Ex-Council Members Offer Advice on How to Succeed with Coastal Commission

• Suggest that a Paid Lobbyist Might Win Over Commissioners on Issue of Public versus Private Recreation

BY BILL KOENEKER

Two former city council members came to the first meeting of the newly installed Malibu City Council—last week’s quarterly session— with some advice about how to influence the members of the California Coastal Commission.

Jeff Jennings and Joan House came to the meeting to advocate that the council should put on a “full court press,” trying to change the coastal panel’s decision against allowing community ball fields on the donated land for the Crummer fields development agreement.

Jennings and House maintained that the council could hire a lobbyist to get them in the door and then have some of the council members go talk to the commissioners on a one-on-one basis.

“Spend the money on a lobbyist, go face to face with the commissioners. That is what we did,” said Jennings.

The city council indicated that it might just do that. Next week, it is scheduled to consider hiring a consultant at a cost of $20,000 to communicate directly with the commission to request the fields on the Winter Mesa site be designated for active recreation and also to decide whether to select two council members to form a Winter Mesa Ad Hoc Committee.

Jennings told council members that having the municipal staff talk to members of the coastal staff is not the same as city lawmakers meeting personally with coastal panelists.

Jennings said the commission staff successfully presents its viewpoint to the commission, but often that’s the only perspective that the commissioners hear.

Jennings said the direct approach of lobbying the commission proved very effective in acquiring Bluffs Park for ball fields.

House said she echoed Jenning’s take on the matter and added that it can be surprising how uninformed some commissioners might be on a certain topic or point of contention.

“They do have an attitude about Malibu, but we sat down with them,” House said.                                          

Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich said she had little success attempting to lobby the commission by herself during the city’s fight with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy over Coastal Commission approval of overnight camping.

“I tried to meet with the commissioners, but nobody would meet with me, including [Malibu resident] Sara Wan,” said Conley Ulich.

She said the head of the SMMC, Joe Edmiston, has little trouble lobbying the commissioners, including providing a ride in a helicopter, so commission members could get an overview before voting on proposals.