Private Fireworks Shows for the Fourth of July in Malibu

BY ANNE SOBLE

Every year, starting around June 30 through July 3, the telephone calls and emails come to the Malibu Surfside News offices inquiring, “Where are the offshore fireworks shows going to take place?”
Privately sponsored pyrotechnic displays are an integral part of the way the Fourth of July is celebrated in Malibu.
The city has announced that firework detonation permits have been issued for two private displays on Saturday, July 4.
Both of the 9 p.m. displays will be launched from offshore barges that are usually towed into place earlier in the day. One is set for the Malibu Colony area, the other for the 27900 block of Pacific Coast Highway.
Municipal officials also remind residents and visitors that fireworks are illegal everywhere within city borders. They are also outlawed by Los Angeles County in all of unincorporated Malibu.
Even the so-called “safe and sane” fireworks, which most fire department and law enforcement officials say are neither safe, nor sane, are outlawed in both jurisdictions.
Given the lack of recent rainfall and the current high fire danger everywhere in the Malibu area, illegal fireworks will be confiscated and those possessing them will face legal consequences.
Happy Fourth of July to all.

Malibu Officials Are Closer to Taking Possession of New Municipal Center

• Estimated Time Frame for Move-In Is Nine Months

BY BILL KOENEKER

Malibu officials moved one more step closer to acquiring a new City Hall, when the 10-day appeal period for bankruptcy court came and went and there were no new bidders on the property.
“We still have to close escrow,” said City Manager Jim Thorsen. The city this week published a Request for Proposal for architectural services for the new City Hall.
The city held the winning bid for the purchase of the 35,000-square-foot building located directly behind the current City Hall when they offered $15 million for the building that was the former home of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship and currently houses the Malibu Performing Arts Center.
Thorsen said the city is expected to close escrow at the end of July, when all of the money turns over for the acquisition.
Current plans call for the city to take the money out of the general fund to meet the end of July deadline. Those general funds would be replaced by the certificates of participation that will be used to cover the financing.
The city manager said he hoped that the move into the new quarters could be made in about nine months.
City officials are still discussing the specifics of moving out of their current building before the lease ends in three years. They have said that they will not make double payments.
“We are still looking at subleasing,” Thorsen said.
The city is currently paying $800,000 rent annually for the 15,647 square feet it now occupies at the current City Hall.
There is still three years on the lease, or about $2 million owed in rent to the landlord who has said that the city will not be let out of its lease.
City officials say the COPs will be paid back over a 30-year period from the savings in rent payments.

City Employee Is Suspected in Fatal Hit-and-Run of Man Cycling on PCH

• Father and Son Bicyclists May Have Been DUI Victims

BY BILL KOENEKER

Two bicyclists en route to Malibu while participating in a major annual cycling event were hit by a motorist on Pacific Coast Highway who was allegedly driving under the influence. The man’s vehicle struck the pair, killing one and seriously injuring the other, then the driver reportedly fled the scene of the accident.
The alleged driver, Robert Sanchez, 30, of Oxnard, was subsequently apprehended and taken into custody, according to law enforcement authorities.
Sanchez, 30, who is employed by the City of Malibu as a records clerk, was reportedly driving along the 34000 block of Pacific Coast Highway near Nicholas Canyon at 1:27 a.m. on Sunday when he allegedly crossed over the fog line and struck Rodrigo “Rod” Armas, 45, of Tehachapi, a Los Angeles County deputy probation officer.
Armas died at the scene and his son Christian, 14, suffered leg injuries. The injured boy was transported to UCLA Medical Center where he is listed in stable condition with numerous broken bones.
Armas is survived by his wife Shelly, his son Christian and two daughters, ages 9 and 12, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department press release.
The father and son were competing in an annual 200-mile “Grand Tour” event sponsored by the Los Angeles Wheelman Ride and were on the last leg of the race when the incident happened, according to an LASD report.
Authorities allege that Sanchez left the scene of the accident and continued along PCH for a short distance, before he abandoned his vehicle and hid out in the brush.
The City of Malibu staffer was found about two hours later by deputies, who arrested him and took him into custody. Pending the investigation, the case could involved charges of vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence and felony hit and run.
Sanchez was released on $100,000 bail, according to a spokesperson for the Malibu/ Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said on Tuesday morning that charges had not yet been presented, but that would probably take place on Wednesday after the Malibu Surfside News goes to press.
City Manager Jim Thorsen verified that Sanchez is an em[ployee of the City of Malibu, Thorsen described his position as an administrative assistant.
When asked whether the current allegations might have any effect on Sanchez’s employment status, Thorsen replied, “He is still employed by the city.”

