Planning Commission Sends Legacy Park EIR Back to Staff

• Environmental Groups Blast City’s Plans and Approach

BY BILL KOENEKER

Responding to pleas by environmental groups to neither certify the Environmental Impact Report, nor give a recommendation for approval of plans for Legacy Park, the Malibu Planning Commission, with chair Joan House absent, unanimously agreed to send back the EIR for further review without further recommendations.
Mark Gold, the executive director of Heal the Bay and spokespersons of Santa Monica Baykeeper, Surfrider Foundation and the Regional Water Quality Control Board testified that the official responses to comments made by them and others were inadequate and did not address the issues, or share enough information and details about the current plans.
Another expressed concern was that the city was proceeding with stormwater treatment plans for the park without taking into account the need for plans to address wastewater treatment for the Civic Center.
The stormwater treatment components planned for the park would include a lined detention pond to collect stormwater runoff for treatment at an existing plant that was described as overbuilt and over designed by Gold.
City staff and the consultant emphasized that they want to proceed in phases, to first implement stormwater facilities at the park and address solution of the septic problems when the former has been completed.
Commission members, however, shared some of the concerns of the critics.
“I am not pleased with the Environmental Impact Report,” said Commissioner Jeff Jennings. “I understand the concern of the environmemntal groups that we changed the target. Legacy Park is not large enough to handle both problems.”
Jennings said he was concerned about the quality of the responses to comments and thought the staff needs to take a hard look at those responses.
Commissioner John Mazza had a slightly different take on the matter. He said he was influenced by what the Regional Water Quality Control board staffer Elizabeth Erickson said about the plans.
Mazza said, “I think Ms. Erickson was very diplomatic, but without a comprehensive EIR, we can do the whole process, but it would stop dead at the doorsteps [of the RWQCB],” and added, “I agree with Jeff it needs to come back.”
Commissioner Regan Schaar said she wants a more comprehensive review of the plans to see if the integrated approach that was the genesis of the project could work. “What about expanded ponds?” she asked.
Earlier in the evening, during the three-and-a-half hour session, Commissioner Ed Gillespie said he thought the plans and EIR could be certified, approved and moved forward. However, he later voted with the majority of the commission without elaborating on his change of views.
Much of the rest of the meeting was devoted to commission questioning of the heads of the environmental groups, the consultant and municipal staff, including City Manager Jim Thorsen.
While the consultant made the case all final computations point to Jennings’ conclusion that the Legacy Park property could not handle both stormwater and wastewater treatment, the city reiterated the intention to proceed with the stormwater component, since it found a way to accomplish this that fits all of its objectives, including habitat restoration and a city park.
However, Gold and others argue that the city and the consultant did not have all of the answers, and that wastewater was such a big issue, municipal officials could be closing the door on another possible undiscovered solution if all aspects of wastewater treatment were not studied concurrently.
Everyone agrees it could take another year to two years to complete those studies.