The Malibu City Council on Monday delayed its vote on a law that would regulate the number of chain stores in the Malibu Civic Center. Instead, a unanimous council agreed to take up the matter again at its Oct. 14 meeting with the unique prospect of passing a temporary ordinance, with a likely “sunset date” for the law to expire sometime in 2014.
Councilwoman Laura Rosenthal said she would rather the council enact the ordinance before any grassroots groups initiate a ballot referendum, which she said would leave little flexibility for the city.
“Once [a ballot referendum] passes, we’ll never be able to change it,” she said.
Each of the council members found flaws in the proposed ordinance that they said ought to be addressed. On Monday, the council directed staff to loosen certain restrictions on the size and type of chain stores, as well as broaden the scope of the potential ordinance by drafting a site plan and design standards for the Civic Center. The latter would set guidelines for the character of the area in the form of signage, color schemes and other elements—guidelines that other cities that have passed similar ordinances already have in place.
“You can’t do one of these pieces of this puzzle without the other,” said Councilman Lou La Monte, referring to the ordinance versus the site plan and design standards.
The ordinance as proposed would have required chain stores with 10 or more franchises to obtain a conditional use permit (CUP) from the City of Malibu in order to lease a commercial space in one of the Civic Center shopping centers in central Malibu.
After considering three hours of public testimony, input from the Malibu Planning Commission, Planning Director Joyce Parker- Bozylinski and City Attorney Christi Hogin, each councilmember outlined a number of problems they saw with the draft, known as a formula retail ordinance, which has pitted the grassroots Malibu coalition, Preserve Malibu, against influential shopping center owners in the Civic Center.
The idea of a formula retail ordinance has come from those in Malibu who are unhappy with the disappearance of locally owned “mom and pop” businesses and an influx of high-end clothing stores and other national retailers, especially in the Civic Center.
Councilman John Sibert described the research process he undertook in considering this law for Malibu. He said he visited Coronado, Solvang and Ojai—California towns that have enacted similar formula retail laws—and noticed a major difference in their approaches. Each had developed design guidelines and enacted specific site plans for their municipalities.
“What became clear to me… is that formula retail doesn’t work unless you’ve got the rest of the pieces. You’ve got to have site plans; you’ve got to have design standards,” he said.
La Monte echoed Sibert’s opinion, fearing a “backwards” approach by the city.
“I’m just really uncomfortable passing an ordinance that’s the cart before the horse. I think we need to have a plan before we make the ordinance,” La Monte said. Before passing the ordinance, La Monte said he wanted to see a site plan for the area.
Preserve Malibu vowed in July to spearhead a ballot initiative if the council did not pass the ordinance, and Preserve leader Jae Flora Katz was overheard reprimanding Sibert after Monday’s meeting, renewing her vow for a ballot vote. “We’re putting it on a ballot,” many were overheard saying as the tide turned during the council’s discussion.
Mayor Pro Tem Skylar Peak was the only councilmember who seemed poised to vote in favor of the law Monday, though he believed it should apply to the entire city, including shopping centers in east and west Malibu.
“I don’t think we need anymore of the urban conveniences out here in Malibu…and I do believe a majority of the population are in support of this,” Peak said.
Mayor Joan House did not believe enough public input had been received during the discussion process surrounding the proposal, except from Preserve Malibu and Civic Center business stakeholders. The residents she talked to were left in the dark, she lamented.
“A lot of community members don’t have even a clue what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” House said.
For coverage of Malibu residents’ responses to the ordinance, visit here.