School District Delays Action on MHS Lights

• Outlines Restrictions and Impacts

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board of education opted at its June 25 meeting to postpone voting on two critical and controversial components of the school district’s attempt to obtain a permit for temporary athletic field lighting at Malibu High School. An attempt to install permanent field lighting at the campus as part of Measure BB funded improvements revealed the fact that the school has been operating temporary lighting without a permit.
Temporary and permanent athletic field lighting violates both Malibu’s Local Coastal Program and a special condition imposed on the MHS property by the California Coastal Commission. The June 25 agenda contained a resolution to attempt an override of the City of Malibu’s Local Coastal Program. That item has now been moved to a special meeting on July 1 at the district offices in Santa Monica. The board will also be voting on July 1 to adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration developed by staff and consultants for the temporary lighting project.
An errata section has been added to the MND, clarifying several items. The errata acknowledges that lights have been in use for six instead of seven years. It also acknowledges that complains about the lights were received. The district had maintained that no complaints were ever received from residents. That statement has now been modified to no “formal” complaints, after a barrage of letters from residents describing numerous and multiple complaints made to school authorities.
Other changes include an increase in the number of generators from one 50 kW generator to two, which are now estimated to produce 62.17 decibels instead of the 42.50 decibels originally stated. The district has also accepted evidence for the City of Malibu that the nearest residence is 550 feet from the field, not 1000 feet as stated in the MND.
An operating plan with a number of restrictions has also been added. The revised plan restricts lighting to football games and practices; requires the posting of signs describing the permitted lighting use; and limits the use of the portable lights to “eight football practices until 7:30 p.m. and eight football games until 10:30 p.m.” for a maximum total of 62 hours per year.
The new restrictions also stipulate that “the temporary lights shall only remain on the athletic field during the football season and shall be removed thereafter; and that the district will contract with a third party vendor to monitor the athletic field and ensure that the program is “compliant,” and offers the assurance that “if the portable lights are used in excess of the 16 nights, the next football season shall be prohibited from using lights on the athletic field.”
According to district staff, once the resolution and MND are in place, the next step will be presenting the appeal to the Coastal Commission. Project supporters are hoping this can be accomplished before the start of the fall football season. Night games are already on the athletic program agenda.
The MHS field lighting issues were postponed, but the board voted to proceed with another controversial issue: a district plan to take two private homes in Santa Monica through eminent domain to make way for a measure BB funded expansion of Edison Language Academy Charter School, a bilingual magnet elementary school located in the Pico neighborhood in Santa Monica that serves both district and out-of-district children. The two families have repeatedly refused to sell their homes.
Shinobu Maruyama, who has lived in her home since 1952, was offered $1.89 million for her property, which is next door to the school. Maruyama’s next-door neighbor Mary Hernandez has lived in her home since 1966, raising four children there. After renting the house for years, the Hernandez family was able to purchase the property in 1999. They have received an offer of $1.99 million from the district. Both women have stated that they do not wish to sell and that they would not be able to afford to continue to live in the area if the district forces them out.
“As of this date, in spite of the district’s good faith efforts at negotiated acquisition, no agreements have been reached with Maruyama and Hernandez,” the staff report for the June 25 meeting stated. The report also stated that it has always been the district’s preference to purchase the homes through negotiations, not eminent domain.
“I don’t even want to think about not living there,” Hernandez said. “It’s going to be hard.”
Oscar de la Torre was the only member of the board who opposed the resolution. “The acquisition of the land is a benefit for the future of public education in the community and I respect everyone’s vote, but for me personally it was something that I just couldn’t do,” de la Torre said, pointing out the irony that the new dual-language academy will be displacing residents who represent the ethnic and economic diversity the school is intended to serve.
The resolution adopted by the board will authorize the district to seek court-granted authority as a government entity to take the private land for public use. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has six months to file the necessary paperwork in court. According to the staff report, the district will be required to make several findings, including showing that the parcels are needed for the project. The district will also have to prove that the project “is planned or located in a manner that will be most compatible with the greatest public good and least private injury.” The district will also be required to pay “fair market value” for the properties. The owners are expected to challenge the district’s legal right to eminent domain.
The board’s decision to approve the resolution is being criticized by district observers who have been calling for a rethink of the Edison expansion plan in light of rapidly declining attendance and the district’s current $12 million deficit.
Santa Monica resident and education activist Jim Jaffe, in an open letter to the school board dated June 13, called for the district to “revisit the need for building a new Edison school and other BB projects in light of pessimistic enrollment projections and economic conditions.”
“Malibu parents need to know what the district is doing in town and not just at home,” one parent told the Malibu Surfside News. “[The district has] money to pay to tear down houses and build new buildings but they don’t have enough money to keep the buildings they already have open, staffed and maintained. They just shut down one of Samohi’s six houses. We keep hearing that they’re going to close Point Dume [Elementary School], but they have the money to do this [at Edison]. It’s crazy”

