Two hot-button issues in the Malibu pier restoration project, one of the state’s most costly projects, are the location of on-site parking and what the pier’s retail spaces will be used for.
An architect, whose firm is formulating design renovations for the Malibu Pier, floated sketches and proposals before the community and City of Malibu workers last week. Henry Rhetta, vice president of the architect firm Durrant Group Inc., stressed at the March 7 meeting that public comments are welcome because the city has not yet endorsed his firm’s ideas.
Renovations of the pier are now in Phase 2, with construction for Phase 3 slated to begin in September. There will be no construction from June to September, to allow public access to the pier for sport-fishing and other recreational uses.
“The parking is going to be a major issue. There’s been questions of whether we should have a remote parking lot with a shuttle service,” said Rhetta. Historically, he said, overflow parking was provided in the vacant lot next to the Malibu Inn.
To help alleviate parking congestion and to draw further attention to the pier, the California Department of Parks and Recreation is researching what it would take to implement an interpretive shuttle bus tour with the pier as one stop.
Another concern was that of the pier’s exit and entrance from the Pacific Coast Highway. Two options were presented at the meeting — a traffic light versus a driveway just south of the pier; either could be the entrance or exit. A traffic study is to be completed by a traffic engineer, who will be hired as a consultant to the project.
But, all that aside, what city officials and the public seem to agree on is restoring the pier to its 1945 condition. A $90,000 annual sinking fund will pay for pier maintenance each year, said Rhetta.
The total cost of the pier renovation will run $5 million, with $2.8 million coming from the County of Los Angeles Prop A funds and $800,000 from the City of Malibu, and the rest from the state.
“Everyone agrees that the pier should be brought back to a fishing site — not this carnival, a potpourri of different things going on,” he said.
Each storefront at the pier will be provided with design guidelines for their signage to assist them in maintaining the historic atmosphere. The former Alice’s restaurant will be operated by a city-approved master concessionaire, and renovated into a fine-dining restaurant for brunch, lunch or dinner.
“Our ultimate goal is to identify a concessionaire by the end of this calendar year. We’re looking for somebody who can come in and run all aspects of the pier,” said Hayden Sohm, area superintendent of the California Department of Parks and Recreation.
“It’s not [going to be] a Denny’s. It’s going to be something of a nicer restaurant,” said Rhetta.
He cautioned against putting the bar area on the upper level of the restaurant, since it might violate the Americans With Disabilities Act, and a chair lift would cost about $30,000.
Rhetta reported that Durrant will study how to provide accessibility to the lower levels of the bait shop. Currently, 150 square feet are allocated for the bait shop, but the owner of the bait shop indicated at the meeting that he will likely need 300 square feet.
The public can send comments about the pier to Hayden Sohm at 39996 PCH, Malibu, Calif., 90265 or Russ Dingman at 1925 Las Virgenes Canyon, Calabasas, Calif., 91302.