Mar Vista gets reprieve

A Superior Court Judge has tentatively ruled that the Coastal Commission cannot issue a cease-and-desist order against the developer of the large project at 31401 Mar Vista in South Laguna.

Judge Kirk Nakamura was asked by the developer, Gerald Massineo, for an order barring the commission from halting development of the hilltop project after the commission agreed to hear an appeal of a city coastal permit for the project.

“He [Nakamura] indicated that the petitioner [property owner] has shown a probability of prevailing on the issue as to whether the Coastal Commission has any jurisdiction to hear this issue,” City Manager Ken Frank announced Thursday. “He found that the Mar Vista developer has a vested right to complete the project, and that the commission did not act in a timely manner.”