On Monday night, City Council is set to finally discuss the issue of how to bring the nearly 40 Malibu businesses currently operating without a conditional use permit (CUP) into compliance with city codes, after 20 months of inaction following the deadline set for businesses to obtain CUPs, originally set for March 2013.
City staff has determined that 38 businesses within Malibu are currently operating without conditional use permits, primarily because these businesses were operating prior to March 1993 when the Malibu Municipal Code was enacted, and were “grandfathered in” to the current code, with the intent that they would be required to comply by March of 2013.
The issue of the missing CUPs was put on hold in 2013 due to a “staffing shortage,” according to Planning Director Joyce Parker-Bozylinski.
In October of that year, City Council “received and filed” a report on staff’s “intention to implement” the CUP requirement but did not take any action.Â
According to reports prepared by staff, the majority of businesses currently operating without a CUP are restaurants, 14 total, followed by churches/temples/houses of worship, of which there are seven.Â
Council will also discuss how to enforce code previsions related to hours of operation for certain businesses based on their zoning districts.Â
The staff report points to the Point Dume Plaza Shopping Center as an area where Council may choose to direct staff to enforce limits on hours of operation. These restrictions, according to staff, “would impact not only Pavilions but Cafecito Organico, Malibu Beach Yoga and Pilates Plus Malibu, which all open at 6:00 a.m.”Â
Should Council choose to not enforce the hours of operation restrictions, parking lot lights at Pavilions could stay on past midnight, since “the MMC (Malibu Municipal Code) does not have any requirements or restrictions that would require a shopping center to turn off its parking lot lights at a certain hour, regardless of when the last business closes in the center.”