RFP: Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for the Malibu Canyon Resort Project

Page 1 of 22
City of Malibu
Request for Proposal
Preparation of an
Environmental Impact Report for the
Malibu Canyon Resort Project
Date Issued: March 9, 2026
Date Due: April 9, 2026
Proposals must be received no later than 4:00 PM on Thursday, April 9,
2026, via email at the following email address:
City of Malibu Community Development Department
Attn: Rebecca Nelson-Brown, Senior Management Analyst
rnelson@malibucity.org

Page 1 of 22
INTRODUCTION
The City of Malibu (City) seeks consultant services for preparation of an Environmental
Impact Report (EIR) (Consultant) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
for the proposed Malibu Canyon Resort (Project). The Project is located on vacant
property at 4000 Malibu Canyon Road, Malibu, CA 90265.
The Project applicant is Green Acres, LLC (Applicant). Preparation of the EIR will be
managed by the City via a Professional Services Agreement (Agreement) between the
City and Consultant. Under the Agreement, Consultant will perform the required services
under the direction of the City. For purposes of this RFP, Consultant includes the prime
consultant and subcontractors, if proposed. A sample Agreement is attached for
reference (Attachment 1). The selected Consultant shall be prepared to accept the terms
and conditions as stated in this RFP and the sample Agreement.
CITY BACKGROUND
The City is in the northwestern portion of Los Angeles County (County) and covers
approximately 21 miles along the coast. The City is a general law city incorporated under
California law in 1991. It operates under the Council/Manager form of government. The
five members of the City Council are elected at-large and serve staggered four-year
terms, with the Mayor being selected from among the Councilmembers. Land use
decisions are made by the Planning Commission comprising five members, each of which
is appointed by a Councilmember individually.
The City is administered by various departments, with the Community Development
Department managing services related to Planning, Building Safety, Environmental
Health, Geology, Biology, Coastal Engineering, Code Enforcement, and Environmental
Programs, including Clean Water, Energy, and Solid Waste Management. The Planning
Division is the steward of the City's General Plan, Malibu Municipal Code (MMC) Title 17
(Zoning), and the Local Coastal Program (LCP). The City's LCP was certified by the
California Coastal Commission (CCC) in 2002 and is comprised of a Land Use Plan (LUP)
and Local Implementation Plan (LIP). The entire City is in the California Coastal Zone
(Coastal Zone) and subject to the LCP.
The City contracts with the County for law enforcement, fire, and water. Law enforcement
is provided by the County Sheriff's Department operating from the Lost Hills Sheriff's
Station. Fire services within the City and the unincorporated County areas around Malibu
are provided by the County Fire Department (LACFD) through four local fire stations.
Water service is provided by the County Waterworks District 29 (WD29). Certain other
services are provided by contract, such as the City Attorney and garbage collection
services.
In addition to the County, the City interacts with numerous other government agencies
such as the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Monica Mountains
Conservancy (SMMC), Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority (MRCA), California
Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans),

