Cause unknown of northern Malibu fire
A fire ignited Monday afternoon, burning 2,500 square feet of land alongside Pacific Coast Highway just north of Heathercliff Road. The fire was handled by three fire engines, and resulted in no structural damage or bodily injuries, Maria Grycan, community services representative for Los Angeles County Fire Division 7, said Tuesday in a telephone interview.
Though the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, Grycan said there is speculation it might have been started by a homeless encampment.
Council to consider pot store, water conservation ordinance
Malibu City Council at its Nov. 9 meeting will vote on whether to deny medical marijuana dispensary Green Angel’s appeal for a conditional use permit. The council will also vote on the adoption of an ordinance to create landscape water conservation standards.
The application by Green Angel, submitted in October 2008, requested a conditional use permit to allow its continued operation in an existing commercial building located at 21355 Pacific Coast Highway near the old Malibu courthouse. It also requested a variance to allow it to operate within a 1,000-foot radius of Las Flores Canyon Park. The application was denied by the Planning Commission in June.
Though current city law allows a maximum of three medical marijuana dispensaries, the council passed a distance ordinance earlier this year that prohibits any dispensaries from setting up shop within a 1,000-foot radius of parks, places of religious affiliation and schools, among other locations. When the city originally approved the operation of Green Angel approximately a year and a half ago, the distance ordinance did not exist.
Ambiguities in the distance ordinance have caused much contention in this particular case. If calculated using Pacific Coast Highway, Green Angel’s distance from Las Flores Canyon Park exceeds 1,000 feet. However, if calculated over the mountain ridge and houses that lie between, the dispensary’s distance from the park is less than 1,000 feet.
The Landscape Water Conservation Ordinance is proposed for two reasons: to comply with the Water Conservation in Landscaping Act of 2006 and to add an outdoor water use reduction component to the city’s green building and sustainability program.
The ordinance includes landscape and irrigation design standards that provide for the following: water conservation by the appropriate use and groupings of plants; limitations on the amount and locations that turf can be used; water budget calculations that establish the maximum amount of water to be applied through the irrigation system; automatic irrigation systems and irrigation schedules based on climatic conditions, terrains and soil types and other environmental conditions; and onsite soil assessment and soil management plans to promote healthy plant growth and prevent excessive erosion and runoff, among others.
Costs for administering the proposed ordinance would be recovered through collection of established permit fees.
Preliminary setting scheduled for city employee
A preliminary setting for a fatal accident allegedly involving a City of Malibu employee has been scheduled for Jan. 7, 2010 at Malibu Courthouse, the District Attorney’s office confirmed Tuesday.
City Records Clerk Robert Sanchez has been named as a suspect in the June 28 bicycle accident that left one man dead and his son with several broken bones.
A truck allegedly driven by Sanchez struck 45-year-old Rodrigo Armas and his 14-year-old son while they were cycling east along Pacific Coast Highway. Armas died at the scene of the accident, while his son suffered extensive leg injuries. Sanchez is currently employed by the city.
New court hearings set for Corral Canyon fire defendants
Two of the remaining four defendants accused of starting the 2007 Corral Canyon fire–Eric Matthew Ullman, 19, and Dean Allen Lavorante, 20-are scheduled to appear at the Van Nuys Courthouse for a pretrial hearing on Dec. 10, the District Attorney’s office confirmed Tuesday.
The other two defendants-Brian Alan Anderson, 23, and William Thomas Coppock, 24-were scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial conference on Wednesday of this week, before this paper went to print.
The Corral fire started after a number of individuals built an illegal campfire in a cave on state parkland at the top of Corral Canyon. Embers from the fire sparked flames on the dry hillsides, which were fueled by roaring Santa Ana winds. Detectives found alcohol containers, food wrappers and bundled fire logs at the scene, which they were able to trace to the five men being held accountable.
Brian David Franks, 28, was sentenced in February to five years probation and 300 hours community service in February by Van Nuys Superior Court, after pleading no contest to a felony charge of recklessly causing a fire.
In addition to destroying 53 homes, the Corral Fire burned 4,900 acres. It destroyed 37 vehicles and a mobile home. Another 45 structures, including 33 homes, were damaged. Six firefighters were injured, including one who received second-degree burns to the face.
Donald Sterling to pay $2.7 million to settle housing discrimination lawsuit
Malibu resident, Los Angeles Clippers owner and real estate mogul Donald T. Sterling has agreed to pay a record $2.725 million to settle accusations that he discriminated against African Americans, Hispanics and families with children at scores of apartment buildings he owns in and around Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported today.
The settlement, which must be approved by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer, is the largest ever obtained by the Justice Department in a housing discrimination case involving apartment rentals, officials said.
If approved, the settlement would also resolve a pair of lawsuits by former tenants of Sterling who alleged they were discriminated against because of their race.
Under the agreement, Sterling and his wife, Rochelle, would pay $2.625 million to a fund for people who were harmed by their discriminatory practices, officials said. They would also pay a $100,000 penalty to the government.
The Justice Department sued the Sterlings three years ago, accusing them of favoring Korean tenants while seeking to exclude blacks and families with children. Through their Beverly Hills Properties, the Sterlings own and manage about 119 apartment buildings with some 5,000 units in Los Angeles County, according to the Justice Department.
In court filings, Justice Department lawyers presented evidence that the Sterlings made statements “indicating that African Americans and Hispanics were not desirable tenants and that they preferred Korean tenants” occupy buildings they owned in Koreatown.
Had the case gone to trial, an expert would have testified that an analysis of the Sterlings’ rental practices in Koreatown revealed that they rented to far fewer African Americans and Hispanics than would be expected, based on demographics. As part of the settlement, the Sterlings will be required to pay for an independent contractor to monitor their employees’ compliance with the Fair Housing Act over the next three years. The results of the tests would be reported to the Sterlings and to the government.
Fire damages Sweetwater Canyon home
A fire damaged the hillside home of Thomas Hirsh early Friday above Sweetwater Canyon in Malibu, authorities said. The fire was reported at 12:25 a.m. in the 3900 block of Ridgemont Drive, east of Sweetwater Canyon Road, said Los Angeles County Fire Supervisor Phil Ulloa. The fire was knocked down at 1:16 a.m., Ulloa said. No injuries were reported, said Lt. Andrew Rosso of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Malibu-Lost Hills Station.The cause of the fire was under investigation, Ulloa said.
-Olivia Damavandi