MHS Campus Improvement Project

The Malibu Planning Commission on Monday voted to hold a new public hearing in February on plans for improvements at Malibu High School, including a controversial 150-space parking lot.

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is seeking a coastal development permit and a conditional use permit for plans to reconfigure several parking lots and add a new one, as well as construct a library, computer and science labs and an administrative building, totaling 20,274 square feet.

In August, commissioners voted to directed city staff to add conditions to require a right turn lane on an access road leading up to a proposed 150-spot parking lot without lights, over the objection of the school district.

The new hearing will be held at the Feb. 19 Planning Commission meeting at Malibu City Hall.

The plans call for new classrooms, a library, computer and science labs and an administrative building, totaling 20,274 square feet. The main building would also include "green roofs," which are meant to reduce storm water runoff and provide an outdoor learning space, according to the SMMUSD website.

The plans also include a reconfigured 119-space lighted parking lot; and a reconfigured 61-space lighted parking lot and a new student drop-off area. The district's plans call for lighting at the 150-spot parking lot.

The school hosts 65 events that take place after school in addition to 250 sporting events every year, according to SMMUSD officials.

The project was submitted separately from the Malibu High School lights project. The Malibu City Council approved 70-foot tall lights for the school's athletic field for a maximum of 61 nights. The council also required the school district to take down 12-foot cross bars on the lights from June 1 through August 31.