At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Mayor Tom Hasse announced he was changing his appointment to the planning commission. He removed commissioner Charlene Kabrin and replaced her with Attorney Ted Vaill.
Commissioner Kabrin has served on the commission for more than five years, and is an active Realtor. She had talked about potentially resigning earlier this year. In making the change, Hasse complemented Kabrin on a job well done.
Vaill, who is currently serving on the Code Enforcement Task Force and the Trails Advisory Committee, has a background in planning issues.
He indicated he has learned about planning matters first-hand from his experience on the task force. This has acquainted him with code enforcement issues the city currently faces as they review and make new recommendations on enforcement matters.
“Ted Vaill will bring both an environmental and legal perspective to the planning commission,” said Hasse. “He’s done a good job on every city commission or board he’s been appointed to.”
Vaill currently chairs the legal committee of the American Alpine Club, a national organization dedicated to the preservation of mountain craft and mountain environment.
“I think I will do a good job at balancing development and preservation of the environment,” said Vaill.
In his work as an attorney, Vaill represents mostly entertainment industry clients.
“There will be no conflict of interest,” he said, since he thinks commission members need to be trusted and not have special interest. “I do not have any development clients at all.”
Vaill will begin serving on the commission right away, said Hasse.
Vaill already has plans for the Planning Commission.
They include: annual evaluations for Planning Dept. staff, having staff members remain assigned to a project until completion, and an advanced planning division to address issues of expertise.
Vaill also suggests a “fast track” system to expedite the planning process for single-family homeowners who want to add an extra room and an online caselog showing the status of the permit process for particular projects.
Finally, Vaill stated that separate planning review processes should be established for the five basic types of principal structures found in Malibu.
These five types include: inland single family residences in tracts, condominiums and multifamily units, beachfront single-family homes, higher elevation mountainous area homes and commercial properties.
On other matters, Vaill has publicly stated his stance on several issues. He is against Measure P, the Right to Vote Initiative.
“It’s a badly flawed initiative,” he said.
He is in favor of Measure O, the $15 million park bond measure, and he has not made up his mind on “N,” a measure that would allow voters to ratify the Malibu Bay Company Development Agreement after the EIR is in, as he is still studying the measure.