Ten years ago, after voting for local control, the people of Malibu began to formulate the new city’s General Plan only to find the process dominated by extremists determined to prevent us from taking charge of our own future. Early on, a few locals backed by well-financed outside interests defined Malibu as too scenic, too sensitive and much too dangerous a place to allow people to live. They wrote into the General Plan that the City was subservient to the needs of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and actually set out as its mission “the gradual elimination of the built environment” (that is “your house and mine”).
Much to the dismay of the bullies and thanks to years of grueling work by many local citizens, the General Plan that was finally adopted reaffirmed our commitment to maintaining local control through an elected city government.
Now many of the same bullies are back, trying to take by force what they could not get ten years ago. The Coastal Commission, armed with skewed science and a statewide PR campaign that characterizes Malibu as an enclave of wealthy scofflaws, is here to rewrite our laws and take Malibu apart. Its paradoxical two-part message is the same as it was before: (1) Malibu is too environmentally sensitive a place to allow you people to live and (2) Malibu needs to be opened up to serve as the recreational playground for the visiting public.
Suddenly almost everyone is in or near a newly designated “sensitive habitat area” (ESHA) and the Coastal Commission is dictating that we should not be allowed near these environmental treasures. We need to be clear about the issue: ESHAs are not about protecting nature. They are a way to take away rights. In planner terms, the new ESHA next door provides the ‘nexus’ or the legal connection that allows the Coastal Commission to take property rights as a condition of doing anything to a home. Want to add a bedroom or build a tool shed? Give the Commission an easement through your property to the ESHA. Want to fence in your pets and keep the coyotes out? Provide a public hiking trail through your backyard. Want to repave your driveway? Give the Commission an easement to any ‘natural’ areas of your property, areas that you can no longer use but they can develop in the future as they see fit (while you continue to pay the property taxes).
The new Coastal Plan written for us by the Commission is not about enforcing uniform coastal policy as it is applied the length of California. It is a unique nasty payback that has been hand crafted just for us. It is being forced upon us and its adoption will require that we rewrite many of our current laws in its image.
With due respect to those working to find compromise and amend the wording of the Plan, it is clear that the Coastal Commission is not going to compromise. Their goal is to take away local control and take our city apart on a case-by-case basis, to make Malibu the subservient creature to the Commission and the Parks Conservancy.
The solution lies in challenging the process that allows a few outsiders free rein to force upon us their personal agenda. The problem is clear. Even high school history students can cite the reasons why in this country we do not let the creators of laws also serve as judge, jury and jailer.
Don Wilkins