Publisher’s Notebook

• Malibu Lumber Yard: Time for Clarification •

ANNE SOBLE

The Malibu Lumber and Hardware sign still stands on the shoulder of Pacific Coast Highway near Cross Creek Road. It is a mocking reminder of what was and what could have been, if the City of Malibu had not been boxed into a legal and financial corner when the terms of the acquisition of the property where the sign stands were dictated to it.

Some municipal officials can be expected to have their judgment questioned, if the recent reports swirling about the Malibu Lumber Yard center are corroborated. The people of Malibu were given many assurances of the wisdom of putting in a boutique-oriented shopping mall that was going to provide the financial wherewithal for the core of the area’s commercial and public services planning.

The community was told a major factor in the decision to go the MLY route was that the owners would be local residents who would be part of the city’s commercial future for the proverbial long haul. Now national media are reverberating with statements that the owners might have intended to sell the project from day one. Taken in or out of context, such statements are leading to questions of whether the center is in trouble and the city council is in danger of winding up with designer oeuf on its face.

It is time for all of the parties to clarify the status of the center. Is the problem more than wanting an infusion of capital? Is MLY for sale? Although the city has a say about whom the center might be sold to, what if there is only one viable option? Could the city become entangled in a situation that not only does little to fulfill municipal financial obligations, but also disconnects it from the residents even more?

Driving by MLY’s concrete facade facing PCH, one sees windows with strip-mall type banners and “for lease” signs within feet of each other. The uninviting gray may suit the eclecticism of those who espouse a free-for-all of local styles and colors, but does it say “Malibu?”

The needs and wants of Malibuites have never been a part of decision-making regarding the old lumberyard site. The property’s development might have been a critical component of community-building. It could have complimented what already exists in the neighboring centers, instead of replicating it.

Instead, locals must travel west, north or east for basic necessities. Since they are already in their vehicles, many consolidate their to-do lists and take their valuable sales tax dollars to the coffers of other cities. Hopefully, the clarification process will indicate that it is not too late to turn this around.