Dogs speak up through City Council owners in voting yes for two municipal dog parks.
By Cristina Forde/Special to The Malibu Times
The City Council devoted more than half its four-hour-long meeting Monday to the sticky issue of view preservation versus design plans of homebuilder Kimberly Silver, and voted 5-0 to approve temporary license agreements for two municipal dog parks.
The labyrinthine journey of the Malibu bluff house planned by Arthur and Kimberly Silver took a new twist Monday when activist Patt Healy of the Malibu Coalition for Slow Growth presented a packet of information to the council that included an affidavit signed by Kimberly Silver restricting the height of the project to 18 feet. A portion of the proposed Silver project rises to 28 feet.
The Coastal Commission granted the permit to the previous landowner in 1998, subsequently assigning it to Silver. The vested permit restricts the structure to a maximum height of 18 feet, which would conform to the height of neighboring homes. Silver can file for an amendment but first needs Malibu City Council approval for the 28-foot height.
The Planning Commission had not seen the affidavit when it voted 5-0 to approve the plans with the 28-foot height.
Planning Commission Chair Richard Carrigan told The Malibu Times, “The vested coastal permit that was presented last night was new information that was never introduced to the Planning Commission.”
Adding to the stew is the Coastal Commission’s pending certification of the Malibu Local Coastal Plan (LCP), which could throw local building plans into limbo if the city challenges the LCP in court.
The issue before the council Monday was Healy’s appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of the 11,158-square-foot project on the bluff on Pacific Coast Highway, based on impact of public view corridor. The bluff-when it was open-used to be popular with model airplane hobbyists but is slowly being built up. The scenic bluff is anchored on the west end by actor/singer Cher’s new house and on the east end by taller, older homes with landscaping that blocks the view. Government entities are working to keep the vista open to highway traffic by restricting structure, fence and landscape height.
The council voted to ask city staff to confer with Coastal Commission staff to get a reading on how the commission would decide on the height issue.
Councilmember Sharon Barovsky moved to continue the matter until the two staffs come up with an answer.
Silver attorney Kevin Kozal, who was granted a 10-minute break to review Healy’s documents, said, “We will be meeting Thursday with Coastal, but we are concerned if we don’t have an approval in concept [from the city].
Dog owners bark their votes
“Woof,” voted Councilmember Joan House, speaking for her springer spaniel, Drew.
“I discussed this with my golden retriever, Comet,” said Councilmember Andrew Stern. “He said, ‘Go forth and vote yes.'”
Dogs can play unleashed at a dog park. Owners are obliged to clean up after their animals and keep them from being antisocial.
The temporary license agreement for two dog parks is a victory for the Malibu Dog Park Association (MDPA), which polled 114 dog parks nationwide for information and campaigned hard for the facilities.
One of the dog parks will be the first facility to open at Malibu’s new Trancas Park. The other doggie playground will be off Malibu Canyon Road at Malibu Crest Drive on property belonging to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
The licenses of both facilities may be terminated with a 90-day notice. The more vulnerable park in terms of longevity is the one located on school district property.
MDPA President Dr. Ronald Lawrence said monitors and cleanup instructions will be posted at the parks.
“Anybody who consistently violates [the rules] ,” he said, “will be asked to leave.”
The only dissenting voice was Malibu resident Sam Birenbaum, who objected on the basis of safety and environmental concerns.
Verizon transfers property to city for Las Flores Park
The City Council approved the allocation of $6,000 in escrow and transfer fees for the acquisition of a snakey parcel of utility easement land on lower Las Flores Creek.
The property, a gift from Verizon, will make it possible for the city to establish access to Malibu’s Las Flores Park, which is under development.
Rather than granting the city an easement, Verizon elected to give the land to the city and request its own easement for the one pole that exists on the property.