Broad Beach sand district posts vague agenda for Sunday meeting Play

The Broad Beach sand replenishment district is still hoping to start moving sand into Malibu, starting next year.

In the middle of the night, at 12:34 Thursday morning, Broad Beach Geologic Hazard Abatement District director Kenneth Ehrlich scheduled a board meeting for Sunday morning at 9 a.m.

He published a very brief agenda that simply glossed over the items being brought up by the official public agency created by the City of Malibu — things like increasing the property tax rate that the district is charging to its 108 homeowners.

Those Broad Beach residents made a deal with the state Coastal Commission — they promised to pay for reconstruction of their beach in exchange for putting rocks down on the beach 15 years ago. They are currently taxed up to $72,000 per year by the sand district. But in its 15 years of taxation, the district has not moved one grain of sand.

Its state permits are expiring.

The agenda posted by the Broad Beach Geologic Hazard Assessment District is incomplete and does not provide meaningful information about items being voted on by the public agency this Sunday.

For example, it mentions that the project has applied to the California Coastal Commission for a renewed permit for the sand project. In fact, it says the Coastal Commission has asked for changes in the permit. None of that information is disclosed.

We still don't know if the district has found a source for the thousands of truckloads of sand that it proposes for Broad Beach. The agenda mentions vague possibilities of negotiating with the City of Los Angeles to obtain sand from the ocean bottom just off the runways at LAX.

The agenda mentions the fact that state wildlife officials have problems with the sand project's impacts on fish and wildlife. In fact, the sand district has prepared a staff report for its board of directors. But it has not disclosed that staff report to the public — it's not on the agenda.

The agenda mentions that the State Lands Commission has issued an August 1st deadline for the sand district's use of state property — the ocean bottom — for the sand replenishment project. Again, no details.

The agenda mentions using some of the $20 million or so that has been collected in tax money as startup loans to property owners along the beach. Again, no details.

And the agenda also mentions paying the district's lawyer and general manager, attorney Kenneth Ehrlich, $845 an hour for his work. Another lawyer would be paid some vague amount, as would other professionals or hourly timekeepers. Again, no details.

KBUU News was emailed the agenda at 5:30 last night — two business days before the board of directors meeting next Sunday. We have asked sand district director and attorney Kenneth Ehrlich for the staff reports and other information that he has prepared for the board of directors but withheld from the public.

We will keep you posted.