Since Malibu was granted cityhood 26 years ago — and even before — Patt Healy has been looking out for the people who live here and our environment. Healy has spent countless hours poring over government and planning reports affecting Malibu’s citizenry. Because of her legal background, she’s been able to discover small details that can have bigger effects. When calling attention to issues others may have missed before, Healy has been able to help the city stop or alter projects that have affected Malibu’s traffic, ecology and natural beauty.
Recently, in an effort to help preserve Malibu’s delicate rural environment, Healy reviewed lengthy pages of agendas and environmental impact reports regarding the Trancas Park plan. Healy was the only citizen to discover the original plan called for the Trancas ridgeline to be cut by 28 feet. According to a Malibu resident who nominated Healy for a 2016 Dolphin Award, the altering of the ridgeline is not what the people wanted. Subsequently, plans were modified to preserve the ridgeline.
Overall, Healy said she sees her mission as protecting Malibu’s character in the face of forces of change.
“I point out when developers ignore building codes designed to protect Malibu,” Healy said. “I want to keep Malibu special.”
As a proponent of slow growth, Healy has made similar efforts regarding community projects throughout the city. Her time consuming effort of legal research and presenting valid cases has helped to influence government decisions for which she has advocated.
“She hasn’t merely come to governmental meetings to complain about bad decisions and bad circumstances, but she has come prepared with legal arguments that would help the decision makers to take a constructive course of action,” Lynn Norton, who nominated Healy for the award, wrote. “It seems like she’s on top of everything.”
Healy has also been instrumental in preventing ridgeline development in Encinal Canyon and for lobbying the city of Malibu to require an EIR for a hillside development in Latigo Canyon that later resulted in the developer backing out.