In other news, a preliminary United States Geological Survey says septics are not polluting local waters.
By Olivia Damavandi/ Staff Writer
Despite residents’ ongoing complaint that Malibu’s changing retail landscape from “Mom and Pop” stores to expensive boutiques has “sucked the soul” out of the community, council members on Monday night voted 4-1 to exclude a formula retail ordinance from appearing on ballots of the April 2010 city election. The proposed ordinance was resubmitted to the Zoning Ordinance Revisions and Code Enforcement Subcommittee, or ZORACES, for further consideration.
The council also received preliminary results of a study headed by the United States Geological Survey that may prove septic tanks are not contributing to ocean pollution at Malibu Colony, Malibu Lagoon Surfrider Beach.
The council in May announced the implementation of a formula retail ordinance as one of its top five priorities. The proposed ordinance, which has been in the works since 2006, would limit the amount of chain stores (businesses with more than 13 locations) in the neighborhood commercial districts of Las Flores, Point Dume and Trancas. However, grocery stores, banks, savings and loans, theaters and gas stations would be exempt.
The ordinance would require commercial businesses, such as those in the Civic Center area, to obtain conditional use permits, which could only be done if the Planning Commission declares them as necessary and compatible with their surrounding neighborhoods.
The proposed ordinance would also regulate stores’ signage, color scheme, appearance and types of clothing that could be sold.
Mayor Andy Stern called the proposed ordinance “a great solution for a problem that does not exist,” and said it “in no way, shape or form” addresses residents’ complaints about the undeniable influx of high-end retail stores.
Referring to the ordinance’s prohibition and definition of chain stores, Councilmember Sharon Barovsky said the ordinance “is about numbers, not about what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Though the intention of a formula retail ordinance is to preserve local merchants, Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich was alone in believing the one proposed would actually do so.
“When I moved here, there was one Starbucks at Cross Creek … now we have four. How many mom and pop shops can compete with that?” Conley Ulich said at the meeting, adding that smaller local businesses lack the advertising abilities of chain stores.
“We should control our destiny,” she continued. “We as a city will lose some of our uniqueness and identity with the proliferation of chains stores that have unfair advantages over local mom and pops.”
Mayor Stern and Councilmembers Barovsky, John Sibert and Jefferson Wagner all opposed the ordinance as proposed. They lacked confidence in the way it was worded and said it required experts’ input. Sibert and Barovsky even deemed the ordinance inappropriate for public election.
“I’m not sure why this is an issue that needs to be voted on,” Sibert said at the meeting. “We were elected to do this kind of stuff.”
“I think two thirds of what’s going on in Sacramento is because of initiatives that have gone to the public that are complicated, difficult and need to be studied,” Barovsky said. “It’s [a formula retail ordinance] not something [over which] you go home, have a martini and say ‘yeah, that’s good.’”
Michal Koss, owner of the Malibu Country Mart at Cross Creek Road, told council members that the ordinance would increase tourism, reduce shopping options, lower home values and lower sales tax revenue for the City of Malibu by attracting lower quality businesses.
Septics not polluting, USGS says
In environmental news, the council was briefed by John Izbicki of the USGS about the latest results of an ongoing study to determine the sources of bacteria in the ocean near Malibu Lagoon, Malibu Colony and Surfrider Beach.
The beach in front of the colony was cleanest of all locations sampled, Izbicki said. Bacteria concentrations increased at high tides, but decreased at low tides, which is not consistent with groundwater discharge.
“The concern was septic tanks at those locations are contributing to ocean pollution, but the evidence is not consistent with that,” Izbicki said, adding that high tides sweep bird droppings and dog droppings out to sea.
The city had hired the USGS to conduct the study in an effort to determine the source of pollution in its watershed.
Santa Monica Baykeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council have sued the city over water quality issues, but Malibu officials say the city is not fully responsible for the pollution occurring in local waters, pointing to cities located upstream from its watershed.