Water Improvements Planned for Trancas Said to Be Independent of Plans for Shopping Center Growth

• Site Owner Says He Doesn’t Need Upgrades to Develop

BY BILL KOENEKER

Both the shopping center owner and water district officials have indicated that water improvements currently planned for Malibu West and the Trancas area are not tied to the planned expansion of Trancas Country Market.
“It has nothing to do with the TCM remodel/expansion and is not a requirement for our project,” said Dan Bercu, who heads the ownership of the Trancas shopping center. “The water upgrade for western Malibu is an infrastructure improvement by Water District 29 at their choosing.”
Some Malibu West residents have questioned whether the replacement of small pipes with larger ones and the addition of a new regulation station will only benefit the remodeling project for Trancas Country Market and may have been designed primarily for that purpose.
But Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29 officials say the work, which already have been approved and funded, is a long-term planned expansion of the water delivery system in western Malibu and predates Bercu’s ownership of what is now called the Trancas Country Market center.
The existing distribution system conveys domestic water through a 30-inch steel pipe located beneath Pacific Coast Highway. The distribution main has a maximum size of 30 inches and reduces to 16 inches as the line passes in front of the Trancas and PCH supermarket and shops complex.
There is an existing 12-inch water pipe that branches from the 16-inch pipe at the intersection of Trancas Canyon Road and PCH and fills the Trancas Canyon water tank, which holds 500,000 gallons.
There is also a pair of one-million-gallon water tanks near Nicholas Beach that are filled by the current 14-inch water main.
“The proposed regulating station planned at the south-east corner of the market parking lot will not decrease water pressure. The proposed regulation station and cross-country pipe replacement upgrade will introduce redundancy and reliability to the existing water distribution system, wrote Quang Tran, an engineer for Burdge and Associates, the architects of the planned shopping center expansion, who explained the developer’s assessment of the county’s project and its impact on the area of the development.
“The existing static water pressure around the Trancas market area is about 130 psi,” Tran continued. “Once the planned improvements are completed the static water pressure for the area is expected to continue to be 130 psi or greater.”
Tran said he was told by a Waterworks District 29 engineer the pipe replacement upgrades will increase water capacity for the existing water supply system. He added that a significant portion of the water infrastructure improvements will be installed on the Trancas market property and will benefit those residents around the Trancas market area.
The Waterworks District 29 Web site describes the cross-country replacement as a project that consists of installing 540 feet of new 10-inch-diameter steel water main between Morning View Drive and Paseo Canyon Road to replace an existing aging water main in the same area.
“This project will also include the replacement of 500 feet of a four-inch-diameter water main located on Pacific Coast Highway and relocation of a pressure regulating station to improve fire protection flow in the area,” the Website states.
“The water district has continued to make improvements in western Malibu where households have multiplied faster than the district has been able to keep pace.”
Last year, the district replaced approximately 7200 linear feet of 12-inch-diameter steel water main to replace an existing six-inch-diameter water main along Broad Beach Road. The project also included replacement of a two-inch-diameter pipeline on Bunnie Lane and a four-inch-diameter pipeline serving Cottontail Lane with an eight-inch-diameter pipeline and connects both to the new 12-inch-diameter water main on Broad Beach.