Page 2 of 22
California State Water Resources Control Board, California Department of Fish and
Wildlife, and the CCC as the City is located entirely within the Coastal Zone.
PROJECT OVERVIEW AND STATUS
Property Detail
The Project is proposed on three vacant parcels that would be merged as part of the
Project to create an approximate 28.2-acre parcel (1,288,908 square feet (sf) gross or
1,211,376 sf net with street easements removed) (Property). Vicinity aerials and site plans
are provided as Attachment 2.
Address: 4000 Malibu Canyon Road
APNs: 4458-030-007, 4458-028-015, 4458-028-019
Zoning & Land Use: Commercial Visitor Serving 2 (CV-2)
Overlay Zone: Civic Center Overlay
Proposed Project
The Project is a 146-room resort hotel with restaurants, meeting rooms, ballroom, health
club, swimming pool, tennis courts, parking garage with valet tunnel, landscaping, grading
and associated development on three vacant parcels. A main resort building would
include 60 hotel rooms with facilities, with the remaining 86 hotel rooms within 45
independent buildings around the Property. Total gross square footage of building
construction is approximately 579,396 sf of which 181,560 sf is proposed to meet the
LCP's allowable floor-area-ratio (FAR) limit of 181,706 sf for the Property. Buildings would
range from 1 to 3 stories above grade with 1 additional story below grade. Building heights
would range from 14 feet to 40 feet. The Project includes a parking structure that would
be 70 feet tall with 5 stories above grade and 1 additional story below grade.
Approximately 588 parking stalls would be provided in the Project, comprised of 22
spaces in a surface lot and 566 spaces in an all-valet parking garage. Approximately
263,923 cubic yards (cy) of total grading would result, of which 183,499 cy would be
exported from the Property. Approximately 488,260 sf of the Property would be devoted
to landscaped area and approximately 319,855 sf of the Property would be devoted to
additional open space area. Storm water improvements onsite would ensure no increase
in peak flow from existing conditions and would rely on green infrastructure, storm drain
collection system, and detention basins. The Project would connect to the City's Civic
Center Wastewater Treatment Facility (CCWTF).
Gross Square Footage Breakdown
Operational space: 286,715 sf
Parking garage: 179,023 sf
o
Valet tunnel: 27,414 sf
o
Circulation (corridors, egress, stairs, elevators): 42,454 sf
o
MEP (HVAC space): 31,753 sf
o
Storage: 6,071 sf
o

Page 3 of 22
Hotel: 172,149 sf
Main building (hotel portion): 36,149 sf
o
Independent hotel suites: 136,000 sf
o
Unenclosed covered areas: 42,471 sf
Loggias and breezeways: 29,631 sf
o
Hotel room terraces: 12,840 sf
o
Restaurant: 36,426 sf
Food and beverage: 29,367 sf
o
Back of house: 7,059 sf
o
Retail / Stores: 24,650 sf
Retail: 287 sf
o
Guest Amenity (meeting rooms, ballroom, indoor driving range, movie
o
screening room, spa/salon, gym, studios, pools): 19,094 sf
Restrooms (primarily serving Guest Amenity): 5,269 sf
o
Office: 16,985 sf
Staff Breakdown Average Count per Shift
Food and beverage: 22
Recreational amenities: 10
Guest services, laundry, and cleaning: 6
Resort administration: 3
Maintenance and grounds: 3
Security: 3
Guest arrival and valet: 3
Requested Entitlements
Coastal Development Permit (CDP) for development in the Coastal Zone
Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a hotel use in the CV-2 zone
Minor Modification (MM) for reduced front, side, and rear setbacks
Site Plan Review (SPR) for height above 18 feet, up to 24 feet
Variances (VAR) anticipated for an increase in height above 24 feet, more than 2
stories, retaining wall heights, and/or structures on slopes steeper than 2.5 to 1
Current Processing Status
The Project application is currently incomplete. Three incomplete review letters have
been provided by the Planning Division to the Applicant. The Project application was
originally submitted by the Applicant on 1/5/2024 and Planning Incomplete Letter 1 was
issued on 2/2/2024. A resubmittal package was provided by the Applicant on 6/28/2024
and Planning Incomplete Letter 2 was issued on 7/26/2024. The most recent resubmittal
package was provided by the Applicant on 4/10/2025 and Planning Incomplete Letter 3
was issued on 5/12/2025. Additional review letters have been provided to the Applicant
by other City reviewers including Biology, Building Safety, Geology, and Public Works,
and the Applicant has provided additional submission responses in June and July 2025.
Reviews are pending from the LACFD and WD29.

