U2 guitarist The Edge has dream of building £80m mansion on ‘untouched’ Malibu mountain destroyed after losing 14-year legal battle
U2 guitarist The Edge has seen his dreams of building an £80m mansion on an untouched Malibu mountainside destroyed after losing a 14-year legal battle.
The 57-year-old, whose real name is David Evans, wanted to build five ultra-modern mini-mansions on the 151-acre plot, but has been denied the chance to take his case to California's highest court.
Evans has faced determined opposition from environmentalists, who say the development, which was to be called as ‘Leaves in the Wind', would cause “devastating damage” to a beautiful and pristine area.
His petition to have his case reviewed has now been denied by California's Supreme Court, effectively ending the ambitious project.
Dean Wallraff, lawyer for the environmentalist group Sierra Club, which led the legal challenge, told DailyMailTV: “He's finished. The California Supreme Court was his last resort.”
“I'm very happy that the Supreme Court decided not to review the case because it brings a definitive end to this terrible project which would have caused devastating damage.”
Evans could pursue the proposals with a fresh application for building permits to the Los Angeles County planners, but it would mean another years-long battle.
“He would have to start from scratch, with new applications to LA County Department of Regional Planning for new permits,” said Wallraff.
“Then he would have to get approval from the five members of the LA Board of Supervisors - which would be tough since the member who represents Malibu, Shiela Kuehl, is on record opposing Evans' project.
“All of that could take another two or three years - with no guarantee that either LA County or the Board of Supervisors would say yes.”
'WE'LL FIGHT HIM AGAIN'
Evans had tried to account for environmental concerns by agreeing that the mini-mansions would be built with ‘earth tone’ materials, that they would use non-reflecting glass to prevent glint, and that outside light bulbs would be lower than 60 watts to prevent light pollution.
But Wallraff said he should now give up, and that the 640,000-strong Sierra Club would carry on the fight if necessary.
“We'll fight him again, all the way to the Supreme Court again,” he said.
“Move on. Sell the land or better still, donate it to the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy so that the people can enjoy it.
“Do something good with this beautiful piece of property instead of destroying it. Go somewhere else to build your homes!”
Evans’s battle to have the properties built began in 2005, when he paid $9 million for the plot overlooking the star-studded beach city of Malibu.
He had intended for it to be a compound where he and his family could live away from the public gaze.
He hired renowned LA architect Wallace Cunningham to come up with designs for the homes, which were unanimously approved in 2015 by the California Coastal Commission after Evans agreed reduce the footprints of the homes and cluster them more closely together.
He also said he would make 140 of the 151 acres available for public use, and reportedly pledged $1 million to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to build and maintain a public hiking trail.
But the Sierra Club filed a series of suits alleging that the plans violated local planning laws, eventually winning an appeal at California's Court of Appeal 2nd District.
Evans’s only remaining option was to go to California’s Supreme Court, the highest court in the state, but the Court has now refused to review the case.
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Evans, better known by his stage name The Edge, has been a member of Irish rock group U2 since its inception in 1976.
He has recorded 14 studio albums with the band and one solo album, and is worth an estimated $340 million.
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