The Planning Commission turns down a house because it’s bigger than the others in the neighborhood.
Not fair … we followed all the rules … says the architect.
A Malibu woman is in Houston … trying to find a way to fly flood dogs out to California.
And coming soon to your neighborhood … more poles and antennas.
This is Malibu’s only local daily news.
It’s the (((( Wednesday ))) edition … from Radio Malibu …. 97 point 5 K B U.
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Good morning Malibu!
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Neighborhood Character AND Zoning Code Now Paramount
The Malibu Planning Commission has voted to reject the large home proposed for Portshead Road.
And in doing so … the majority of the commissioners embraced the idea that the house was just too big for the character of the neighborhood … even though it met all of the city’s strict guidelines for setbacks and size.
This is a huge issue in every city … and the Malibu city council is struggling to come up with rules to define neighborhood character and preserve a rural Malibu that some say is slipping away.
One Malibu resident … Beatrix Zilinskas … said it was time to look at the plain language of the General Plan … which prohibits mansionization by name.
CART 77332—- ZILINSKAS PORTSHEAD :13 new development interest.
“My understanding of the primary purpose of city government is to implement city law, which in our case puts the safety and concerns of the existing community … in first priority over the goals of new development interest. “
The decision to reject an otherwise legal house … over some amorphous definition of neighborhood character … is not fair … said the architect … Don Burdge.
CART 77328—- BURDGE PORTSHEAD :12
Due process to me means that if you’ve done everything you’ve said you’d done, and you’ve worked to code, your project needs to be looked at under those codes.
“Not something in the future.
A new city council policy may come up in December … but that leaves the Planning Commission to grapple with some 96 houses now in the pipeline at City Hall.
Including the house on Portshead Road … at nearly 9 thousand square feet … about three times the size of other houses in the neighborhood.
So the problem was this … all those houses were designed to comply with specific rules … while the new Planning Commission and City Council are enforcing a vague General Plan rule about neighborhood character.
That lead to this exchange between longtime city councilor and planning commissioner Jeff Jennings … and longtime critic and planning commissioner John Mazza.
First … Jennings.
CART 77329 – JENNINGS PORTSHEAD
“We all knew that the General Plan states polices, and that the ordinances that we pass pursuant to that General Plan, are the polices that carry out the General (Plan).”
CART 77330 – MAZZA PORTHEAD
“Except that you did provide the requirement that we make certain findings … that are not in those definitions.”
Three commissioners who were appointed by the slate that swept City Hall last year voted against the proposed house.
The two commissioners left over from the old council … voted in favor of it.
The issue is almost certain to land before the City Council on appeal.
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New radio poles approved
The first of a flotilla of about 20 new radio antennas on poles … to relay billing information for the Gas Company of Southern California …were approved by the Planning Commission last night.
Two new poles will go in on Encinal Canyon Road … and two new poles on Trancas Canyon Road.
The Gas Company plans to put in 18 more poles and solar-powered antennae at various places in Malibu.
A spokesman says the company is working with people who live near where the poles need to go in … to minimize the impact on views from houses.
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Sherman Is On The Case in Texas
Malibu animal rights activist Sherman Baylin is in Texas this morning …. trying to find a way to get a truckload of dogs flown out of the hurricane disaster area.
Baylin has sent photos of her animal rescue team in a flatbottom boat … along with a donkey and other farm pets being ferried out of the water.
Yesterday … she sent a message that she was seeking a way to fly 12 dogs to Los Angeles.
The dogs are in crates … left homeless by the storm.
Baylin runs Sherman’s Place at Zuma Beach … and is the maven for rescuing critters large and small in Malibu.
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You are listening to the latest news from Radio Malibu … 97.5 K B U. ((( time ))))
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Motorcycle Fatality Identified
The West Valley C-H-P office has identified the man killed in a motorcycle crash in a tunnel on Kanan Dume Road last weekend.
52-year-old Luis Rodas … of Studio City … died at a hospital shortly after the 5-30 p.m. crash Sunday.
There’s no word on why he lost control of his motorcycle … in the northbound bore of Tunnel 1.
The C H P is asking for any witnesses to the crash to call them.
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Metro Says Big Blue Blue Would Not Solve Problem
This week we’re taking a look at why Metro is running fewer buses on P C H … and what that means for traffic in Malibu.
Metro officials say this summer’s decrease in bus service to Malibu is a reflection of the decrease in the number of passengers.
But … with less frequent bus service … that could launch bus service through Malibu into a tailspin.
Scott Page is the head of bus operations for Metro.
He says replacing the Metro bus service in Malibu with some agency …. like Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus service …. would not change the basic economics.
NEWSCART 77331 METRO PAGE BB :21 QQQ: their transit ridership as well.
“Big Blue Bus would have the same operating issues we would have, so there would certainly be no change in that. .
“All transit operators rather it be BBB or Metro operate under the same standard, in that we supply service based on demand.
“And they also have seen a decrease in their transit ridership as well.”
Tomorrow …. Metro thinks they know why their bus ridership is dropping four percent … and it’s surprising.
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Movie Theater Closure Has Some Saying It’s The City’s Job
Reaction from Malibu residents to the pending closure of the Malibu movie theaters is coming in.
Some people are taking to social media to express their disbelief that Malibu … in the heart of the Hollywood industry … will not have a movie house.
Malibu Film Society producer Scott Tallal tells us that the small company that ran the movie house at Cross Creek never had a problem getting pictures to show.
But they made the business decision to pull out … and the landlord cannot find another operator interested to come in to the space in Malibu.
Tallal notes that the Malibu Film Society shows upwards of 50 movies a year at the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue … but has to work around the synagogue’s schedule.
The vast majority of those are one night screenings.
Members get free refreshments … including wine … and the showing are usually open to the general public for individual ticket purchase.
Some Malibu residents feel strongly that the city government should find a way to show movies on a commercial basis in Malibu .… but the city’s management of its own theater in City Hall has not attracted the type of use envisioned when the City Hall theater was purchased … and the venue remodeled into a government center,
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Traffic …
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Cloudy through mid morning today … highs around (((( 79 )))) degrees today on the beach … (((( 97 )))) in the mountains above Malibu.
Downcoast winds will be about ((( 15)))) miles per hour this afternoon.
Sunset tonight is at (((( 7:11 )))).
After that … expect late night and early morning coastal clouds and mountain fog )))) tonight … a low of (((( 64 )))) on the beach … down to (((( 65 )))) in the canyons.
Tomorrow should be (((( much the same )))).
At 8 a.m. … at Trancas it’s (((( 68 )))) degrees.
In upper Malibu Canyon … (((( 69 )))) .
And at Civic Center Los Angeles … (((( 70 )))).
In the ocean … it’s (((( 71 )))) degrees in the water at Zuma Beach.
The lifeguards say the waves today are (((( 1 to 3 )))) feet high ….
(((( Minor SSW energy … and a northwest wind swell mix picks up. ))))
Those are (((( poor to fair )))) surfing conditions …. according to the lifeguards.
((((( High tide is at 10:28 this morning … just under five feet.
Low tide is at 4:10.
Another high tide … at 5 point 6 feet ,… tonight at 10:15 . ))))
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