Page 4 of 22
SCOPE OF WORK & TASKS
The City seeks the preparation of an EIR under CEQA. The EIR must include sufficient
analysis of the direct and indirect project-level and cumulative environmental impacts
associated with the Project, including construction and operation, in accordance with the
requirements of CEQA.
The selected Consultant shall prepare an Initial Study (IS) to be included with the Notice
of Preparation (NOP) for review by public agencies and the public during the Scoping
process. The IS will be used to assess the potential of the Project to result in significant
impacts on the environment and to determine if certain issue areas can be screened out
in the EIR in accordance with the checklist under Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines.
Significant impacts to be addressed in the EIR may include, but are not limited to, the
following: aesthetics, air quality and health risk, biological resources, cultural resources,
energy, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazards and hazardous materials,
hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, noise, population and housing, public
services, recreation, transportation, tribal cultural resources, utilities and service systems,
and wildfire. Additional impacts to be addressed would include any identified by the
selected Consultant as part of the IS or from comments resulting from the NOP process.
The Project's consistency with various regulatory and guiding documents will need to be
analyzed in the EIR to evaluate, among other potential laws, regulations, and standards
relevant to individual CEQA topics required to be analyzed, the Project's consistency with
the LCP, Malibu Municipal Code (MMC) Title 17 (Zoning), and the General Plan.
The selected Consultant will be responsible for the following specific tasks and
deliverables associated with the preparation of the EIR.
Consultants shall list the tasks as described below and an estimated cost for each task.
Consultants may add additional detail to the tasks as needed. Costs shall be based on
Time and Materials invoiced via hourly rates, not to exceed overall proposed contract
amount. As such, Consultants shall provide estimated costs for each task in the cost table
and breakdown the estimated costs by each position and hourly rate anticipated. The
same breakdown requirement applies to any subcontractors, if proposed.
The following tasks are the minimum required in each proposal. Consultants may expand
on any task(s) to add value to the Consultant's individual proposal but must also include
an explanation of the expanded task(s).

Page 5 of 22
Task 1 Review Relevant Documents and Project Kickoff. Review all relevant
Project description documents, Project plans, Applicant prepared
documents and reports, Property background information on-file with the
City, and applicable regulations in an effort to gather existing data and
Project information currently available and necessary to prepare the
technical studies and EIR.
Consultant will participate in a kickoff meeting with the City. Consultant
will conduct a site visit, take photographs, and make notes about the
existing conditions and potential impacts. Consultant will develop a list of
any information necessary for purposes of conducting the environmental
analysis including any additional information to complete the EIR Project
Description (Task 2) and streamline the analysis for technical studies.
Task 2 Project Description. Following completion of Task 1, Consultant will
apply their understanding of existing conditions from the information
contained in the RFP and any additional information provided by the City
to prepare a baseline environmental setting and a Project Description.
Consultant shall ensure that the Project Description complies with the
requirements of CEQA Guidelines Section 15124 and meets City
preferences for formatting, content, and readability. Consultant shall
ensure its efficiency, readability for the general public, and elimination of
duplication or redundancy. Consultant will combine text, tables, and
figures to create a concise yet comprehensive Project Description.
Accompanying the Project Description will be a list of the anticipated
responsible and trustee agencies, and necessary discretionary actions
including permits, agreements, amendments, and/or any other action
anticipated, characterized by jurisdiction.
Consultant will assist the City in preparing Project Objectives that will help
craft and evaluate alternatives to the Project later in the EIR process. The
Project Objectives should not be overly narrow or broad but should allow
for a reasonable range of alternatives that would reduce one or more
significant impacts associated with the Project.
Note: See Tasks 13 and 14 for public noticing and meetings including the
NOP and Scoping meeting.
Reviews: Consultant will modify the Project Description up to two times
in response to review comments.
Deliverables: Draft(s) and Final Project Description, including figures
(provided in Word with tracked changes and clean versions for each
round of review; Final Project Description will also be provided in PDF).

