Sierra Club Files Lawsuit Against U2's The Edge Proposed Malibu Mansions

Six years ago, U2 Guitarist The Edge announced plans to develop a pristine piece of untouched and protected Malibu real estate with five large mansions, ruffling the feathers of Malibuites and the California Coastal Commission alike.

The Coastal Commission fought long and hard against the Edge, whose real name is David Evans, to keep his mansions off the Malibu horizon. But countless alterations to the plans, and Evans’ own litigation for permits, eventually wore down the Commission. Voting controversially last December in Monterey, the Commission begrudgingly decided to approve an altered version of the guitarist’s development plan.

But it seems The Edge still hasn’t found what he’s looking for, as the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against the project Thursday asking that the Coastal Commission’s decision to approve the mansions be set aside.

The Sierra Club, which along with L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, State Sen. Fran Pavley, and Heal the Bay, vocally objected to the Commission's approval in December, argues the project violates the California Environmental Quality Act. According to the Los Angeles Times, the lawsuit says the project failed to adequately consider the project’s affect on air quality, and greenhouse gas emissions.

In terms of particulars, the houses will demand a lengthy construction process involving lots of rattling and humming construction trucks moving material up and down the Malibu mountainside.

The Sierra Club also believes the Coastal Commission violated the California Coastal Act, and did not follow the area’s local coastal plan which prohibits non-essential private projects that disrupt environmentally sensitive habitats.

While Evans argues his alterations to the project make it more environmentally conscious, opponents say the only appropriate scaling down of the project is to eradicate it completely, leaving the properties as protected open space.

The writ-of-mandate will be considered later this year in the L.A. Superior Court, but for now it looks like the cliffs will have no homes.

The proposed mansions range all exceed 10,000 square-feet in size, per the L.A. Times. Even if the Commission’s decision is allowed to stand, the project still needs to seek approval from Los Angeles County, and the city of Malibu.

Note: A headline of this story stated the Sierra Club sued Evans directly. This is not accurate, rather they have filed a claim to have the California Coastal Commission's decision reversed in court.