In response to recent events that put the California Coastal Commission at the helm of the decision-making process for coastal issues in Malibu, the City Council is evaluating the feasibility of litigation to overturn bill AB 988 signed by Gov. Gray Davis.
But at the same time, the city is attempting to work together with the commission, appointing two representatives to work with them as they draft a Local Coastal Plan (LCP) for the City of Malibu.
The Coastal Commission has been assigned to draft a LCP on behalf of the city, which exceeded the time limit to do so itself.
Despite the political ricochets that have delayed the city’s ability to draft a LCP in the past, the council still believes it is best able to decide coastal issues for Malibu.
Since its inception, the city has dealt with other matters, such as fires and floods, and a LCP had not been a priority, said a councilmember.
Councilmembers feel that Malibu was unjustly targeted as the County of Los Angeles and many other coastal cities do not have local coastal plans either.
During a closed session before the public meeting on Oct. 10, the council instructed City Attorney Steven Amerikaner to bring back a report indicating whether or not the city should begin litigation against the Coastal Commission.
This report will be decided upon at the next council closed session meeting on Monday.
Meanwhile, Sharon Barovsky and Jeff Jennings will act as liaisons to the coastal plan process.
“I don’t know why it took so long, but these jobs keep expanding,” said Jennings as he spoke about a task force that was implemented to create an LCP unsuccessfully in the past.
One downside of the commission’s involvement is that it adds another layer of bureaucracy for Malibu residents, said Jennings.
“It’s important to get this done,” he said.
He also said he thinks the process will go on just as it would have if the bill had not been signed.
“I expect the city will come up with a plan that the commission will approve,” he said.
In other matters, city staff proposed simplified stringline rules.
The purpose of the stringline rule is to limit development along the coastline, but the rules were often unclear for beachfront residents who need help understanding the boundaries.
The concern of beachfront residents resulted in a combination effort where architects, city staff and an engineers’ committee, as well as others, agreed to remove the exception areas. The new rule will allow a width of 30 percent of the structure to project seaward.
The City will now take predominant projections of neighboring structures and use those predominant points as guidelines for establishing the limits of decks, dwellings and protective devices of neighboring properties. As before, hardship cases may have an option to alter the stringline rule at the discretion of the planning director.
“It’s like seeing a child come out of college,” said Councilmember Ken Kearsley as the council approved the request unanimously.
The stringline zoning ordinance amendment will include the addition of a definition for decks. The definition states that a deck is an open porch or platform, which projects more than two feet from the adjacent structure or is freestanding and at least two feet in width.
Section three of the amendment will facilitate the stringline guidelines procedures.
The City Council also awarded a contract for the design of Las Flores Park. Community Works Design Group will develop plans for a neighborhood park and a 2,000 square foot community building on city-owned property along Las Flores Creek on Las Flores Canyon Road.
The council also heard comments from a resident who has lived in Malibu since 1955.
This resident stated that older Malibu residents feel pushed out by newer residents who build projects on neighboring properties. She also said they [older residents] fall through the cracks of the notification process.
She explained she was not notified about a project taking place next door to her. She said that the structure in question will block sunlight to her property and it will enhance the neighbor’s property value while it will reduce hers.
She came to ask the council for possible solutions.
The council responded by instructing Planning Director Barry Hogan to speak with the resident. They will also review notification methods, verifying that proper notification be given to citizens as required by the Interim Zoning Ordinance.
In a later interview, Hogan said this resident’s address was on the mailing list. He concurred that the lot in question is not as large as others in the area, and that under today’s guidelines, this lot would be too small for the type of development already on it. However, it was a grandfathered structure.
Hogan also said, after looking into the matter in more detail, sunlight does not appear to be blocked.
He added that Malibu’s notification requirements go beyond the state’s minimum standards.
In a final matter, the council awarded a contract to build an electric vehicle charging station, although they would have preferred to have it at a different location. The charging station will be built in the vicinity of the library in the Civic Center area because the grant provided by the South Coast Air Quality Management District did not allow for a location change at this time and funds would be lost with further delays.