City Attorney, Christi Hogin addressed the planning commissioners at their Monday night meeting, saying she was there to resurrect the Ralph M. Brown Act Public Hearing Procedures and Guidelines.
She articulated the functions and roles of findings, disclosure and ex parte communications and also addressed the problems that arise from taking materials submitted late to the commissioners, as well as discussing planning issues with residents outside of official meetings.
Hogin told the commissioners to encourage people to present written evidence early so the commissioners will have time to pore over the information. She said that if all else fails, commissioners can always continue an item if they feel they have not been allowed proper time to investigate a proposal.
Stressing the importance of applying laws fairly and understanding how to work with evidence, Hogin cautioned the commissioners, saying, “Personally, I discourage having ex parte communications. Ask people who communicate with you to put it all in writing so you know everyone will be getting the same information.”
Commissioner Richard Carrigan respectively told Hogin that he disagreed with her, warning against taking ex parte communication. “When I listen to people, I take the responsibility to record what is disclosed to me,” said Carrigan. “I am willing to take the risk of listening to someone because I know I will be responsible with what they tell me. It is worth it to me.”
Also on the agenda for Monday’s meeting was the Coastal Development Permit Exemption on an application for the construction of a new two-story, 3,833-square-foot, single-family home on the property on Rambla Pacifico. The new home will replace a residence burned in the 1993 Malibu-Topanga fire. The commissioners voted unanimously to adopt planning commission resolution No. 02-22, approving the proposed project.
“It’s nice to see a property redeveloped, especially after such a tragedy,” Commissioner Robert Adler said. “This is the type of proposal I like to see because it conforms to Malibu’s Interim Zoning Ordinance [IZO].”
Additionally at the meeting, two new city planners, Eric Lopez and Masa Alkire, were introd2uced. Lopez recently worked for the City of Fullerton and Alkire was a land use planner for the state of Hawaii before coming to Malibu.