City Negotiates Point Land Buy Terms
• How to Use 10-Acre Site Could Prove
Contentious
On a 4-0 vote, with Councilmember John
Sibert absent, the Malibu City Council last week approved
sending City Manager Jim Thorsen back to the negotiating table
over possible acquisition of a nearly 10-acre lot in the Point
Dume area.
The property is located on the landside of
Pacific Coast Highway near Heathercliff Road. Tucked
between agricultural acreage and a theatrical production
company, the parcel owned by a longtime Malibu family is listed
at $4.9 million. The site is currently used as a plant nursery.
There was a mixed reaction when the public
commented about the proposal at Tuesday’s meeting.
Land use consultants, who represent the
owners of the La Paz, who are currently seeking a development
agreement with the city that includes a city hall on its
shopping center property, said the city’s acquisition of
raw land and subsequent buildout would not be cost effective
for the municipality.
“I feel like the jilted bride. You
have not had a hearing for La Paz, and you are already flirting
with a young new property on the westside of Malibu,”
quipped Don Schmitz, who represents the landowners.
However, it was Susan Tellem, who recently
ran unsuccessfully for city council, who posed the strongest
opposition to the west Malibu purchase. “The property is
rural, you should not be rezoning it and putting cement
there,” she said, while citing traffic safety and other
issues.
“Turn it over to the people. It is a
fertile piece of property. We could grow our own fruits and
vegetables as a cooperative. We could look at all the concrete
of a city hall, or [look at] vegetables and fruits,” Tellem said.
However, Daniel Stern, the president of the
Boys and Girls Club of Malibu, urged the city to explore
acquiring the land and partnering with his group to provide a
teen center. He said the group’s current location
couldn’t accommodate highschoolers. “This
place is a terrific idea. A teen center has to be
someplace. This is a wonderful opportunity worth
pursuing,” he said.
A Pepperdine University library
spokesperson told the council that if the site is chosen for a
library, the city would have the support of the school’s
library for programs and assistance. “We could
partner with the city for different programs and
offer library resources,” said Amy Hunter.
Whether the site would be ideal for a
library, a city hall, teen center or ball fields, as another
speaker advocated, caused a debate among council members.
“I will not support a main
library up at that end,” insisted Councilmember
Sharon Barovsky, who said she was not opposed to
buying the property, but rather was opposed to “how we
are going about it. What is the price? I want to see it all in
writing. Let’s stop and think about what we are doing. It
could be appropriate for a teen center. There is a logic to
that. The schools are up there.”
Councilmember Andy Stern said he was
“fundamentally and totally opposed” to the
proposal. “It is just wrong, It is not what we decided to
do. I don’t think the use belongs there,” he said.
Councilmember Jefferson Wagner said,
as the newest member on the council, he was seeking answers
rather than expressing opinions. He wanted to know how much
space the city needed for a city hall and was told “at
least 30,000 square feet,” by the city manager. Wagner
asked how much space was being taken up now at City Hall and
was given the figure of 17,000 square feet.
The council member also wanted to know how
much building area the Point Dume site could provide. Thorsen
said he did not know for certain, but it could possibly be
60,000 square feet to 80,000 square feet.
Wagner was also told it might cost anywhere
from $400 to $600 per square foot to put up a building. He
asked if whatever the city plans could be built, or installed,
in phases and was told yes.
Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich said it was good
the council is discussing what have been the city’s
priorities for years and reminded her colleagues that the
city currently is paying rent for a city hall and in the next
10 years would spend up to $8.5 million in rent.
“We might as well take the money and
burn it,” she said as Barovsky interjected, “Or
take La Paz’s offer” of a development agreement
that includes donated city hall quarters.
The mayor said the city is currently
planning on spending over $5 million for two parks in Las
Flores and Trancas Canyon and noted that neither have ball
fields for regulation play.
“We can walk away, and we can do
nothing. I would rather see the council explore options. This
is a step in the right direction,” she said.
Barovsky replied, “I’ve never
heard of buying property and not knowing what the use is for. I
agree with Susan Tellem and Don Schmitz. We have to decide what
it is for.”
Conley Ulich was asked what she wanted to
see built on the property, but the mayor demurred and said
she wants to know what the community wants. “I will get
more comfortable when I know what the teens want,”
she said.
After a brief debate about where the
population center of Malibu is, Wagner said the population
growth is in the west. The council agreed with a Barovsky
motion to instruct the city manager to meet with the property
owners and come back with a price in writing. “We can do
that in closed session,” Thorsen said.
Administrative Services Director Reva
Feldman suggested the council think in terms of what uses
are revenue neutral and which are not, for example, uses like a
library or city hall.
If the city separates from the county
library system and purchases the vacant land, municipal
officials could build a library using $2 million set aside by
the county and then would receive an ongoing stream of revenue
from property taxes earmarked for the library.
Similarly, if a city hall is built,
there’s a nearly $2 million building fund earmarked
for a new city hall and the revenue stream for paying back
acquisition and construction costs could come from replacing
the rent the city currently pays at about $700,000 per year. No
nest eggs or revenue streams exist for a teen center or other
uses.
