Twenty employees are laid off as a result. Restaurant is also ordered to stop transfer of wastewater on its property. City and owners are working on a solution.
By Laura Tate/Editor
The Paradise Cove Beach Caf was recently ordered by the City of Malibu to shut down its outdoor patio seating and service, cease all unauthorized, unpermitted special events and onsite parking for those events, and to terminate all transfer of wastewater to pits or fields on its property.
The restaurant, nestled on the beach at the end of Paradise Cove Road, has complied with orders since Aug. 5 and the Kissel Company, which owns the property, is working with city officials to rectify all matters.
As a result of the orders, approximately 20 employees of the restaurant were laid off, because, as a source at the restaurant put it, “[The outdoor seating] is a decent portion of our business.”
However, residents of Paradise Cove say this portion of the business may have been operating illegally since its owner, Bob Morris, gradually began expanding outdoor seating and service nearly three years ago. Morris took over the lease of the space about four years ago, which was formerly the Sand Castle restaurant.
A resident of Paradise Cove, who wished to remain anonymous, said he believes the restaurant, which is permitted for roughly a 200 occupancy limit, regularly serves 300 to 400 people, especially on the weekends. The resident recounted how, on the weekends, it sometimes takes 40 minutes to get down the road from the top of Paradise Cove Road to the gatehouse, which provides access to residents’ homes.
“We don’t think he ever had any permit to do anything to that building,” said the resident, who described the gradual outdoor placement of chairs, then tables, and then full service to an outside patio to the right of the restaurant and in the front, beachside.
City officials declined to comment on the operation of the restaurant’s outdoor service and seating without permits, and declined to state specifically what the problems are regarding the septic system.
However, in the Notice to Abate from the city to the Kissel Company regarding the septic system the city ordered that all wastewater must be transferred “off site to an approved processing plant,” and that “all wastewater pumping and transfer must be provided by a Los Angeles County Health Department licensed service provider.”
Paradise Cove Beach consistently receives low water quality grades from Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card. As of the week ending Aug. 5, the beach received a “C” grade, as opposed to other local beaches, which are mostly rated with an A+.
City Manager Katie Lichtig said of the reluctance of talking about the case, “[The city] is trying to gain compliance. We really want to emphasize that we are trying to improve the situation. We don’t want to jeopardize that.”
The city’s building safety official, Vic Peterson, said, “[It’s] an open code enforcement case [that is] ongoing. [It’s] business between the city and the property owner.”
Stephen Dahlberg, president of the Kissel Company, also declined to speak about the city’s orders.