United States Geological Survey to Do Critical Water Study of Malibu Lagoon

• Research Will Occur Simultaneously with EPI Analysis

BY BILL KOENEKER

Malibu city officials are cheering what they are claiming is another benefit derived from the water quality symposium last April—a proposed water quality study by the United States Geological Survey to address “recurring water quality issues related to nutrients and fecal indicator bacteria in Malibu Lagoon and Surfrider Beach.”
“It was determined that the work could be done concurrently with ongoing epidemiological studies of fecal indicator bacteria exposure and human health effects along Malibu beaches that is being done by the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project,” wrote City Manager Jim Thorsen, in a memo to council members.
The city council agreed last week, without comment, to authorize Thorsen to execute a joint funding agreement between the city and the USGS for the $223,325 program with the municipality covering $183,325 of the cost and the USGS providing the remaining $40,000.
The acting director of the USGS California Water Science Center indicated that the study would include collection of chemical and isotopic data from special test wells.
Ten existing wells will be sampled for major ions, such as calcium, magnesium and sodium, selected trace elements, nutrients and the stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen. Salinity will be determined.
Water from selected wells in areas believed to be impacted by septic discharges also will be analyzed for nitrogen contaminants, and oxygen isotopic composition of the nitrate molecule.
“These data will be used to evaluate the source of nitrate contamination (human and animal sources versus chemical fertilizers). Water from selected wells also will be analyzed for selected tracers of fecal indicator bacteria contamination,” a USGS document states.
Direct-current resistivity surveys, will also be done. Results will be used to determine the thickness and lithology of alluvial deposits in the area.
Review of the existing data of fecal indicator bacteria collected by local agencies from streams, lagoon and near shore water in Malibu will be used for a data base. Also planned for study is the, groundwater exchange with near-shore ocean water. Measurements of groundwater discharge to Malibu Lagoon and collection of bacterial “source tracking” data will be gathered
“Data collected from this study will be analyzed to determine the suitably of techniques utilized in this study for determining the source of nutrients and FIB to Malibu Lagoon and near shore ocean water. Results will be presented in letter format to the City of Malibu at the end of the project,” wrote Eric Reichard, the acting director of USGS CSC.

Publisher’s Notebook

• ‘A Grand Old Flag’ •

ANNE SOBLE

“She’s a grand old flag. She’s a high flying flag. And forever in peace may she wave.” Even when paraphrased as done here, George M. Cohan ever so gloriously celebrates America’s paramount symbol of all that the nation stands for in the eyes of the world. That standing, for the most part, has been for freedom, but rare instances of oppression have been woven into the rubric of a philosophy steeped in morphing definitions of independence and democracy.
The Stars and Stripes may be one of the most readily recognizable symbols of any kind anywhere. The flag is flown at nearly every public location imaginable—not just post offices, government buildings and schools, but all of the other places where Americans gather. It is the visual manifestation of the collective identity of a population that is more diverse than most of the other nationalities in the world.
The American flag is also one of the most successful marketing icons in history. It graces back pockets of blue jeans, front pockets of T-shirts, tennis shoes, scarves, hats, swimwear and other attire; as well as jewelry, watches, dinnerware, throw pillows, linens and an unlimited list of home decor items.
Most Americans have the colors red, white and blue so ingrained in their subconsciousness that they don’t think of them as a design element. Although some sources attribute moral values to the colors, the consensus is they were not perceived that way when the flag was designed. The committee in charge of designing the first flag in 1777 was likely adhering to British tradition in the use of color and striping.
Despite the look of the flag changing more than two dozen times, using different colors has never been considered. From a graphics perspective, the tri-color combination is an attention-getter. It is not surprising that Old Glory is a preferred backdrop in so much advertising, from automotive ads (back when auto companies still had budgets that included advertising) to real estate open house promotions.
Technically, all uses of the flag are regulated by Congressional Acts and Presidential Decrees in the U.S. Flag Code. The Code outlines the requirements for the display and use of the Stars and Stripes. Setting aside the issue of the use of the flag in political statements, which for the most part involves First Amendment rights, what some people might consider disrespectful use of the flag design, such as for nude body art, toilet seat covers, underwear and other uses best left out of a family newspaper, is not generally restricted.
On the Fourth of July, unfurl Old Glory proudly. Plan an impromptu salute, not just to the symbol that was created by sewing together pieces of fabric, but to the fabric of the nation for which it stands.

