Voters Reject Malibu Shopping Center, Pass Hotel Tax in Hermosa Beach

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Voters rejected a Whole Foods-anchored shopping center project in Malibu on Tuesday, while voters in Hermosa Beach approved a hike in that city’s hotel bed tax.

Malibu voters rejected by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent the 38,400 square-foot shopping center project led by developer Steve Soboroff that was proposed for the Civic Center area. The project featured a 20,000-square-foot Whole Foods.

Tuesday’s vote was the first test under a measure Malibu voters approved last year to limit development. Measure R requires a citywide vote for any project with more than 20,000 square feet of retail, commercial or mixed-use space.

But it may not be the final word on the shopping center project. Soboroff and another Malibu developer, Malibu Bay Co., filed suit In April challenging the constitutionality of Measure R. That lawsuit is now pending in state court. If Measure R were to be overturned, it’s possible the project could proceed despite Tuesday’s election results.

Meanwhile, in Hermosa Beach, voters overwhelmingly approved a hike in that city’s hotel bed tax. Eighty five percent of voters backed Measure H to increase the tax to 12 percent from the current 10 percent. The measure had no organized opposition as local hotel operators remained largely silent during the campaign. The new 12 percent rate matches several surrounding cities, but is less than the 14 percent tax for Los Angeles hotels.

In other election results, parcel taxes for various municipal services were approved or extended in San Marino and South Pasadena, as well as the Las Virgenes and Walnut Valley school districts. But a parcel tax was defeated in Claremont. And voters approved a $350 million bond measure for the Compton Unified School District.

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Howard Fine
Howard Fine is a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He covers stories pertaining to healthcare, biomedicine, energy, engineering, construction, and infrastructure. He has won several awards, including Best Body of Work for a single reporter from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and Distinguished Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists.

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