On Sept. 27, the Malibu City Council will be taking one of the most important votes ever for the future of Malibu. They will be voting on what to do with the Local Coastal Plan.
For those who may have forgotten, the LCP is, in essence, the zoning plan for all of Malibu. It dictates what can be built (including remodels or disaster rebuilds) where things can be built (e.g., whether the Chili Cook Off Site will be a park or filled with hotels and restaurants), what buildings will look like, and a myriad of other things.
Because we are a beach city, the California Coastal Commission must approve our LCP. Unfortunately, Malibu took so long to present its LCP to the Commission that the CCC persuaded the Legislature to pass a bill that allowed the CCC, not the city, to write our plan. This had never been done before even though other cities have taken a great deal of time to present their LCPs.
The Commission took the legislative bill as a mandate to be punitive to Malibu. They inserted things in the LCP that no city in its right mind would agree to.
Many Malibu citizens felt that such a draconian plan should at least be voted on by the people since they, and the city, would have to live with it.
Now our City Council must decide if it should appeal to the California Supreme Court. If they don’t, then the LCP will immediately go into effect. No vote of the people, just bang-there it is.
This is not fair. We are sending troops halfway around the world to fight for democracy and we cannot even have it in our little town.
The council is caught in the crossfire. The CCC has refused to allow the city to issue building permits while the appeal is going on. Those in the pipeline are screaming, but there is a much bigger issue here. If we accept the LCP, the city will have to live with it and all the lawsuits that it will generate.
The city needs your input. I urge you to attend the meeting next Monday and/or to write, call or fax your Council and tell them they must appeal this wrongful decision and fight for our right to decide on the law that will govern you and our city for years to come.
It’s only fair.
E.Barry Haldeman
Californians for Local Coastal Planning