Malibu Is Top Bidder on Building Slated to Become City Hall

• Current Landlord Indicates Intention to Hold Municipality to the Remainder of Its Lease

BY BILL KOENEKER

Malibu city officials announced this week that they were the only and winning bid at $15 million in an auction to acquire the building that was the former home of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship and currently houses the Malibu Performing Arts Center.
The purchase of the 35,000-square-foot building, accessed off Stuart Ranch Road and located directly behind the current City Hall, will be funded through the issuance of certificates of participation.
Certificates of participation, or COPs, are a commonly used form of lease purchase financing that does not require voter approval. The lease purchase agreement is divided and sold to multiple investors in fractions, similar to stocks.
The COPs will be paid back over a 30-year period from the savings in rent payments, according to a municipal press release, which indicated there will be no extra cost to the taxpayers.
The city is currently paying $800,000 rent annually for the 15,647 square feet it now occupies at the current City Hall.
“This means we will be making payments toward our own building instead of paying rent, and I’m thrilled to have a permanent home for City Hall,” said Mayor Andy Stern. “The long-term cost savings and added value to our residents was the driving force of this purchase.”
There is still three years on the lease, or about $2 million owed in rent to the city’s landlord, Miramar Property Investment.
Miramar’s general partner Patricia Gartland told the Malibu Surfside News that the company was not prepared to let the city out of its lease.
Stern and other city officials are indicating that they are prepared to sublease the building if necessary.
Gartland said, “Any tenant is allowed to sublease, but it has to be pre-approved by Miramar.”
It was a full day of pins and needles last Friday for council members as they gathered in closed session, staying in touch during the auction proceedings with city operatives and attorneys to be able to discuss the upper limit council members were willing to go.
The bidding was supposed to start at 10 a.m. but was halted by 12:30 p.m. when a potential bidder showed up but then was not considered qualified by the judge, who gave the party several hours before the bidding would resume.
The auction resumed at about 2 p.m. when the city made its successful bid and no other bidders returned or showed up.
There is the matter of a 10 day appeal process, but municipal officials seem confident they will win out.
Stern said space planners and architects would immediately begin looking at the building that currently houses a 500-seat theater, recording studio, rehearsal space, banquet facilities and office space.
The mayor, who said he thought the city could move in within six months, said it is hoped the city can utilize some of the production facilities to create a revenue stream. He also indicated that municipal officials do not want to make double payments—to have to pay for the debt acquired and the lease payments on the current offices.
Council members, at this week’s regular session, agreed to a contract with Stradling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth and Stone and Youngberg to provide the services invoved in issuing certificates of participation to fund the acquisition. Those firms were used by the city to provide COPS for the acquisition of Legacy Park.
If the city issues $15 million or less in COPs, the investment banking and underwriting services will be $117,500, according to a staff report.
Since only a small area of the Malibu Performing Arts Center has been built out as office space, major interior design changes will be required.
“In order for the building to be functional as a city hall, the city will need the services of an architect to redesign the interior space. An RFP will have to be issued for architectural design services, according to a staff report.

