Blue Ribbon Panel Is Considered for First
Step toward View Protection Law
• Council Members Say They Want
to Hear from All Sides
Having declared the creation of a view
protection ordinance their number one priority, the Malibu City
Council is expected next week to discuss formation of a blue
ribbon advisory committee on a citywide ordinance.
In April, the voters were asked to give
their input into whether the city should undertake such a
measure and the electorate overwhelmingly advised the council
they wanted to see such a law on the books.
Council members subsequently made view
preservation their number one priority and decided to form a
blue ribbon panel to include as many individuals as possible in
the early formative stages of an ordinance.
Municipal officials are apparently using
the Malibu County Estates process as a guide. After the city
declared its intentions to create an ordinance for the
neighborhood, city staff and the MCE homeowners association
worked closely to craft a measure.
However, in the final days of passage and
subsequent enactment, critics came forward with numerous
objections to how the law was written.
To head that off this time, city planners
are suggesting that a blue ribbon committee could be very
helpful in collecting and evaluating community concerns on a
citywide law.
“If the committee is formed, it is
recommended that at least one member of the committee be a
licensed landscape architect or biologist. It may also benefit
the committee to include a land use attorney or professional
planner,” wrote the city’s associate planner
Richard Mollica, who emphasized that large committees
“pose difficulties in establishing meeting dates and may
also present challenges in reaching consensus. Additionally,
staff is suggesting that community members seeking to serve on
the committee be required to complete and submit a city
commission/committee member
application.”
The council could then decide on an
appropriate number of committee members and the composition of
the panel from the applications, according to Mollica, who
added staff is recommending that each council member appoint a
committee member and that two at-large members be appointed by
the entire council.
At the same time, Mayor Pamela Conley
Ulich wants to see if there is any interest by the council in
forming a blue ribbon committee to discuss potential uses
of property at Point Dume that city officials are contemplating
acquiring.
The city is considering the purchase of the
property as a potential site for a city hall, senior center,
library, teen center or ball fields.
The mayor is requesting that the council
consider forming the panel to discuss the feasibility of the
various potential uses of the property, if indeed it is
acquired.
The announcement that the city might
acquire the almost 10-acre parcel located north of the
intersection of Heathercliff Road and Pacific Coast Highway has
already generated considerable controversy.
Critics contend the rural nature of the
property is not conducive to municipal/institutional uses and
that the mayor’s efforts are detracting from the
proposed plans for other city projects and may even sabotage them.
However, supporters suggest the site would
be ideal for a teen center or possible satellite library.
The financial realities suggest a library
or city hall might be more feasible since there is money that
was already set aside for those two uses by city leaders in
recent years, and both would have an annual revenue
stream.
