Objections from The National Park Service
The National Park Service has raised numerous objections to this project in a detailed letter written in January, 2011 to the Coastal Commission (click link for complete letter - starts on page 12)
Extract from the National Parks letter
"We are concerned that the project would incur significant adverse impacts tot he biological and visual resources of the national recreation area owing to habitat fragmentation, edge effect of residential development against open space, visual degradation from ridgeline development, and placing development in an area of frequent wildland fires. The project, as proposed, conflicts with our resource protection and recreational access goals. The project's growth inducing potential also needs to be examined. We believe the intenisty of this project - in terms of the amount of new construction, location relative to surrounding habitat and topography, scale of grading, and significance of infrastructural improvements - isunprecedented for single family residential development in the Santa Monica Mountains".
At least seven radio collared mountain lions have been tracked to within 500 meters of the five proposed residences, one was recorded visiting there on Jan 18th, 2011. The presence of these lions, bobcats and coyote confirm that the proposed project site is high quality core habitat that, if developed, would significant impact this wilderness area.
The ridgeline is currently in a mostly undeveloped and natural condition. The proposed residences would be visible from several viewing locations throughout the park and would remove forever unobstructed views up to, across, and over this ridgeline. The proposed large retaining walls, the elevated viaduct section (up to 24 feet high on the downslope side, and the cut and fill slopes necessary to access just five residences would greatly exacerbate the significant visual degradation.
The project would be visible from Pacific Coast Highway from Pepperdine University (at John Tyler Drive) to Malibu Pier, a stretch of approximately two miles. The project is also clearly visible from Malibu Canyon Road.
Objections from Heal The Bay
Heal the Bay submitted a letter the Coastal Commission on February 7, 2011 in opposition to this project and in support of the staff recommendation to deny the applications. See Exhibit 9 (page 55 of the PDF)
Objections from The Sierra Club
The Sierra Club submitted a letter the Coastal Commission on February 7, 2011 in opposition to this project and in support of the staff recommendation to deny the applications. See Exhibit 10 (page 61 of the PDF).
Other Edge Property Developments
Residential development - apartment buildings in Dublin. The Edge/U2 development vehicle is their pension fund, Princus Investment Trust.
Partners with the Irish developer, Derek Quinlan. He is also a partner with another Irish developer, Paddy Quinlan, in the Clarence Hotel in Dublin, Ireland where they planned to demolish a 140 year old hotel and replace it with a a much larger hotel at a cost of 150 million Euros. This project has had strong resistance from many people who want to protect the historic buidlings that will be destroyed by the construction of this new hotel.
Another Edge development project -Landmark Tower (also known as Britain Tower) and U2 Tower in Dublin, Ireland - 180 feet tall. This project is apparently temporarily on hold due to the recession.
In 2007 The Edge purchased a property for $20 million in Latigo Canyon in Malibu and then tried to get permits to build a large subdivision. Edge evicted the Archery Club that had been there for about 30 years in anticipation of developing this land. Many neighbors protested this proposed subdivision and development. The property is apparently for sale at this time.
U2's Tangled Financial Web
Apparently U2 and Edge go to great lengths to minimize or avoid paying taxes and appear to shelter their holdings in a myriad of companies.
