MALIBU VALLEY FARMS WINS FOR ALL THE HORSES IN CALIFORNIA

Science triumphs over the arbitrary numbers of Coastal Commission.  There is no law that requires a 100-ft. setback from ESHA, Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area.  

Brian Boudreau’s win has given all equestrians and agriculture a fabulous gift.  His steadfastness in dealing with the Coastal Commission and his consistency in remaining a man of principle have won a major victory for all equestrians and farmers. In this precedent setting decision, the Coastal Commission finally admitted that their requirement that horses be 100-feet from a water course is not law.  Malibu Valley Farms’ application was approved with an average 50-ft setback from the top of the bank of the creek, an area that was originally barren and which Brian Boudreau voluntarily improved by personally planting over 1,000 native tree along the creek and on his property.  His mitigation plan will ensure there is no pollution into the seasonal creek from his facility.  Let’s see if the Commission will start working more positively on performance-based programs for pollution control instead of focusing on arbitrary setbacks that lack scientific proof of being credible.  

Thanks to this win, Malibu Valley Farms will continue as an outstanding community asset and as a role model for promoting public access, visitor-serving recreational facilities and resource protection.  Events will continue there - riding clinics, disaster evacuation, a staging site for horseback rides through public parklands, a place for community meetings, opportunities for kids to experience nature, and special programs.  

Malibu Valley Farms is a great complement to the King Gillette Ranch across the street, a public facility jointly owned by National Parks, State Parks, and the Conservancy, but managed by MRCA.  Malibu Valley Farms was named the leading Thoroughbred breeder in California for 2006 by Thoroughbred Times Magazine, the leading magazine for the racing industry.  Malibu Valley Farms is the Best.

 The press release with details of the hearing is attached.

Ruth Gerson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JULY 12, 2007

CONTACT: SEAN DOHERTY (916) 498-8396

Coastal Commission Approves Malibu Valley Farms

Coastal Development Permit Application

Commissioners Rebuke staff recommendation and faulty report

San Luis Obispo - On Monday, July 9, 2007, the California Coastal Commission approved Malibu Valley Farms’ Coastal Development Permit (CDP) #4-06-163. The 7-5 decision in favor of Malibu Valley Farms’ CDP was a complete rejection of Coastal Commission staff’s recommendation of denial.

Both Commissioner Steve Blank and ex-officio (non-voting) Commissioner Brian Baird, Assistant Secretary for the California Resources Agency, chided the commission staff for not accurately reporting the Commission’s past positions on horse farms and the number of equestrian facilities approved by the staff and commission. After being grilled by Commissioner Blank, executive director Peter Douglas was forced to admit that staff had not recommended, nor had the commission approved, a private commercial equestrian facility since the mid-1980’s.

Commissioner Baird reprimanded the staff for not analyzing the studies and reports Malibu Valley Farms had submitted as part of their application, as well as the permits Malibu Valley Farms had received prior to their CDP application. Malibu Valley Farms received approval from every governmental agency with jurisdiction over the project, including the Los Angeles County Environmental Review Board (ERB), California Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Department of Fish and Game.

The Commissioners all expressed their commitment to water quality throughout the hearing. Malibu Valley Farms had submitted water quality studies to the Staff as part of their application. These reports all showed that Malibu Valley Farms was not polluting the water and that the groundwater at the farm was clean. The Coastal Staff did not analyze or mention any of the reports in their staff report. This omission led some Commissioners to believe that Malibu Valley Farms did pollute, although all scientific studies proved otherwise.

Malibu Valley Farms owner Brian Boudreau, whose family has operated the farm since 1974, was elated at the precedent setting decision. “This was not just a victory for our farm. It was a victory for California’s equestrian and agricultural community over a commission staff that has a history of hostility towards horses and farming and has openly sought to shut down facilities up and down our state,” stated Boudreau.