City council has voted to put people first.
That was the tenor of the Wednesday, April 24, decision paving the way for drastic cuts in permitting fees to those working to rebuild after the massively destructive Woolsey Fire destroyed hundreds of homes across the western half of Malibu.
Initially, it seemed as though council members were uncertain about how much, if any, relief to afford residents.
“Are fees covered by insurance companies? Is it an emotional issue? Should it be needs-based? Should it be handled on a case-by-case basis?” Council Member Rick Mullen mused toward the start of the budget hearing.
“I would love to waive the fees. I would also love to have all the things in our budget,” Mayor Pro Tem Karen Farrer added later in the discussion. “But, if we were to waive fees, need-based or otherwise, we all need to think about the precedent we’re setting. We can all pretty much bet on this not being our last disaster, so in the event, or I will say when the next fire happens, or the earthquake, or some other disaster, who knows—God knows everything’s possible in this world—then what is the precedent we’re setting and where’s the money coming from?”
Council Member Mikke Pierson, though, came prepared with his own calculations and a very clear argument.
“So, let me just be really honest what my goal is here,” Pierson said at the start of his comments on the budget item. “My goal here is to try and waive fees. People live here and people need to remain here.”
The Wednesday meeting was scheduled to give an opportunity for council members to point city staff in the right direction when it comes to how to proceed in a difficult budget year, after millions of dollars in revenue were lost due to the fire, and millions more were spent during the emergency. In an average year, city council is much less hands-on when it comes to budgetary priorities until the final budget meeting in June. This year, staff implored elected officials to provide direction on priorities for the coming year.
In the end, council was unanimous in its support for the waiving of fees; according to the action memo for the meeting, council “Directed staff to bring back with the next budget consideration waiving 100%, or at least 75%, of permitting fees for all like-for-like and like-for-like + 10% Woolsey Fire rebuilds in Fiscal Year 2019-2020.”
In other words, council would like to go forward with a plan allowing like-for-like (same-size) rebuilds, or rebuilds up to 10 percent larger than the original home, to go through with as few permit fees as possible.
And according to city staff, those fees add up quickly.
From the city’s perspective, the collection of normal permit fees would earn about $2.6 million for Malibu in the 2019-20 budget, a $13,165-plus cost per house, according to rough estimates from the planning department. The refund could save homeowners nearly $10,000 or more.
That gap would be closed with a number of cuts elsewhere in the budget—first and foremost, Pierson suggested, would be to put off the City Hall solar panel project.
“There’s a lot of other things that need to cut, but when I look at our general fund, the thing I think we can push is … the solar panels,” Pierson said. “I love it. I think we need it, but I think we have a community in a huge amount of trauma that’s gotten really really hurt.” Hitting the pause button on the solar project would inject another $800,000 into the city’s budget.
In addition, Pierson suggested raising the city’s hotel and short term rental tax from 12 percent up to 15 percent, “a 25 percent increase which will estimate, according to projections, 925,000 extra dollars a year,” Pierson said. That item would have to go to a special citywide election, which could happen as soon as this summer.
His final suggestion was to buy another Volunteers on Patrol vehicle to assist in collecting parking fines. That vehicle purchase would be a $50,000 investment that would create a $150,000 return.
Council also agreed it was crucial to maintain an undesignated reserve of 65 percent for the annual operating budget, a rainy-day fund in case another disaster strikes.
Other points included keeping Charmlee Wilderness Park closed through the 2019-20 fiscal year and deferring the creation of an environmental commission (in favor of regular meetings of the environmental sustainability subcommittee).
In addition, council suggested removing items from the 2019-20 work plan and deferring for another year, including:
• LCP ESHA map
• Sign ordinance zoning text amendment
• Wireless communications facilities ordinance
• Civic Center specific plan
• Electric fleet of city vehicles
• Balloon ban
• Plastic dry cleaning bag ban
• No smoking ordinance
• Polystyrene ban additions
• Single use plastic beverage containers ban
• Legacy Park art enhancement plan
• Mobile command post
• Utilities undergrounding assessment district formation / outreach program
