Power is on and roads are open … except Decker Canyon Road … closed through Monday.
The Malibu Planning Commission slaps down city staff … for not evaluating traffic on P C H.
A proposal to allow motels to park cars across PCH and down the street sent back – commissioners ask, ‘why no traffic impact evaluation?’
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Malibu’s only local daily news is in 8 minutes … here on 97.5 KBU.
Support for this broadcast comes from Rancho del Cielo … a partner bringing public radio to the Malibu coast.
It’s ((( time ))).
More Malibu news …. after the California Report …. on 97 point 5 K B U U – L P Malibu California.
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This is Malibu’s only local daily news.
It’s the (((( time ))) edition of the ((( day ))) news … from Radio Malibu …. 97 point 5 K B U.
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Good morning Malibu!
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Power appears to be back on in all of Malibu this morning.
That’s unusual … as the gentle and mild rain over the last three days has caused frequent outages.
It was downed power lines that caused yet another power outage in Malibu yesterday …
Around 5-hundred houses and businesses were affected yesterday afternoon.
A line fell on Bonsall Drive about a quarter mile up from P C H.
For some people … it was the third power outage in three days.
Two traffic signals blacked out.
Also Malibu High School … for a brief time.
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Rainfall totals for the past seven days are approaching three inches in the mountains above Malibu.
And it was raining — lightly — all night.
24 hour rain totals ere higher to the west … .29 inches at Leo Carrillo … .30 inches at KBUU studios at Trancas.
Less rain to the east …
.08 at Malibu Civic Center and
Camp 8 above Las Flores.
Rain is supposed to diminish by noon … but it will be cloudy all day … and we are going to get a brief period of rain on Friday too.
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L-A County may be going back on its promise to leave room for the Malibu Farmers Market … as a new community college campus is built at the old civic center.
The farmers market is run by Cornucopia … a Malibu nonprofit.
Director Debra Bianco says Cornucopia has only been given a three month lease for the popular produce market.
Their lease expires March 16th.
FARMMKT AAAA 13 QQQ understand our concerns.
“This year when we went to renew our lease, they only gave us three months instead of the usual year.
“So I am sure you could understand our concern.”
That lead Planning Commissioner John Mazza to say the county had promised in plan language that the farmers market would not be displaced by the community college construction.
And that left him concerned.
FARMMKT BBBBB 10 QQQQ facts that are untrue.
“I think it very seriously when we’re told — in session — certain facts that aren’t true.”
Mazza asked the city planning director to find out what’s happening to the Malibu Farmers Market … and report back.
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If there is any doubt that power has shifted at the Malibu City Hall … last night’s planning commission put an end to that.
The new appointees made it clear that business as usual int he city Planning Department … is over.
The issue … a proposal from the Malibu Beach Inn to change the citywide zoning code … to allow hotels to have off-site valet parking.
City staff recommended approval.
The entire concept went over like a lead balloon at the new planning commission.
New city planning commissioner Steve Uhring was most unhappy … that the citywide impact of this was not presented to the planning commission …. before it is supposed to take a vote.
He asked city planners how a proposal to reduce available parking in the Malibu commercial areas could be presented with any study on how many parking places overall could lbe lost.
Also … the proposal to allow valet to shuttle cars back and forth across PCH was presented without a traffic impact study.
Here is the planning director… Bonnie Blue … explaining what the ordinance would do .… and commissioner Steve Uhring’s interpretation.
VALET AAA :15 QQQQ: fix it for them.
BONNIE BLUE: “It’s allowed in t he code for an applicant to take …”
STEVE UHRING [interrupting]: “Right. I understand. We’re taking valuable parking spaces that they need, and they want to put a pool in, to remove those valuable parking spaces, and then we are going to go through nine miles of barbed wire and broken glass to try and fix it for them.”
Uhring said the city planners have brought the proposed offsite valet parking issue to the city planning commission without looking at what the impact would be … which is the chief job of a city planner.
VALET BBBB :26 Q:what we should be taking a look at.
“If you do this for the hotels … Nobu and Soho House are going to come right behind them saying ‘I want to do off-site valet parking.’
“And I think your’e going to have a tough time saying no to some of the other places once you do this.
“I mean what we’re doing is taking care of the Malibu Beach Inn and we don;t know what the impact on the residents will be when we do that.
“And it seems to me that the residents, and that impact, are what we should be taking a look at.”
The Planning Commission sent the proposed zoning change back to the staff … with a whole list of questions.
Like … would other hotels and motels in Malibu try to use offsite parking valet …and if so … where?
And they also want to find out – how would this affect traffic on PCH near the hotels at the pier?
It was a unanimous vote by the two brand new commissioners and the two veterans.
And it was a clear message to the city planning professionals … that commercial development is -not- going to get a free pass at City Hall.
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You are listening to the latest news from Radio Malibu … 97.5 K B U. ((( time ))))
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City council members are tight lipped on the potential purchase of the Malibu Playhouse … by the City of Malibu.
We reported Monday that the Playhouse had been sold … turns out that the escrow had fallen through … which is why the property is on the market again.
It’s worth about 5 million dollars.
The city has about 23 million dollars in its reserve fund … we reported 26 million … it is actually 23 million.
It’s also looking at possibly buying the 6 acres directly east of City Hall … the so called Yamaguchi Plot … for uses that could include parking and a skateboard lot.
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In news from up the coast … the California Energy Commission has begun hearings on a controversial proposal to build a power plant in Oxnard.
There have been a pair of electrical generating stations on the beach … midway between Ventura and Oxnard … for decades.
They are dirty … they cause thermal pollution in the ocean .. and they have to be closed down by 2020.
NRG wants to build a new natural gas power plant at the same site … to replace them.
But California is awash in surplus electricity.
An LA Times report last Sunday showed that too many power plants have been brought online … since the 1999 power shortage that turned out to have been market manipulation … not a real shortage at all.
Oxnard community leaders say it is unfair that their working class town have power generating stations on the beaches north and south of their town.
Economic justice.
Testimony has also centered on air quality, greenhouse gases, public health.
A decision will come in May.
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Traffic …
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Weather for the Malibu ….
Areas of drizzle and fog before 10am.
Later todat … partly sunny … with a high near 65 degrees today on the beach … (((( 69 )))) inland.
Winds will be gentle.
Downcoast winds will be ((( 10 )))) miles per hour.
Sunset tonight is at (((( 5:31 )))).
After that … expect it to be ((( mostly cloudy )))) tonight … a low of (((( 57 )))) on the beach … down to (((( 51 )))) in the canyons.
Tomorrow should be (((( partly sunny )))).
Right now … it’s (((( 60 )))) at Trancas.
(((( 55 )))) in upper Malibu Canyon.
And it’s (((( 62 ))) at Civic center Los Angeles.
In the ocean … it’s (((( 54 )))) degrees in the water at Zuma Beach.
The lifeguards say the waves today are (((( 2 to 4 )))) feet high ….
(((( There is a modest WNW swell mix.
Deep AM high tide.
Those are (((( fair )))) surfing conditions …. according to the lifeguards.
((((( High tide was a six foot peak … at 7:04 .
Tide is going out now to a low at 2:10 PM.
A four foot high arrives at 8:36 tonight. ))))
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