Page 6 of 22
Task 3 Prepare Draft Initial Study (IS) and Notice of Preparation (NOP).
Consultant will prepare an IS using Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines.
The purpose of the IS will be to help focus the analysis contained in the
EIR. The IS will include a discussion of the relationship of the Project to
each major issue identified in the IS. The discussion will be broken down
into individual discussions of each sub-issue to support the conclusions
in the IS. Where information is drawn from other documents, the source
document will be referenced, including the page from which the
information was drawn.
Consultant will assist the City in Assembly Bill (AB) 52 consultation,
including requesting a list of tribal contacts from the Native American
Heritage Commission (NAHC) for consultation. Consultant will provide
this list (if any are identified) to the City. If requested, Consultant will assist
the City in consultation tasks as appropriate.
All citations and references in the IS shall specify the page number(s) of
the associated document and a copy of each reference document (or
portion of each document as applicable) with an Index provided to the City
prior to the commencement of the NOP public review period.
As part of Consultant's proposal, Consultant will provide a brief scope of
the key technical issues that are anticipated to require additional technical
support in the IS. The IS will identify other environmental topics that are
not anticipated to require substantial research or technical support, and
the conclusions will be presented within relevant sections of the IS.
Note: See Tasks 13 and 14 for public noticing and meetings including the
NOP and Scoping meeting.
Reviews: Consultant will modify the IS and NOP one time in response to
review comments.
Deliverables: Draft IS and NOP (in Word and PDF formats). Bookmarks
shall be added to all PDFs to aid in review.
Task 4 Prepare Final Initial Study and NOP. Consultant will prepare the Final
IS and NOP based on review comments received. This version will be
used for distribution to stakeholders and the general public. Consultant
will handle as-needed distribution using the mailing list provided by the
City. Distribution will be in coordination with the City.
Note: See Tasks 13 and 14 for public noticing and meetings including the
NOP and Scoping meeting. Following the scoping period, Consultant will
review and summarize all comments received including participants.
Even though filings with the Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate

Page 7 of 22
Innovation (LCI) are now electronic, the City will request printed copies of
the Final IS and NOP per Deliverables below.
Reviews: Consultant will modify the Final IS and NOP one time in
response to review comments before finalizing for distribution.
Deliverables: Final IS and NOP (provided in Word with tracked changes
and clean versions). Final PDF shall be "web-ready" for public review, and
in compliance with Section 508 Accessibility standards. Bookmarks shall
be added to all PDFs to aid in review. Digital version shall be made
available to the City on a secure file transfer site. Estimate 10 hard copies
of the complete IS with attachments and the NOP.
Task 5 Technical Studies. Consultant will prepare technical studies using
qualified experts required to support the EIR analysis and to comply with
federal, state, and local requirements. Consultant will directly oversee the
preparation of all technical studies prepared by subcontractors, if
proposed.
Technical reports are anticipated to include the following:
Aesthetics and Visual Resources Technical Report (see Attachment 3
for more information)
Air Quality Technical Report and Air Health Risk Assessment
(construction, haul route, operations)
Biological Resources Technical Report
Cultural Resources Technical Report
Energy Use Technical Report
Geology and Soils Technical Report
Greenhouse Gases Technical Report
Phase I Environmental Site Assessment
Preliminary Drainage Study
Stormwater Management Plan
Noise and Vibration Technical Report
Transportation Impact Study / Vehicle Miles Traveled Analysis (utilize
SCAG Regional Transportation Demand Model)
Utility Infrastructure Study - Wastewater
Utility Infrastructure Study - Water
Water Supply Assessment
Wildfire Report and Wildfire Evacuation Analysis
Consultants should assume the preparation of all technical reports even
if Applicant-prepared documents and reports are provided to the City. A
list of Applicant provided documents and reports are included as
Attachment 4.
Consultants shall describe each technical study proposed by sub-tasks

