The results of recent public opinion survey commissioned by the City Council and paid for by Malibu taxpayers could not be more clear. The people of our city do not want to increase their bonded indebtedness to pay for additional open space or recreational facilities for our kids. This is not because we do not want these amenities for our community. We simply understand that there are ways to obtain these things for the city without soaking the taxpayers for millions of dollars in bonds and interest payments.
Our City Council does not seem to understand that we want them, as our representatives, to open their minds to ways we can get more open space and recreational facilities without higher taxes and indebtedness. It’s time the council started to seriously negotiate with landowners to determine how these private sector companies would provide these amenities as part of their modest proposals for Malibu.
Without this kind of rational discussion and negotiation, Malibu will never be able to increase our store of public open space. Even worse, without these negotiations it’s unlikely the city would be able even to maintain the level of recreational facilities and sports fields we now have for our kids, let alone increase the level to meet projected higher demand in coming years.
The time to make these things happen is now. The City Council has the ability to make it happen and the people of this city want them to get on with the business they were elected to conduct — making Malibu a better place for all of us, including our children, to live.
Bob M. Cohen