Coastal Commission Gets New Leaders, Makes Malibu Decisions

The California Coastal Commission, the 12-member state panel that makes decisions on development permits and other matters concerning California's 1,100-mile coastline, voted on two important items involving Malibu in 2011.

In June,  from a partnership that included U2 guitarist The Edge to build four large homes just outside the Malibu city limits above Serra Canyon. The project is so controversial that there is not even agreement on whether The Edge (whose real name is David Evans) owns all the properties or just one of them.

The Edge and his supporters said the development plan was environmentally friendly. A majority of the commissioners disagreed. Their most trusted advisor, Coastal Commission Executive Director Peter Douglas, said, "In my 38 years with the commission, I have never seen a project as environmentally devastating as this one." This project's spokeswoman .

The partnership  to challenge the commission's decision.

In October, the commission  (a pair of documents that establishes the rules for coastal development in Malibu) so that sports field lights are allowed at . A specific proposal for the lights is expected to go before the  prior to the start of the 2012-13 school year.

Also in 2011, the commission saw a change in leadership. , citing health concerns. He was replaced by , the former senior deputy director who had been serving as interim director following Douglas' leave. 

Sara Wan, a Malibu resident,  on the commission. She had been on the panel since 1996. To some people, Wan was a strong environmentalist who made decisions to protect the coast and public access. To others, including many of her fellow Malibu residents, she was an activist who had too much power and made decisions that threatened the city.

 from California Democratic Party Chairman and former state Sen. John Burton could have been a factor in Wan's downfall. Burton was upset that Wan, rather than his former longtime aide Mary Shallenberger, had been named commission chair in December 2010.

Burton alleged Wan had "screwed [Shallenberger] out of the chair of the commission in order to gain it yourself." Wan told Malibu Patch the accusation was false, and said she had not expected the appointment.

Rather than renewing Wan's term, state Sen. Darrell Steinberg named Dayna Bochco to the commission. She is the wife of television producer Steven Bochco and has many years of experience in the legal and entertainment fields. Bochco also sits on the Heal the Bay board as well as the Natural Resources Defense Council's Southern California Leadership Council.