One Malibu business, sheriff’s officials say, was “gaming the system” by dominating parking across from the Malibu Pier is out of luck after council voted unanimously, 4-0, to uphold a resolution restricting parking along the stretch of Pacific Coast Highway across from the pier parking lot.
Under the new restriction, parking between 22878.5 and 23000.5 PCH (roughly the Malibu Beach Inn to the Malibu Pier) will be limited to 30-minute increments between 2-4 a.m. nightly.
Although the staff report and Senior Planner Richard Mollica did not refer to any specific offenders when describing the need for the restriction, Ted Schneider, attorney for Sean and Leslie Weber (owners of Malibu Surf Shack) said it was clear who the restriction was meant to target.
“All this does is make my client wake up at 3 o’clock in the morning so he can put his van there,” Schneider told council. “He can do that. It seems that the point of this is to inconvenience the Malibu Surf Shack.”
Malibu Surf Shack, which parks a trailer along the highway to rent out surfboards and kayaks to visitors, is known for keeping a near-permanent parking spot on the ocean side of PCH across from the pier. That, LASD Lieutenant Jim Royal said, is taking away parking from the public.
“The reason we call it public parking is that everyone from the public has a fair and reasonable chance to park there,” Royal said. “It’s not a restriction; it’s a tool for law enforcement to regulate people who park 24/7, 365 in what should be a public parking area.”
Royal added that though the resolution was not “about Mr. Weber,” the tool would help restrict a “surf shop owner who has parked a vehicle there for 24/7, 365 since I’ve been working in Malibu, in 2011,” from “gaming the system.”
Council Member Lou La Monte mentioned the planning commission’s unanimous approval of the resolution before the vote was taken.
Council Member Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner recused himself from the vote, citing outside concerns over his owning a competing surf shop.
City to negotiate parking with La Paz developers
In an effort to build a skate park for Malibu kids—the first public skatepark since Papa Jack’s closed in 2011—city council Monday agreed to work with La Paz developers to maximize parking at the proposed site, 3.2 acres in the Malibu Civic Center.
The proposed skate park, which would be partially paid for with a $1 million donation from the family of the late Malibu resident and extreme athlete Johnny Strange, is expected to take up approximately 15,000 square feet, with an additional 10,000 square feet to be used for a possible city building. For the park and structure, approximately 50 parking spaces would be needed, city staff estimated, which is where La Paz comes in.
“Planning staff undertook a preliminary analysis of the applicable regulations to determine Parcel C’s [the 3.2-acre parcel] suitability for the proposed use. Long story short (and no big surprise), parking poses the greatest challenge,” a written staff report explained. “For an approximately 15,000 square foot skate park, with a 10,000 square foot building for City offices, equipment storage, and a museum/event space (collectively, the skate park), staff estimates the City would need to provide 50 parking spaces.”
Per council’s request, increases to the floor area ratio of the La Paz project would not be considered in the negotiations. Council members also requested the negotiation not slow down the process.
“We need to move forward on the skate park,” Wagner said. “We’ve been promising this since I was on council seven or eight years ago. We need to deliver.”
Council voted unanimously, 5-0, to pursue a proposal with La Paz to allow the city to maximize use on the parcel while including offsite parking.
Ride to the Flags must obey traffic laws
Though council affirmed its support of an event known regionally as the largest 9/11 memorial in Los Angeles, a request from organizers of the annual September 11 memorial Ride to the Flags event to close Pacific Coast Highway for approximately 18 minutes on Sunday, Sept. 12, was not granted by council.
The event, which culminates in a rally near the Waves of Flags installation at Pepperdine University, raises money for the White Heart Foundation to aid severely injured veterans.
Rather, council members sought to create a compromise for the motorcycle ride—expected to be up to 700 riders strong this year—possibly involving two waves of riders and/or dividing parking among several areas to free up the intersection of Malibu Canyon Road and Pacific Coast Highway.
Sending riders in two waves would create two closures of approximately seven to eight minutes each, with a 10-minute opening between to help traffic flow.
Following nearly an hour of back-and-forth, Mayor Pro Tem Rick Mullen told organizers, including founder Ryan Sawtelle, they must adhere to public safety regulations in Malibu.
“The event should be adapting to the city and what the law enforcement directs so it goes along with the city … and the many visitors we have on a weekend in the summer,” Mullen—himself a veteran—said. “That’s what I think the spirit of this should be. You’re going to do it, and you’re going to be safe. We’re very concerned with public safety in this city.”
Peak agreed.
“I’m supportive of you guys figuring out how to get the road closures with the sheriff’s [department],” Peak said, stressing the short period of time organizers had to secure an agreement.
Commendation awarded
Peak presented a commendation to LASD Deputy Mike Kelley at the Monday meeting, in recognition of Kelley’s arrest of a carjacking suspect in Malibu last month.
On July 16, Kelley responded to a call at the Surfrider Beach Motel regarding a suspicious vehicle. After an investigation, Kelley made a traffic stop and ended up taking a potentially dangerous criminal off the road.
“[Kelley] discovered the car had been reported stolen at knifepoint in Santa Maria just days prior and immediately took the driver into custody,” the commendation, read by Peak, detailed. “Due to Deputy Kelley’s determination to find the car and figure out what’s going on, he took a very dangerous person off the street and prevented a serious crime from happening in Malibu. Malibu City Council commends Deputy Mike Kelley for his diligent response to a potentially dangerous situation.”