City Readies New Court Fight with Conservancy

BY BILL KOENEKER

City Attorney Christi Hogin announced at this week’s Malibu City Council meeting that members had unanimously authorized her to proceed with a lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission over its denial of the city’s Local Coastal Program Amendment and approval of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s override LCPA.
Hogin talked about how the SMMC was allowed by the Coastal Commission to utilize “an obscure provision” of the Coastal Act that allowed the Conservancy to submit an LCPA override. “The Coastal Commission made law in Malibu,” said Hogin.
The CCC staff acknowledged it was only the second time in its history it had allowed an override provision and the first was under a different set of circumstances. The city attorney also talked about challenging what she called procedural errors.
When asked after the meeting about legal strategy, Hogin said, “Certainly, a centerpiece of the city’s challenge will be the improper use of the override provision of the Coastal Act.”
But that won’t be the only legal angle. “We have other claims that we will raise as well, including the inadequacy of the environmental review and the violation of due process,” added Hogin.
The city attorney said a new lawsuit will be filed. The municipality had filed a legal complaint months before the commission meeting, but that lawsuit was dismissed after the judge said the city had to complete the administrative process.

School District Is Next to Mount an Assault on City’s Local Coastal Plan

• Claims Municipal Laws on Outdoor Lights Don’t Apply

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

Following in the wake of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s successful override of the City of Malibu’s Local Coastal Program, it appears that the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District is now also attempting to circumvent the municipality’s LCP.
According to the agenda for the June 25 board of education meeting, district staff received a letter from the City of Malibu dated June 10 informing them that the athletic field lighting planned for Malibu High School “is not a permitted use in the Institutional Zone, or any zone within the City of Malibu, with or without a conditional use permit.”
The letter, which addressed the district’s Mitigated Negative Declaration document, raised numerous concerns about the proposed lighting plan.
“The baselines used for assessing potential impacts to aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, noise, recreation and transportation/traffic are inaccurate insofar as the baseline conditions described incorporate unauthorized activities ( i.e., the operation of temporary night lights),” the letter states.
“Any environmental analysis that includes current illegal uses and activities in the baseline...is inconsistent with the California Environmental Quality Act and necessarily skews the analysis towards a finding of no impact.”
The letter repeatedly states that the lighting project would violate the City of Malibu’s Local Coastal Program and Land Use Plan, as well as city lighting and zoning codes.
The letter also challenges the MND’s accuracy regarding the location of neighboring residences—what the district says is 1000 feet, the city says is 550 feet. It also questions the district’s findings on biological resources, noise and air quality impacts and the impact on the “scenic and visual qualities of coastal areas” that are protected under the Coastal Act.
The district’s response to the city’s concerns was to draft a resolution to essentially override the city’s LCP and forge ahead with the plan on the basis that the MHS athletic field “is a classroom facility even though it does not have four walls.”
District staff state in the agenda that “per Government Code section 53094, the California Legislature has authorized school districts to exempt themselves from local zoning codes for classroom facilities.” The report goes on, “It is recommended that the board of education adopt Resolution 08-50 to exempt the Malibu High School Football Lighting Project from the City of Malibu’s zoning code because the project is not a permitted use therein.”
A representative of the City of Malibu’s planning department informed the Malibu Surfside News that the department has not received a coastal application at this time, but he added that he anticipates that the upcoming coastal permit application will be submitted to the city, and said that the city is aware that project’s Coastal Commission appeal is “just around the corner.”
The plan requires an amendment from the California Coastal Commission before it can implemented.
According to the district, MHS has used unpermitted lights for a limited number of nights per year since 2003, when a wealthy patron reportedly donated the funds for rental lights for homecoming night. Plans to install permanent lights as part of the district’s Measure BB improvement plan were revealed in August of 2008. The plans immediately raised the issue of legality when it was disclosed that the school had agreed to a special condition permanently prohibiting temporary or permanent athletic field lights in order to receive a Coastal Development Permit from the Coastal Commission in 2000.
The agenda states, “Unfortunately, neither the district nor the California Coastal Commission can locate the agreement, which may not have been ultimately executed.” However, the district has acknowledged that it has violated the permit’s lighting restriction.
Initially, Measure BB funds were tapped to pursue a Coastal Commission amendment to permit the temporary lights for the 2009-10 season. However, opponents to the project challenged the use of bond money allocated for safety and improvement projects to legalize a project that had never been permitted. Critics estimate that the temporary lighting permit project has cost the district some $100,000 in general funds.
The board will be voting on Thursday to authorize an additional $34,000 to the consultant firm of Cuthbertson and Associates to “expedite the CCC amendment process.”
The board will also be voting to adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration developed by staff and consultants for the temporary lighting project. Once the resolution and MND are in place, the next step will be presenting the appeal to the Coastal Commission. Project supporters are hoping this can be accomplished before the start of the fall football season. Night games are already on the athletic program agenda.
The board of education’s decisions on Thursday are expected to be closely scrutinized by both City of Malibu officials and a growing coalition of Santa Monica parents who claim that Santa Monica schools are being disproportionately singled out for budget cuts and are calling for Malibu schools to shoulder more of the burden of the district’s estimated $12 million shortfall.

