"Threat to East Malibu

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    The California Coastal Commission’s Draft Land Use Plan for Malibu that was unanimously accepted, although not adopted, by the Commissioners at their Jan. 10 meeting, will strike a blow to moderate income home-owners-and renters-if the draft becomes law.

    There are a number of onerous provisions in the draft but one that is of particular concern to us, and of which many residents may not be aware, is the downzoning of the beach front homes in the eastern part of town. That includes Las Tunas, Big Rock, Las Flores, the western end of Malibu Road, and Corral Beach. These homes are zoned Multi-Family Beach front in the City’s General Plan but the CCC draft has designated them to be single-family. This means our homes will become legal non-conforming. The VERBAL commitment of the Commission staff is that present structures will be “grandfathered,” unless we want to remodel or add on to our existing structure and also hat this would cover rebuilding after a disaster. But we have questions. Where are the standards? Who determines what is a disaster? Does it have to be a federally declared disaster before we are exempt? What is the time frame in which we can rebuild before we lose our right to have a legal rental unit? How will our non-conforming home be viewed by a lender if we want to refinance? How will it be handled in our estate?

    Looking through the draft, it appears to us that this change to Single Family residential was included so that more parking on PCH would be available for the proposed public accessways.

    It seems hypocritical of the Coastal Commission to mandate affordable visitor serving uses in Malibu and yet to eliminate a large percentage of the moderately affordable housing that is now here. It also appears to be in direct conflict with other State goals and laws to provide reasonably priced housing in ALL communities within the state. These are not large apartment buildings but mostly duplexes and triplexes which offer apartments that folks of moderate income can afford. The owners of these duplexes and triplexes include a number of long-time Malibu residents who, in retirement, depend upon their rental income to keep them in the homes they have owned for decades. The renters are young couples, many of whom work in our schools, banks, and those visitor serving restaurants and hotels that are mandated by the Commission itself.

    It is time to let our elected officials-city, state, and even to the top-know how we feel about the actions of the California Coastal Commission with regard to Malibu.

    Carol and Carl Randall