It’s the start of a New Year and I’m looking into my crystal ball to show me the future.
In the future, I believe that:
1. We’re finally going to get a Local Coastal Plan, but it may not be the one we want because, the truth is, it’s not going to be written by us. It’s going to be written by the California Coastal Commission. The reason we’ve lost the local control of the plan, via legislation, is that we’ve diddled around with it for 10 years and everyone got tired of waiting for us to come up with an acceptable version. Well, their version, I suspect, is going to be heavy on visitor access, beach visitor parking, visitor-serving commercial projects like restaurants, food stands and maybe even hotels, and perhaps something very visitor-serving on the Bluffs Park site, which means our ballfields are going to have to find another home. They’re probably going to consult with us along the way, but the truth is, if we’re not happy with the final version of the plan the answer is “Tough.”
2. We can also expect the Regional Water Quality Control Board to be giving us a hard time in the coming year. This could get to be a very expensive hard time because they really don’t like septic systems, and that’s not just with us, that’s everywhere. Officials from the board think septics leak, pollute the creeks and the surfzone, and pose a safety hazard. Research would appear to indicate that they’re partially right. It’s not that septics can’t work, it’s just they have to be maintained and updated, and they have a limited life-span of maybe 25 to 50 years. There are some areas, like in and around the Civic Center, where we need a package plant, which is a nice term for a small sewer.
3. Look for a few more personnel changes around City Hall, though the council appears pleased with Interim-City Manager Christi Hogin, and it doesn’t appear that they’re taking any steps to find a replacement. What’s not at all clear is that Hogin has decided to make a permanent career switch. If she ultimately decides to go back to lawyering, we’ll be looking for a city manager again. In the meantime no one appears to want to rock the boat.
4. The council’s going to have to make some tough decisions about the Civic Center very quickly because there are about one-half dozen projects in the pipeline and the pressure to get more commercial space is growing. Vacancies are down to near zero, rents on existing space are escalating and the mom and pops are being squeezed out. For example, one reason Malibu doesn’t have a bookstore is that no small, local bookstore could afford $5 to $6 or $7 a square foot in rent. If the council says “No” or tries to stall too long, they’re going to end up in court. This is one that could get very expensive because the city already have a General Plan and a Zoning Ordinance that allows a certain amount of development. The city is going to be hard-pressed to defend turning down things it already agreed to when it passed the General Plan.
5. There probably are going to be several new construction projects approved and maybe there will be early construction activity by year-end. Look for the city to approve some alternative access to Rambla Pacific probably, initially, through Las Flores Canyon. Most likely, work will begin this year on the Las Flores Canyon Park and community building once parking problems are worked out. The state should be wrapping up the Malibu Pier Renovation by year-end or early 2002, and it is hoped a restaurant will be back on the old Alice’s site by Spring 2002.
6. The code enforcement problems, which have been quiet because a citizen task force has been working on some solutions, promises to get hot again when the proposed solutions go to the council. They’re still struggling with unpermitted structure questions, rental units, and what to do with the residue of an overly-tolerant county. The county pretty much let the city do what it wanted, as long as it wasn’t crazy, and then didn’t enforce much, unless it became a problem. It’s really a question of philosophy. Do we want to replace the old rural ‘live and let live’ Malibu, with a newer, yuppier more bureaucratic Malibu where there’s a big book of rules?
7. The council is going to have to do something about resolving the ballfield problem and the Civic Center problem, because they’re only going to get worse. Then, when you add in that the city is getting kicked out of City Hall by the Sheriff’s Dept., which wants its building back, they simply have to start making some deals or raising some big dollars via bond issues.
It’s going to be an interesting year.