Malibu Gets Its First Look at New Marine Life Protection Law

• Lively Debate Is Expected to Follow

BY BILL KOENEKER

Malibuites took part in the first public disussion of what might be in store for the local coastline in terms of possible more stringent conservation measures at a public workshop last week that addresed implementation of the Marine Life Protection Act, 10 years after its passage.
The local part of the process is called the South Coast Project. This is a regional stakeholders group and blue ribbon panel that is developing alternative protection proposals for public comment.
Several plans involving reserve areas and other Marine Protection Areas or MPAs have been developed for Malibu.
Of nearly dozens of arrays recommended for Malibu, there will be several layers of reviews by various groups, which will be subject to public hearings before a final overlay district is recommended to the state Fish and Game Commission for consideration.
Potential MPAs for the Southland, including Malibu, have been submitted for various evaluations. A science advisory team will look at the proposals, as will the state Department of Fish and Game. Guidance is provided by the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force, whose membership includes former Malibu City Council member Ken Kearsley.
A final set of recommendations will be developed by October of 2009 for consideration by the state Fish and Game Commission.
The presentation held last week at City Hall was not part of the formal process and not one of the meetings where folks could give public comment.
The 20-minute presentation that was followed by questions and answers dealt with the history of the MLPA since it was approved by state lawmakers in 1999.
Malibuites learned about the specific goals of the act and the different designations for protection.
The process, in the main, deals with levels of extraction in terms of the taking of marine life.
A State Marine Reserve prohibits all extractive activities, and at the same time may limit access and human activities including walking, swimming, boating and snorkeling. Some diving may be restricted.
A State Marine Conservation Area limits recreational and or commercial extractive activities. In a SMCA, the managing agency may permit research, education and recreational activities, and certain commercial and recreational harvest of marine resources.
A State Marine Park prohibits all commercial extractive activities and potentially some recreational activities. Any human use that would compromise protection of the species of interest, natural community or habitat or geological, cultural or recreational features may be restricted by the managing agency.
All of the protected areas may permit research, education and monitoring.
The process for designating MPAs has been completed for the North Coast and the Central Coast. The Central Coast includes the Northern Channel Islands.
There are several proposals being talked about in Malibu. Attendees were shown maps that can be accessed at the website marinemap.org. The maps show the proposed arrays. Attendees were told most public piers are exempt from the MPAs, but not private piers are not.
Various configurations were shown for Point Dume and the stretch of coast along the coves to Paradise Cove. Some of the proposals showed most or some of Big Dume Cove included in either a SMR or SMCA.
Malibuites were urged to keep their eyes open for a series of open houses held this summer, none in Malibu, where the public will be allowed to review the MPAs, comment on the draft MPAs and provide input on particular areas of interest. The closest open houses will be in Oxnard on July 8 and Marina Del Rey on July 7.

