Council revised AB 361 and directed Planning Commission to conduct their meetings in-person in the second meeting of July
To start off the City Council meeting on Monday, June 12, Councilmember Paul Grisanti asked to adjourn the meeting in memory of Malibu High School student Leah Isaacs and long-time Malibu resident Barry Hilton.
“I am grateful that you are adjourning the meeting in Leah Isaacs’ name, she was just a beautiful soul and only 16 so it’s a real loss to our school community,” speaker Jo Drummond said.
Mayor Bruce Silverstein and Public Safety Director Susan Dueñas presented the recognition of public safety responders with a plaque and a booklet of signatures.
The first responders included the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department, the LA County Fire Department, the Malibu’s CERT Team, the Sheriff’s Volunteers on Patrol (VOP), and Arson Watch.
“I just feel very lucky to be here with all of you, so thank you,” Dueñas said.
Duenas said the Public Safety Expo on June 10 was a success and received positive feedback from the community about the activities they provided.
“I’m just so proud of my staff and I’m just so happy that it turned out so well,” Dueñas said.
The Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Soderlund provided an update on the traffic, safety and the citations the beach team has issued year to date.
“Since the beach team started, we have issued 188 citations for alcohol in the beach, 45 citations for dogs on the beach, 204 traffic citations, 1,382 parking citations, and we towed 106 vehicles so far, and we haven’t even started full-time yet,” Soderlund said.
A recent parking enforcement operation jointly conducted by the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, Sheriff’s Volunteers on Patrol (VOP), a city Public Safety Commissioner, and a city staff member resulted in 91 citations issued and six vehicles towed.
Sunderland also said that on Saturday, June 10, the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station was monitoring traffic on PCH in Malibu and observed a pair of Lamborghinis driving at an excessive rate of speed near Las Flores Road during the AIDS/Lifecycle event and impounded their vehicles for 30 days due to the danger they posed to motorists, pedestrians, and thousands of event participants.
City Manager Steve McClary provided an update on the sewage spill that occurred in Malibu Lagoon State Beach last week.
McClary said a vehicle struck into equipment that carried the sewage water and caused the sewage water to travel along Malibu Canyon Road and ultimately into the creek.
“The sewer line is owned by Pepperdine University and it conveys waste water from the university,” McClary said. “We are continuing to get more information on that will keep you apprised on the clean up efforts on that.”
McClary also provided an update on the Trancas Canyon Bridge project and has been pressing Caltrans to improve safety and pavement and said they will be out this month to do pothole repairs and smooth the pavement.
The City Council approved the Malibu Library Set Aside Fund for Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
Public Works Director Rob Deboux presented the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Wastewater Service Charges.
The City Council revised AB 361 and directed the Planning Commission to conduct their meetings in-person in the second meeting of July. The remaining commissions will be looked at in the future.
The City Council addressed and approved the Sea View Hotel Project.
On April 24, the council voted to take no action other than to direct staff to work with the applicant and the California Coastal Commission to make the LCPA acceptable.
“Last time we were together, we had a four-to-one vote not to go forward because the MRCA was going to be the master of how this money gets spent, not the City of Malibu,” Silverstein said.
Councilmember Steve Uhring was in favor of the project.
“I think the hotel is a good idea, it goes back to our vision and mission statement says, we are going back and taking buildings that exist out here and we’re recycling them and making them more viable for what we have going here today and I think that’s a good idea,” Uhring said.
Councilmember Doug Stewart was also in favor and motioned to direct staff to return with an item in the next meeting that will allow them to accept the coastal commission changes to the LCPA for the Sea View Hotel.
“If something comes back in the next two weeks that we don’t like, no one is committed one way or the other to vote yes or no on it, let’s see what we get and that’s the ticket that we’re trying to buy,” Stewart said. “It’s not a yes or no on this project, it’s a ticket to see the next phase of this project and move this along so we meet the deadline.”
Motion passed 4-1.
The last item on the agenda was the Processing Fee Requests per Assembly Bill 2160. The council motioned to have a policy to come back to be reviewed by the City Manager. Motion passed.
The meeting was then adjourned in memory of Leah Isaacs and Barry Hilton. In an email to the Malibu Times, the city responded to the passing of Malibu High School student Leah Isaacs.
“On behalf of the City of Malibu staff, we offer our sincere condolences to all those impacted by the tragic loss of the Malibu High School student last week,” it read.