Lawsuit erupts over Malibu Inn and Spa development

Brian Boudreau, a local developer who wants to build the Malibu Valley Inn and Spa in unincorporated Los Angeles and have it annexed by Calabasas, says the argument being used against his development on this fall’s sample ballot isn’t accurate.

Boudreau said he tried to get the author of the opinion, Calabasas resident Mary Hubbard, to change the language on the ballot. When she wouldn’t respond, he filed a lawsuit.

City residents will go to the polls Nov. 8 to cast an advisory vote on whether or not they favor the controversial development. The vote is meant to give the city council direction as to how the public feels about the project. A sample ballot is mailed to all voters before the election.

Boudreau’s lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court accuses Hubbard of making false and misleading statements about the project. Hubbard and other Inn and Spa opponents say the lawsuit is a scare tactic.

“When you go on the ballot, one person writes a pro statement, which was written by five Calabasas residents, mostly from Calabasas Park (Calabasas Park Homeowners Association endorsed the Malibu Valley Inn and Spa project), and the opponent statement was written by Mary Hubbard,” Boudreau said. “But there’s a process that you go through to make sure that what they write . . . is accurate fact and not misleading or untrue.”

Boudreau said Hubbard erroneously claims that the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation (LVHF) is unanimously against the inn and spa.

“They haven’t voted to take any position on the project,” Boudreau said. “And it’s certainly not unanimous because Calabasas Park, which is the biggest homeowners association (in the Federation) and has the majority of the homes in it, has already endorsed the project.”

LVHF president Steve Hess told The Acorn in May, however, that the delegates to the Federation were against the project.

Hubbard said LVHF previously voted against any development that interferes with the North Area Plan, a county document that tries to protect the Santa Monica Mountains from over-development.

“The Malibu Valley Inn goes against the North Area Plan,” Hubbard said.

Dispute over traffic

According to Boudreau, Hubbard’s ballot statement said that the $1.4 million in revenue that the city will make on the inn and spa, if it’s annexed from the county, will have to be used for traffic mitigation.

“That’s completely untrue,” Boudreau said. “I’m putting in the left turn lane at Lost Hills and Las Virgenes, and the left turn lane on Las Virgenes, which more than mitigates my traffic— in fact, it improves traffic. The city isn’t going to spend any of the (inn and spa revenues) mitigating traffic. . . .The (Environmental Impact Report) already states how the road traffic is going to be mitigated.”

Hubbard also said the environmental report calls for the expansion of the Lost Hills bridge over the 101 Freeway and the city might have to pay for those costs or wait for other funding, which could take decades.

Hubbard said she stands behind her opinions.

“They slapped me with a lawsuit and then they contacted me and said, ‘Do you want to change your words?’” Hubbard said. “Well, no, not really. I don’t . . . (Boudreau) has to prove with clear and convincing evidence that I was deliberately misleading or that my statements are outand-out false, and I don’t think he can do that.”

Mayor Barry Groveman said he’d be willing to mediate the dispute.

On Nov. 8, voters will be asked the following question: “Should Calabasas annex 152 acres on Mulholland Highway east of Las Virgenes Road for the Malibu Valley Inn and Spa—a 203-room resort, five estate homes, facilities for swimming, equestrian use, tennis, fitness spa, restaurant, winery, shops, conference rooms and underground parking, as described in the project’s draft environmental impact report—in lieu of up to 81 estate homes on 443 acres if not annexed?”

Could build homes instead

“I have 81 houses approved and I’m more than willing to go do them,” Boudreau said. “I’m getting to the point where I’m so tired of this that I might as well just build them. They’re worth a fortune. I could sell this thing and walk away with $60 million or $70 million, but instead I’m going to build an inn and spa that barely makes me $1 million in the first five years.”

Boudreau, who’s lived in Calabasas for 35 years, said he feels the inn and spa is the better project for the community because it will generate significant revenues for Calabasas.

If voters recommend against the inn and spa, Boudreau said he’d build his houses instead.

Opponents say the inn and spa would be too intense for the area and they worry about the urbanization of the Santa Monica Mountains. The project would be built on Mulholland Highway just east of Las Virgenes Road.

Some residents say they prefer the inn and spa because it only requires the removal of 350,000 cubic yards of dirt. By comparison, the housing development would displace 3.5 million cubic yards of dirt.