Planning Panel to Hear Both Farmers Market Applicants at Same Meeting

• Attorney for Local Ed Group Raises Issues of Favoritism

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

The City of Malibu Planning Commission last week voted to postpone hearing a request by Malibuites Remy O’Neill and Debra Bianco of the Malibu-based nonprofit Cornucopia Foundation for a Conditional Use Permit to operate a farmers market. The commission will wait until a second applicant completes the necessary paperwork and will hear both applications at the same meeting.
Malibu’s farmers market has a long and complicated history, which was spelled out in the staff report accompanying the meeting agenda. According to the report, the original Cornucopia Foundation market received a Conditional Use Permit from the city planning commission in 2001 to hold a weekly market at the county-owned parking lot of the Malibu courthouse and library. However, in 2004 the market was determined not to be a permitted use. The following year, Cornucopia’s market was suspended.
For the next four years, the market was caught in a catch-22 situation between the city and county, neither apparently willing to issue a permit until the other had.
In 2006, in addition to Cornucopia’s ongoing application attempt, two other organizations—John Edwards of Raw Inspiration, a company that runs a dozen farmers markets throughout the Southland, including the popular Brentwood and Old Town Calabasas farmers markets, and Jeannie Yamatoto of IHCenter, a nonprofit organization that “sponsors projects that are devoted to a vision of ecological and humanitarian stewardship that benefits all of creation,” according to the center’s website—also submitted applications. All three applications were withdrawn in 2008 due to inactivity. Earlier this year, the Cornucopia Foundation was able to contact a representative of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who indicated a City of Malibu CUP should be issued first, enabling the process to move forward.
Cornucopia applied for a CUP with the City of Malibu in March 2009. Raw Inspirations applied shortly after, but apparently its application did not include all of the necessary elements.
“We need to figure out some way to do this,” Commissioner Jeff Jennings stated at the start of the planning meeting. “Ordinarily, if someone wants a CUP they own the property or have a lease. We have a set of competing entities that both want a CUP. If we issue one, it precludes the other, or even worse, it leaves the county to decide.” Jennings moved that the hearing be postponed until the applications could be heard together.
Commissioner John Mazza disagreed, arguing that the market depended on having a summer season, and a delay would put the decision off until the end of summer. “This is a time sensitive thing,” he said. “The applicant has gone through a bunch of hoops. It’s really the county’s decision who to lease it to.”
Planning staff confirmed that the Raw Inspiration application was incomplete, and indicated that the applicant “would have to be proactive” to complete the requirements in time for an Aug. 4 hearing date.
Mazza advocated a “first come, first served” approach, but met with opposition from Commissioner Joan House.
“I want the best farmers market. I don’t want 65 percent produce. I want more, or you end up with a flea market as far as I’m concerned,” House said, echoing a criticism that was levied by many at the previous incarnation of Cornucopia’s farmers market during its final year.
The current Cornucopia Foundation application states, “Merchandise will include fruits, vegetables, nuts, honey, flowers, nursery stock, jams, juices, pickles and olives. Other products that do not fall under the agricultural category, such as baked goods, soaps, perfumed oils, etc. will also be available,” in addition to a variety of prepared foods.
Mazza asked, “If two applications are completed and qualify, is it up to planning to deny one or both?” Assistant city attorney Greg Kovacevich replied that any combination was possible, including approving both applications and assigning different days for the two markets, or leaving the county to determine which applicant it would prefer.
“I would rather leave it to the city,” House said.
The board voted three to two, with Mazza and Commissioner Regan Schaar dissenting, to postpone the item and hear both applications on Aug. 4.
David Solinger, an attorney for Cornucopia, is already questioning the planning commission’s decision. In a letter that was read at the June 22 city council meeting, Solinger stated, “This application was complete, properly agendized, and a properly noticed public hearing. The Planning Department Staff Report recommended approval of their CUP, and the applicant was fully prepared to present at the hearing.
“A hearing on the Cornucopia application was postponed solely to accommodate a request to operate a farmers market by a second applicant, in spite of the fact that the second application remains incomplete. Cornucopia’s application has been deemed complete since May 11, 2009,” the letter continued.
“A review of historical submissions by Cornucopia will disclose that Cornucopia has consistently been placed in a position of overcoming obstacles to a market, while favorable treatment has been granted to others. For five years, Cornucopia has led the way in overcoming the obstacles of any Farmers’ Market operation at the site due to zoning and code issues, not of their making. For five years, Cornucopia has spearheaded the passage of the ZTA resolving the city’s zoning glitch as well as brokering the resolution of impasse between L.A. County and the city for the use of the county property. Now after five hard years of effort, Cornucopia is in a position to legally reopen its farmers market once again.”
Solinger has requested that the council instruct the city attorney to investigate the facts surrounding the planning commission’s postponement of the CUP.