Local business owners, including a city councilman, are concerned that the painted curb in front of the PierView/Windsail site may be illegal, and that it takes away valuable parking space. However, a city official says it was authorized.
By Knowles Adkisson / The Malibu Times
A stretch of curb approximately 100 feet long was painted red along Pacific Coast Highway in front of the former PierView and Windsail properties last week, leaving local property owners perplexed as to why they were not notified about it. They are also concerned that the painting had been done illegally, and that it takes up much-needed parking space for local businesses and those visiting the beach.
The property, owned by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, will be the site of two new restaurants.
Workers from Shawmut Design and Construction, which is working on the site, painted the curb overnight on Feb. 21. The workers told The Malibu Times they had received the go-ahead from Caltrans and City of Malibu officials to paint the curb.
City Engineer Richard Calvin confirmed that the city had given permission to paint the curb. Calvin said the contractor had approached Caltrans about traffic safety at the construction site, and a Caltrans representative then approached the city about what could be done.
However, Kelly Markham, a public information officer for Caltrans, said that as far as she knew Caltrans “hasn’t given approval to anybody to paint a curb.”
Calvin said the reason property owners were not notified about the red curb painting was that a solution was needed immediately, and a lengthy and potentially divisive public debate might have prevented any action from taking place. He said the informal agreement between the city, Caltrans and Shawmut was the best way to solve the safety issue for the short term.
Calvin said the informal agreement to paint the curb was reached because the construction zone, which is located across from McDonald’s, had become a safety concern. Cars parked in front of the site prevented construction trucks from unloading on the shoulder of the highway. Calvin said dump trucks had to transfer and unload in the middle of Pacific Coast Highway and then cross traffic lines to get to the site.
“It’s been an ongoing problem,” Calvin said. “I’ve had a lot of complaints about the equipment stuff down there.”
Calvin said painting the curb takes care of the safety problem.
“By making that a ‘No Parking’ zone, now they can unload next to the curb, not blocking traffic or causing hazards in the traffic lanes.”
Calvin said the curb is temporary, and that it will be unpainted and go back to available parking when construction is finished. Construction is expected to conclude in November, sources told The Malibu Times, although that is not certain.
Fiona Hutton, whose PR firm represents the property owner, did not return repeated calls The Malibu Times for comment.
Hutton last year told The Malibu Times that the summer of 2011 was the targeted opening date for the restaurants.
Malibu City Councilmember Jefferson Wagner, who owns a surf shop near the site, said last week that the new “No Parking” zone would make it more difficult for patrons of restaurants such as KFC or McDonald’s to find parking. The curb also reduces public access for weekend beachgoers, which is problematic because construction doesn’t even take place on weekends, he said. Wagner said he did not know who authorized the curb, but said it was a problem.
“They should have temporary ‘No Parking’ and somebody monitoring it, if that’s the way they’re going to go,” Wagner said.
Calvin acknowledged that it is not a formal red parking curb, and said it could not be enforced.
“It’s a safety issue. If there’s a hue and cry [from the public]… we’ll unpaint it and let people dodge around the equipment,” Calvin said.
Meanwhile, what restaurants will occupy the buildings is still uncertain.
It was reported last year that the sushi restaurant Nobu was to occupy one of the buildings, and that Wolfgang Puck would take the other.
However, this could not be confirmed as of press time.
Ellison bought the PierView property in 2003 for an undisclosed sum from longtime owner Chuck Spencer. He then purchased the Windsail structure, which was already vacant, from local resident and developer Richard Weintraub the following year. Construction began on the site last year, with the existing buildings being torn down, and new construction began several months ago.