City staff will begin preparing the broad outlines of an ordinance that could require local shopping centers to preserve part of their tenant space for businesses that serve residents rather than visitors.
By Knowles Adkisson / Associate Editor
The Malibu City Council directed staff on Monday to begin writing a retail diversification ordinance that would require shopping centers in Trancas, the Civic Center and possibly Point Dume to set aside a certain amount of tenant space for different commercial uses. It could potentially establish percentage requirements for types of businesses aimed at visitors, such as clothing stores, and those primarily catering to residents, such as cleaners.
Eighty citizens spoke on the item during more than two and a half hours of public comment. Many of the speakers spoke in favor of the ordinance, and were affiliated with Preserve Malibu, a group of residents who banded together last year when Trancas Canyon Nursery was given an eviction notice and rallied support to keep it. Many lamented the difficulty local shops that cater primarily to residents have in staying in business, while high-end shopping stores populate the Civic Center shopping centers.
?We?re not saying no chains, that?s not true, we?re saying we want choices,? one woman said.
Local landlords and many business people were opposed to any such ordinance, arguing it would make it more difficult to fill their vacancies in an already difficult economy.
?It will dramatically increase vacancies in Malibu shopping centers,? said Zan Marquis, owner of the Point Dume Village shopping center.
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich called the Preserve Malibu people ?heroes? and said she strongly favored an ordinance.
Councilmember Jefferson Wagner indicated some support for an ordinance, but noted that the final decisions in terms of writing it would be made after he leaves the council. Wagner?s term expires this year and he is not running for re-election.
Mayor Pro Tem Lou La Monte said he didn?t think an ordinance would be beneficial.
?I don?t think you can legislate free enterprise, or diversity for that matter,? La Monte said. ?I don?t think it?s good for the small businesses or the large businesses. I don?t think it?s a government decision. People make these decisions with their wallets, not by laws.?
Councilmember John Sibert, who faces re-election April 10, said, ?I?ve been kind of a free market person for some time. But an unrestrained free market doesn?t always work.?
Mayor Laura Rosenthal said she believed the most important area that Malibu residents cared about was the Civic Center. Rosenthal advocated preparing a development plan for the Civic Center that would orient it according to residents?, rather than visitors?, wishes.
The council voted to direct staff to begin preparing an ordinance that could then be debated at the Zoning Ordinance Revisions and Enforcement Subcommittee (ZORACES), and later by the Planning Commission.
The council recommended the inclusion of a limit of 20 percent for the amount of a shopping center?s tenants that are national chain stores.
Under the proposed ordinance, banks, grocery chains and offices for architectural and law firms, among other business offices, would not be part of the limit on chain stores.
Other City Council actions:
-Voted to send a letter to State Sen. Fran Pavley opposing Assembly Bill 317, which would exempt mobile home owners in California from local rent control agreements if the mobile home is not the owner?s primary residence. The bill passed the Assembly in January and faces an upcoming vote in the State Senate.
-Voted to have city staff work to develop a partnership with the Marine Biology Department at California State University, Northridge that would involve the city with research conducted by its students and professors in Malibu waters.
-Voted to amend the city?s plumbing code on graywater uses. Check upcoming editions of The Malibu Times for more information on the changes.