Malibu Council upholds countyconditional-use permit for emergency communications tower with conditions

Malibu City Council voted 4-1 on Dec. 17 to uphold a Planning Commission decision granting a conditional use permit (CUP) for an emergency communications tower at 23525 Civic Center Way, part of the Santa Monica College Malibu campus, but added conditions intended to limit commercial use, reduce visual impact and require technical follow-up.

The council meeting drew lengthy public testimony from residents, public-safety officials and technical experts. Appellants asked the council to deny activation and require removal or relocation of the tower, arguing that the tower was built without proper permits, exceeds the permited 75-foot height in some respects, and that radio-frequency (RF) emissions and siting near classrooms were not properly analyzed. County and sheriffs office representatives said the monopole is essential for redundancy in Malibus emergency communications and that the structure had received multiple prior approvals and technical review.

Why it matters: Council members said they balanced competing priorities: residentsa0concerns about aesthetics, procedural transparency and potential exposure; and public-safety officialsarguments that the tower provides a necessary redundant link should the primary Saddle Peak site fail during fires or other disasters. The decision moves the tower from a contested construction to a conditional, regulated operational status while locking in limits on future use.

What was at issue: The appeal, filed by the Malibu Township Council, challenged the CUP approval by the Malibu Planning Commission on April 21, 2025. Appellants raised several points: that the countys RF modeling used an as-built height greater than…