Ten years ago, when Malibu became a city, several items were put in a time capsule.
“Now that we are about to celebrate our 10th anniversary, I suspect the time capsule would reveal a newspaper that said the new city must write a land-use plan, a coastal plan, a housing element to the general plan, and design an environmentally sensitive, residential serving Civic Center plan,” said newly-elected Councilmember Sharon Barovsky. “Well, it’s 10 years later and we are still trying to accomplish those goals.
“Let’s hope when we celebrate our 20th anniversary the time capsule will look like ancient history instead of prophecy.”
But the future may be brighter because issues are now being discussed with action in mind.
“I think the best thing we had in 2000 is the heightened discussion about land-use in the Civic Center,” said Councilmember Joan House.
“More discussion was out there about it than ever before.
“The electorate in Malibu has been very patient with all the issues in front in of them.”
Despite the divided opinion amongst councilmembers, there continues to be a spirit of harmony, she said. “We disagree in a very congenial way.”
Ed Lipnick, planning commission chair, concurred with House’s outlook.
“I think the priority for 2001 would be to get a comprehensive plan for the Civic Center development projects,” he said.
Lipnick also believes the city is on its way to a brighter future.
“Malibu elected an excellent City Council, which seems to be moving in the right direction.”
Now that the elections are over and Proposition P was defeated, supporters of the defunct “Right-to-Vote on Development” initiative seem ready to give in a little to the majority, while they still hope to preserve some of their dreams.
Ozzie Silna, Malibu resident and major contributor to Prop P, said the most important thing would be for the various entities involved in the development of the Civic Center area to develop a reasonable plan and still achieve an open-space concept that was envisioned in the General Plan.
“We should not commercialize or suburbanize Malibu,” said Silna.
The worst thing that happened this year, in Silna’s opinion, is the passing of Harry Barovsky.
Recently-defeated City Council candidate Robert Roy Van de Hoek said in his reflection of the year, “The year 2000 demonstrated that Malibu is a company town, with the Malibu Bay Company calling all the shots, including on the City Council.”
According to Van de Hoek, Malibu’s future will be best-served if quality education and environmental protection take precedence over new development and increased traffic in town.
Lloyd Ahern, Malibu resident and No-on-P supporter, said the 2000 elections of Jeff Jennings, House and Ken Kearsley and the rejection of the Walt Keller/ Carolyn Van Horn dysfunctional government were highlights of the year for the city.
“Everyone that tried to participate in government when the last council was in became depressed with our city government and they were driven away,” said Ahern, who hopes the city would regain the confidence and assistance of all those people.
“The fundamental problem in Malibu was that they were still fighting about things that date back to the ’50s and ’60s, they were nursing old wounds,” said Ahern.
For Councilmember Kearsley, who was elected in 2000, the election of the new counci1l was a positive step.
“We were able to start with a new slate and start to get things done,” he said.
The worst thing, in Kearsley’s opinion, was the passage of AB 988, which basically told the city that coastal planning was being taken over by the California Coastal Commission.
“That’s because we haven’t done anything for ten years,” said Kearsley. “It’s partially our fault too.”
Kearsley said, this year, the Local Coastal Plan should be a number one priority. Secondly, a new zoning ordinance, which will get rid of the IZO, needs to be implemented.
And thirdly, the city needs to do something about the present code enforcement and grandfathering matters as they await a report from the land-use subcommittee.
Kearsley also shared some of his visions, given that he and others are working on a 20/20 committee created to plan for the city’s long-range outlook.
The committee is planning for what Malibu is going to look like in 20 years. “It’s not going to be the same, I guarantee it,” said Kearsley. “If we do nothing, it will change anyway, so we should try to guide that change.
“I probably won’t be here, but my children and grandchildren are going to inherit this place and we have to take care of it.”