Malibu City Council Monday voted unanimously to authorize Mayor Laura Rosenthal to send letters of support toward placing the surf area from Malibu Pier through Malibu Lagoon State Beach on the National Register of Historic Places.
The 4-0 vote supports a push by nonprofit Sea of Clouds to place the stretch of sand and surf on the register as a way to preserve it for future generations. Council Member John Sibert did not attend the Monday, April 25, meeting.
The nomination letter sent by Rosenthal would be toward the first step of a three-step process to classify Surfrider as an official “historic place,” the first of its kind in the United States.
“If successful, this would represent the first mainland surfing area protected under a legal mandate,” reads a letter Michael Blum of Sea of Clouds sent to the city pitching the idea.
Blum came to the Monday meeting to describe the significance of the protection.
“This is a fairly new idea, of matching historic preservation with environmental conservation,” Blum said.
The idea was supported by Council Member Skylar Peak, who initially brought the suggestion before council, as well as several members of the public.
“A lot of towns claim to be ‘surf city,’ and this and that, but Surfrider Beach is where surf culture started,” Malibu local and planning commissioner John Mazza told council members.
Peak said he thought it was council’s “duty” to preserve the beach, an idea with which Rosenthal sympathized.
“I think it’s a great idea; I wholeheartedly support it,” Rosenthal said. “I think it’s a natural progression, and should have probably been done a long time ago. But I’m glad it’s being done now.”