Cityhood Backers Lose Bid to Stop Stalling

Malibu cityhood backers made a last-ditch plea to the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to stop stalling and set a June incorporation election, but their request fell on deaf ears.

County officials disclosed Monday that they had appealed a Superior Court order that had given them until Tuesday to conclude an incorporation hearing and set the election.

But despite the pleas of incorporation proponents, the supervisors--with the exception of Supervisor Ed Edelman--indicated they would continue to oppose cityhood until a sewer system the county wants to build in Malibu is under way.

By a 4-1 vote, the supervisors in November postponed the hearing indefinitely. The hearing, required by law so proponents and opponents can express their views, is the last step before an election can be set.