The Malibu Planning Commission will discuss a final draft of a citywide view preservation and restoration ordinance at its regular meeting Monday night.
The commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall council chambers.
Planning staff has spent more than four months drafting the final version of the ordinance, after the City Council voted unanimously to approve the concept of view preservation and restoration in June.
According to the staff report:
“Preservation is for preserving views from February 13, 2012 or a date thereafter.
The City (Planning Commission) is involved in making a determination. The determination is then enforced by the City.
• Restoration is for restoring a view that existed as far back as March 29, 1991 or the date the property owner acquired the property, or date of Certificate of Occupancy, whichever is more recent. The City would not be involved in making a determination; however, the Planning Director may offer anon-binding advisory opinion. Property owners would have to initiate a civil suit in order to enforce the rights provided in the proposed ordinance.”
Under the ordinance, neighbors would settle view restoration conflicts through a “private right of action” program first through informal discussions, then arbitration or mediation and, if that fails, a civil lawsuit. Should the dispute progress to a lawsuit, the city would issue an advisory opinion in favor of one of the parties, but would not enforce the opinion.
Also according to the staff report:
• The ordinance, as originally adopted and with the proposed ZTA, only pertains to view obstructed by foliage. Views obstructed by new structures are protected by language in the Malibu Municipal Code.
• The ordinance does not impact Malibu Country Estates or supplant any private covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) anywhere in the city which may place more restrictive controls on the growth of foliage.