Commission approves new middle‑school gym, advances ADU ordinance changes while urging council policy on post‑disaster units

The Planning Commission voted Jan. 20 to approve a coastal development permit, site‑plan review and demolition permit for Phase 2 of the Malibu Middle & High School campus improvements. Staff described a project that includes a new two‑story, ~18,900‑square‑foot middle school gym (two practice courts), demolition of several portable classrooms and construction of ancillary student activity, food‑service and media‑arts buildings. The commission found the project consistent with a previously certified 2022 EIR and adopted the recommended resolution with conditions to assure compliance with permit requirements and plan check.

Separately, the commission reviewed a consolidated zoning text amendment to Malibu Municipal Code Chapter 17.44 to bring local ADU and junior ADU regulations into conformity with state law changes enacted through 2023–2025 (including SB and AB changes). Key elements of the revised draft include a ministerial/ministerial‑equivalent ADU permit framework (Class 1/Class 2 ministerial streams), a locally‑tailored floor‑area‑ratio limit of 38% for ADUs tied to total development square footage rules, 15‑business‑day completeness timelines, and explicit cross‑reference to the California Fire Code Section 503 for emergency ingress/egress as enforced by the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Commissioners pressed staff on two recurring issues: the risk that ADUs created during a post‑disaster rebuild could remain on lots indefinitely if the primary dwelling is never rebuilt, and whether local emergency‑access standards can be more restrictive than state ADU rules. Staff and legal advisors cautioned that the city cannot add zoning‑based requirements that conflict with state ADU law; they noted that HCD has pushed back in prior drafts when cities attempted to adopt more restrictive access or street‑width barriers. The commission asked staff to forward the ordinance to city council and to ask council to direct staff to develop a separate city policy that (within state law) monitors post‑disaster ADUs and requires applicants to demonstrate continued progress toward completing a primary dwelling when the ADU is granted under a disaster provision.

The commission forwarded the ordinance to council (staff will submit the ordinance to HCD within the next 60 days for required review) and the motion passed with a recorded split vote; the commission also requested that staff prepare public handouts explaining the revised ADU processes and eligibility.