Farmers Market Sparks Fervor at City Meeting

BY BILL KOENEKER

A standing room only crowd listened at the Malibu City Council meeting Monday evening, as members of Cornucopia pleaded with council members to help them facilitate a farmers market.
“We are here to recruit you for a farmers market. All it requires is a Conditional Use Permit. The county can give us a lease next week,” said Cornucopia Vice President Remy O’Neill. “We are not here for a hand out or a bail out. We are here for a piece of paper.”
The loud vocal show of support forced Mayor Andy Stern to call for quiet and suggested folks shake their hands rather than yell and applaud.
Children were brought up to the dais holding the awards Cornucopia has won over the years. “It looks like we gave you a commendation,” said Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich.
“Will you give us a permit?” asked Cornucopia President Debra Bianco. “The county has said yes. The school said yes, Kids said yes. Please, it is up to you. We can do this in thirty days.”
The pair was followed by more supporters, one who read a letter from the principal of Juan Cabrillo Elementary School endorsing Cornucopia.
Principal Barry Yates, in the letter to council members, wrote, “An important part of our green effort is the unique and ongoing relationship we have developed with Cornucopia. They have been an educational partner and resource for all of our children. Juan Cabrillo believes in the Farm to Market to Fork Program and the revenues derived through the program would be used to support and expand the educational experience at Cornucopia for Cabrillo’s children. This is why I support the granting of a CUP for Cornucopia. Reopening the farmers market will benefit our school's environmental mission.”
Another supporter told the council of 1400 signatures gathered in support of the group getting permits for a market.
One parent said she brought her children to the city council meeting because she could not explain to them why the market was closed and hoped the council could shed some light on that.
Although the matter was not on the agenda, Councilmember Sharon Barovsky asked about the status of the permit. “I am confused. When did you apply for permit?” she asked.
O’Neill said the application was submitted in 2005. “We were told the city was talking to the county and [the permit] was taken off the table,” O’Neill answered.
Barovsky said she wanted to know who in the county had told Cornucopia a lease could go to them. “Who told you that?” she asked. “Susan Nissman [Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s aide],” answered Bianco.
“Put in your application and your problems are solved,” concluded Barovksy.
The chambers erupted into shouts of thank you and noise as Cornucopia supporters apparently took Barovsky’s word to heart.
The problems between the operators of the farmers market and the city began years ago, when the city indicated it had wrongly zoned the parking lot at the county-owned Civic Center complex where the market was held and the market would need to be halted until the zoning snafu was resolved. After the zoning was changed, then problems surfaced because the county indicated it would not hand out a lease until the city issued a CUP. However, the city insisted it could not issue a CUP until the organization had a lease in hand. The situation produced a stalemate and Malibu has been without a farmers market since then.