Coastal Commission will look at city LCP
Chuck Damm, the California Coastal Commission’s senior deputy director, sent a letter to Mayor Ken Kearsley earlier this month that said the city can submit its Draft Local Coastal Program as proposed amendments for the LCP the commission has already written for the city. The city has been working on drafting an LCP for more than a year, and is expected to vote on a final copy of its draft at the
April 12 council meeting.
“We urge the City Council to carefully consider and explain how any proposed amendments to the policies and implementation standards in the commission-adopted LCP will result in a plan that remains consistent with the Coastal Act’s resource protection and public access policies,” Damm wrote.
The completed document could also be put up against the Coastal Commission-drafted LCP in an election if the city is able to get that right from the courts. Malibu was defeated in a case at trial level in which it sued for the right to put the LCP before voters, and the case is now before the Court of Appeals. However, councilmembers and the city attorney have said that they would prefer it if Malibu were able to successfully amend the Coastal Commission-drafted LCP to create a document both sides could agree on.
Urgent cry for help
The California Wildlife Center is sending an urgent plea for donations in the face of critically low levels of operating funds.
Due to rising costs of insurance, facility maintenance and the inc rease in wildlife patients, the center is in desperate need of monetary funding to continue to maintain the wildlife hospital’s ability to care for the sick, injured and orphaned wild animals.
The California Wildlife Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife.
Donations can be made online at www.californiawildlifecenter.org, or mailed to California Wildlife Center, P.O. Box 2022, Malibu, CA 90265
New passport acceptance hours
The hours of operation for the Passport Acceptance Office at City Hall have changed to Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., and Friday by appointment only. City Hall is located at 23815 Stuart Ranch Road.
Skateboarding competition
The second annual Spring Break Skateboarding Competition takes place on April 17 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Papa Jack’s Skate Park. All boys and girls under the age of 18 can participate in the event. The entry fee is $10, and competitors must come with their parents to register at Bluffs Park, located at 24250 PCH, by April 16. For more information, call 317.1364.
It’s auction time
Members of the Advocates for Public Interest Law will be holding their annual auction on April 6 at the Pepperdine University School of Law. The annual event will include a silent auction that will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in room SR-1. Additionally, a live auction will take place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the law school atrium. Funds generated from the auction will be used to fund summer fellowships for Pepperdine Law students taking unpaid, public-interest internships as well as other charitable projects.
Tickets will be available at the door for $5 and includes lunch. Anyone interested in attending or donating money should contact Michael Moss at 266.0821 or Rebecca Dunlap at 818.878.9674.
Santa Monica bans smoking at beach
The Santa Monica City Council recently voted to ban all smoking on public beaches in the city and partially prohibit smoking on the Santa Monica Pier.
In addition to banning beach smoking, the ordinance also forbids smoking at bus stops, other public waiting areas and within 20 feet of all exits and entrances of public buildings. The law also establishes a new system to enforce the ban on smoking in the specified areas.
The decision comes less than a year after the council voted to outlaw smoking in public parks. Initially, the proposed ordinance banned smoking entirely on the Santa Monica Pier, but after public testimony, the council was forced to amend the ordinance. The law prohibition on smoking is confined to only designated, fireproofed areas on the pier.
Construction ahead
Over the next six years, California’s highway and mass transit projects will receive $22.5 billion thanks to the recent approval of a shrunken spending bill by the House Transportation Committee.
Nationwide, the committee approved $275 billion in a transportation reauthorization bill to deal with the nation’s most problematic transit systems.
The bill includes the upgrading of the 101 Freeway/Kanan Road interchange in Agoura Hills, costing $5 million. Also, funds will be used for a $3 million project to repair or replace the tunnel linings on Kanan, Kanan Dume and Malibu Canyon roads. Additionally, $1 million will be spent to acquire land to mitigate impacts to natural habitats and wetlands caused by highway projects near the Santa Monica National Mountains Recreation Area.