I listened to the planning commission’s discussion Monday evening concerning the proposed Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) to allow offsite valet parking for hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast inns. The real question is, does this serve the people of Malibu or the Malibu Beach Inn, who proposed the ZTA?
Why did they propose it? It turns out that the Malibu Beach Inn wants to build a swimming pool in the area currently occupied by their required parking. To do so, they have to find an alternate location for this parking, and with no more space on site, this parking has to be moved offsite. Unfortunately for them, the current regulations do not allow them to utilize offsite valet parking as an alternative. Their solution? Propose the ZTA to allow them to build their swimming pool.
Three cheers for Commissioner Steve Uhring, who pointed out the inadequacies of the ZTA, in that there has been no study as to its impact on the city.
It’s now up to city council to decide if they will serve the citizens of Malibu by denying this ZTA, or serve the Malibu Beach Inn by approving it. A reasonable alternative might be a ZTA that just applies to the Malibu Beach Inn, and not the entire city. Other municipalities do this all the time.
This ZTA brings up the whole question of the inadequate parking that plagues Malibu. It’s a bigger problem than solving one project’s desire to build a swimming pool. It is incumbent upon city council to undertake a study that provides us with alternatives to our current untenable situation.
David Brotman