There has been a positive side effect to the recent closure of PCH. If we are to believe our local newspapers, many businesses were severely impacted by the loss of tourist dollars. Much hand-wringing and moaning ensued. Perhaps this will silence once and for all the minority in our community who advocate more commercial development (read “shops”) for the Civic Center while at the same time asking us to believe that they are there for the locals. Please — we weren’t born yesterday — and the recent PCH closure has proven that “the locals” can’t even support the businesses we already have. In order to attract the number of tourists needed to support more shops, restaurants, high-priced hotels, etc., we would need to make the PCH a six-lane freeway and install multilevel carparks. But! — Here’s the irony — If we did that, Malibu would lose its rural, open space character, its very reason tourists come here in the first place. The minute Malibu looks like Santa Monica, the visitors will stop coming, the businesses will go bankrupt, the strip malls will be empty and the developers will be sitting alone in the cinema multiplexes watching their favorite movie , “Urban Blight, The Sequel. “
Graeme Clifford