The LA County Board of Supervisors approved permits for both the foundation and the construction of Pepperdine's theme tower. As with most votes regarding the construction of the Malibu campus, the vote was 3-2, with Democrat (and Pepperdine alumnus) Kenneth Hahn joining Republicans Warren Dorn and Burton Chase in support.¹

Unknown to some supervisors, Pepperdine had in fact already poured the foundation approved that night. Tower construction began immediately upon approval so that opponents of the plan in Malibu would have no time to halt construction by legal action until the frame was already in place.¹