Page 8 of 22
(e.g., 5.1, 5.2, 5.3). Consultant may recommend additional technical
studies in its proposal and provide a brief narrative summarizing each and
justification for its inclusion.
Reviews: Consultant will modify technical studies three times; twice in
response to City review comments and once in response to public review
comments.
Deliverables: Draft and Final Technical Studies (provided in Word with
tracked changes and clean versions). Final PDFs shall be "web-ready" for
public review, and in compliance with Section 508 Accessibility standards.
Bookmarks shall be added to all PDFs to aid in review.
Task 6 First Screencheck Draft EIR. Consultant will prepare a Matrix of
thresholds for use in evaluating CEQA impacts. At minimum, the Matrix
shall include: 1) EIR Chapter; 2) Threshold Considered in Draft EIR
Chapter; 3) Definition (any term(s) that need to be defined in the
threshold); and 4) Methodology (method to be used to evaluate each
threshold). Consultant will ensure City acceptance of the Matrix before
preparation of the First Screencheck Draft EIR sections. This step is
critical before work effort is performed on the Draft EIR and, depending
on the thoroughness of the Matrix, may include multiple reviews as
necessary to finalize. Once accepted by the City, Consultant will
incorporate additional columns into the Matrix through the First
Screencheck drafting process that identifies: 5) Any Project Design
Features (PDFs) or Compliance with Regulations Relied Upon; 6) Impact;
7) Mitigation Measures; and 8) Supporting Technical Study. The Matrix
will be kept up to date during the Draft and Final EIR Screenchecks.
Consultant will prepare the First Screencheck Draft EIR, including the
Draft Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP), and
applicable Appendices. Consultant will incorporate the technical studies
prepared in Task 5 into the EIR.
Consultant will diligently work to ensure that the Draft EIR sections are
efficient, organized, and formatted for ease of review by the general
public, and void of unnecessary repetitive information.
Consultant will ensure that the conclusions in each Draft EIR section are
based on supportive analysis and/or justifications, include clear and
concise statements of thresholds and methodologies, and state whether
the Project's impact on each threshold is No Impact, Less than Significant
Impact, Less than Significant Impact with Mitigation, or Significant and
Unavoidable Impact.
Consultant will provide a summary "call-out" box at the beginning of each
threshold that briefly describes the: 1) Threshold; 2) Impact; 3) Applicable

Page 9 of 22
PDF(s); 4) Significance Before Mitigation; 5) Mitigation Measure(s); and
6) Significance After Mitigation. The "call out" box is intended for ease of
review of the sections by the general public and City decision-makers.
Consultant will incorporate any PDFs into the applicable Draft EIR and
MMRP, if applicable.
Consultant shall ensure that all Mitigation Measures proposed are legally
sufficient and defensible, as required by CEQA, including: 1) an
explanation why the Mitigation Measure is needed; 2) who would be
responsible to perform the Mitigation Measure; 3) timing for when the
Mitigation Measure should be completed; and 4) monitoring provisions
and/or who would be responsible for completing the monitoring.
Consultant will incorporate all Mitigation Measures considered but
rejected with a rationale for why the Mitigation Measure was rejected.
Consultant will ensure that revisions to technical studies shall be
sufficiently carried into the relevant Draft EIR section and vice-versa.
Consultant will prepare other sections of the Draft EIR including the cover,
table of contents, introduction, environmental setting, environmental
analysis, and list of preparers.
Consultant will incorporate its cumulative impact analysis into each Draft
EIR section in lieu of a standalone chapter. Cumulative projects shall
consider all past, present, and probable future projects (physical
development and substantive policy/legislation including any uncertified
LCP amendments, MMC amendments, and General Plan amendments in
process). Consultant will need to develop a comprehensive list of
cumulative projects, in consultation with the City. In addition to a list of
cumulative projects provided by the City, at minimum, the Consultant will
contact the County including LACFD and WD29, Pepperdine University,
the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD), and
Caltrans for a list of all nearby projects to the subject property. An analysis
of the cumulative projects will serve as the basis for the impact
significance determination baseline, while the Project's incremental
contribution to the cumulative baseline will be considered the Project's
potential cumulative impact; however, other agencies as appropriate may
also be incorporated.
In coordination with the City, Consultant will prepare a range of Project
Alternatives (including the no-project alternative) sufficient to provide a
qualitative comparison to the Project's effect on the environment.
Consultant, in consultation with the City, will identify the environmentally
superior alternative, which will be an alternative other than the no-project
alternative. Project Alternatives to be considered in the analysis will be