The Malibu City Council on Monday dissolved the Civic Center Property Owners Negotiation ad hoc committee, a body that set out last May to locate and potentially negotiate the purchase of undeveloped land in the Civic Center.
The committee was formed in response to community concerns about multiple large commercial projects that are still in the development pipeline, including Whole Foods in the Park, Malibu Sycamore Village and the Rancho Malibu Hotel, as well as properties that already have expensive entitlements such as the La Paz property.
Mayor Joan House said Monday she believed the committee, which last met in August 2012, had done all it could do.
“We did our due diligence and tried to meet with [all the vacant land owners],” House said. “Unfortunately, not everybody wanted to meet with us.”
Co-chairs House and Councilwoman Laura Rosenthal led several meetings to brainstorm ideas with interested community members. At one point the idea of purchasing property to build a cemetery in Malibu’s central part of town gained traction among residents, but came to nothing.
“The last few months it’s just been silent,” House said.
Rosenthal and House had subdivided active attendees into seven subgroups who would research donations, funding mechanisms, charitable trusts, changing zoning codes, creating a Civic Center Master Plan, and needs and wants of Malibu residents, among many topics.
House also suggested that discussions pertaining to the Civic Center should be considered by the entire City Council, rather than a two-chair ad-hoc committee, since development in central Malibu is currently a hot topic in the community.