I have been extremely fortunate to live and work in Malibu. This community has been very good to me both personally and professionally so it was with great regret I read about my early retirement in the Malibu Times. (See “John’s Garden.”) I tried to provide a perspective to a reporter I have never met of the rapidly rising rents in the Malibu area and how difficult it has been to not be able to help many friends and clients relocate or renegotiate because of the limited alternatives available in Malibu.
The “rental squeeze” is very real as are the absurdly high “common area charges,” comparable to a regional mall. I am still actively involved in the commercial real estate market including Malibu and can only hope that the environment for the small business owner will improve.
Tony Dorn