Malibu : New Hearing for Developer

A Malibu developer whose permit was revoked by the California Coastal Commission after he was accused of grading 14 times the amount of earth the permit allowed will probably receive a new hearing on the matter in March, coastal officials said Wednesday.

A judge last month ordered the state panel to reconsider its action against developer Sheldon Gordon, saying that the commission violated its own procedures last June when it revoked Gordon’s permit to build four luxury homes in Malibu’s exclusive Sweetwater Mesa area.

The panel, which is meeting this week in Marina del Rey, was to have considered the matter Wednesday. However, the matter was postponed because Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe has not issued a formal judgment in the case, said Nancy Cave, the commission’s chief enforcement officer. The panel’s meeting in March will also be in Marina del Rey.

Although Yaffe’s preliminary ruling was a victory for Gordon, the decision may have little impact on Gordon’s ability to build the homes, because it still leaves the future of the controversial project up to the commission to decide.