Malibu youth are underserved, and a lack of basic commercial services are two of 10 “hottest topics” in survey conducted by Malibu Coastal Vision.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
Malibu residents are upset about the lack of basic commercial services in the city and say the local youth are underserved. Those statements were included in a document written by Malibu Coastal Vision, the nonprofit group formed by the city to create a long-range plan for Malibu, that was introduced at last week’s City Council quarterly review meeting.
Malibu Coastal Vision Chairman Rich Davis told the council that the 26-page document, “What Residents Say About Malibu,” included opinions gathered from 350 residents through roundtable discussions and surveys. Based on the information gathered, Malibu Coastal Vision decided upon a list of “Malibu’s Ten Hottest Topics.”
In addition to the two stated above, the other topics are a dislike for the regulatory climate within the city and the oversight exercised by the California Coastal Commission, a dissatisfaction with the status of traffic, a desire for the creation of a community center and other community gathering places, a need for the city to take faster action on projects and requests, a deep concern by the community over economic vitality issues with respect to the finances and the fiscal condition of the city government. Value for local control, and a desire for the city to take a more active role in protecting and enhancing basic local business services and a community recognition of the deficiencies in services and infrastructure such as law enforcement, parks and road maintenance are listed as well.
Malibu Coastal Vision also released information on various questions involving what people like about the city and what they would like to see happen with it. The complete document can be found at the group’s Web site, www.malibucoastalvision.com.
Malibu Coastal Vision will release a more extensive and detailed document next month.
Davis said he would like to see the city take over the visioning process. He advised the city to hire a staff member for this process. Davis estimated the cost for this would be about $250,000.
Also at the meeting, the council decided that every fourth Monday of the month (the second council meeting each month), an update would be given on the progress of the development of the Chili Cook-Off site, which will eventually be called Malibu Legacy Park. This would include the applications for and acquisition of grants and the progress toward creating an environmental impact report for the future park and the proposed wastewater/storm water treatment program associated with its development.
Additionally, the council voted to initially waive the approximately $6,300 fee for the Cornucopia Foundation to get a conditional-use permit for its Farmers’ Market, as Cornucopia requested. But the council said the foundation must pay the fee within a year and has to provide a market booth for the city. In that booth, Malibu-related products could be sold with all the profit going to the city.
In other action, the council authorized emergency repair work on the west end of Rambla Vista, which, according to public works officials, has excessive slide debris that has become over-saturated and is creeping into traffic. A city document issued by Maintenance Manager Richard Calvin said the city would be responsible for clearing the debris to make room for emergency vehicles at a cost of up to $10,000 per day unless something is done.
Interim Public Works Director Granville “Bow” Bowman said this week that the project was estimated to cost more than $1.4 million, but the city received a bid to do the work for approximately $800,000. He said work would begin next week and take up to 60 days to complete.
The city must pay for the project initially, but the Federal Emergency Management Authority will pick up most of the tab later.
The problem on Rambla Vista is a result of the heavy rainstorms in January 2005.
Lastly, the council got a preview of the proposed budget for the 2006-07 Fiscal Year. It includes $16.5 million in General Fund expenditures and $11.7 million of capital improvement projects. A public hearing on the budget will take place on May 22.