The Sierra Club's Victory Stands Against Appeal Regarding The Sweetwater Mesa Project in Malibu

The hillside ridge, as seen from Malibu lagoon. Photo credit: Jim Kenney

Last March, the efforts of the Angeles Chapter, and its Santa Monica Mountains Task Force (SMMTF) represented by Dean Walraff from the firm Advocates for the Environment resulted in a long-awaited victory after the Second Appellate District of the Court of Appeal of the State of California reversed an earlier judgment by the Superior Court of Los Angeles County and nullified the Coastal Development Permits issued by the Coastal Commission in 2015, to allow five residences and an access road to be constructed along a 3,000-foot stretch of a "Significant Ridgeline" in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Not satisfied with the ruling in favor of Sierra Club stopping the Sweetwater Mesa Project in Malibu, the counterpart filed an appeal petitioning for a review on May 28, 2019. However, on June 12, 2019, the California Supreme Court denied the request, thus assuring the Sierra Club victory stands. A victory owing to the hard work of activists, who dedicated their time to protect this parcels located in an area characterized of exclusively native and endangered species of vegetation, where major wildlife networks exist, as do popular hiking trails. 

Read more about this case.

[Header photo: The hillside ridge, as seen from Malibu lagoon., © Jim Kenney all rights reserved]