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The original item was published from 7/25/2023 3:00:18 PM to 8/15/2023 12:05:02 PM.

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Posted on: July 25, 2023

[ARCHIVED] City of Malibu & SMMUSD Are Committed to Working Together to Advance Malibu High School Project

smmusd malibu joint press release malibu high school newsflash .25.2023

City of Malibu and SMMUSD Committed to Working Together and With California Coastal Commission to Advance Malibu High School Project

The City of Malibu and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) are committed to working together as well as cooperating with the California Coastal Commission (CCC) to advance the voter-approved Malibu High School (MHS) Project for the benefit of students and families in the community. 

“The City of Malibu and the School District remain committed to working together to advance the project and have had several discussions about next steps since the Coastal Commission’s July 12 meeting,” said Malibu City Manager Steve McClary. “The City and the School District are coordinating a meeting with Coastal Commission staff to work together as cooperatively and expeditiously as possible to get the project back before the City Council and back to the Coastal Commission in the fall.”

“We want to thank Malibu parents, staff and community members who shared and expressed the urgency to the Coastal Commission regarding the schedule of this project,” said SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton. “Our Malibu students deserve this state-of-the-art educational facility as soon as possible and we seek to prevent further delays that will cost local taxpayers money.” 

On July 10, 2023, the Malibu City Council voted unanimously to respectfully request that the CCC deny the one-year extension requested by its staff and sent a letter to the CCC requesting that the item be placed on a CCC meeting agenda as soon as possible so that the school could be built without further delay. Delays due to the Woolsey Fire and the COVID-19 pandemic had already caused costly delays, and the one-year delay proposed by the CCC staff could raise construction costs to the point that the project could become infeasible, according to the to SMMUSD. 

The Local Coastal Plan Amendment (LCPA) must be approved by the Coastal Commission and adopted by the City. The amendment to the Local Coastal Plan (Specific Plan) will allow the Malibu Campus Plan to be implemented in four phases over the next 10 to 15 years. Each phase of the Specific Plan will have a Coastal Development Permit approved by City Planning to be constructed. Phase 1 of the campus plan includes a new high school building, restoration of the surrounding Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area (ESHA) and associated development. Phase 1 is fully funded by general obligation bond Measure M, which was passed overwhelmingly by voters in November 2018. 

The City and the SMMUSD are committed to working constructively with the CCC to advance the project so that we can meet the educational needs of the Malibu community. 

For more information about the project, visit the SMMUSD webpage.