The cul-de-sacs would block through-traffic on Civic Center Way near Malibu Canyon Road. City Council alters wording of the subdivision land use ordinance to avoid unnecessary lawsuits in the future. City workers and schoolteachers honored.
By Sylvie Belmond/Special to The Malibu Times
The City Council at its May 28 meeting voted unanimously in favor of a draft proposal to put in two cul-de-sacs that would block through- traffic on Civic Center Way and create a small park in between.
The cul-de-sacs would be installed near Winter Canyon Road, which allows access to Webster Elementary and Our Lady of Malibu schools.
Several city commissions will now review the proposal. Civic Center Way may even be blocked with temporary barriers on a trial basis before the project comes back to the council for a final decision later this year.
In an effort to sway the council to favor the idea, about two dozen children attended the meeting with their parents; some even brought a banner to illustrate their desire for a park.
The cul-de-sacs and 1-acre park idea spun from concern about traffic safety on the 1-mile stretch that drivers take as a shortcut from Stuart Ranch Road to Malibu Canyon Road. Chuck Bergson, the city’s public works director who was working on his last assignment for the city, explained the schools on Winter Canyon have asked for the city’s help in solving the traffic problem in that area.
The city is looking at a variety of safety alternatives, including the installation of a traffic light or the creation of the two cul-de-sacs to block through-traffic completely.
A sign was installed on Malibu Canyon Road forbidding traffic heading toward Pacific Coast Highway from turning left onto Civic Center Way from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. to mitigate traffic concerns, but it is not enough, some say.
As speakers spoke in favor of the idea of the cul-de-sacs, Councilmember Ken Kearsley, who has worked on the park idea with city staff, appeared delighted by the support.
“This is an opportunity to pick up about an acre of park land on city-owned property and get a grant to build the park,” Kearsley said. “It’s a win, win, win.”
Newly appointed planning commissioner Deirdre Roney attended the council meeting with her children.
“Combining traffic safety and parks is brilliant,” Roney said.
Councilmember Andrew Stern asked for a timeframe so the proposal could be returned to council for a final decision in a prompt manner.
“I just don’t want to lose the momentum,” he said enthusiastically.
Council favors subdivision changes
The City Council appeared to be unanimously in favor of a proposed subdivision ordinance amendment that would allow some property owners to apply for a subdivision on certain lots. However, it is still subject to a final vote by the council.
The change would allow property owners in rural residential zones to apply for a variance, under certain situations, from the slope/density requirements.
When Malibu incorporated as a city, certain parcels of land were down zoned, leaving property owners unable to subdivide their lots because of slope/density requirements, even if the lots were large enough to divide.
Actor Stacy Keach filed a lawsuit against the city because his subdivision request was turned down last year.
However, the new wording of the ordinance would allow Keach and others, like Walter and Lea Sauter, who were hopeful the council would resolve the matter in the political forum, to come back to the city and request a variance. The Sauters were prepared to sue the city if a change was not made in the ordinance.
“They had nowhere to go,” said Councilmember Ken Kearsley in a later interview. “They did not get the due process because there was no way to appeal the decision that they could not subdivide.”
Applicants must meet five criteria before they are allowed an exemption to the current slope/density formula; the council emphasized that changing the subdivision wording will not impact other requirements. Property owners will still be subjected to all the other land-use rules applicable in the city. For example, the criteria would not allow increase in density above what is allowed in the General Plan.
Other suggested amendments to the ordinance, including changes to the lot line adjustment section and lot mergers, were postponed.
In other matters, the council continued an appeal to June 24 regarding an application to construct a two-story, 10,221 square foot house west of Bluffs Park on Pacific Coast Highway.
The council also honored poll workers, teachers and a city staff member at the council meeting. It proclaimed that May 28 is the Day of the Teachers in Malibu, honored poll workers for the hard work they did in the last elections, and gave Jena Channel, the city’s telecommunications specialist, a Malibu Tile for seven years of service to the city.