Dear Editor,
Malibu is pretty good about strictly enforcing code violations … so why is it a “normal” property owner can’t even build a small 10×10 deck without jumping through hoops of fire, yet the folks at Surf Canyon on 3728, 3730, 3738, and 3800 Cross Creek Road (right next to the environmentally sensitive Malibu Creek) can literally violate every code in the book and get away with it?
Dozens of illegal shipping containers (some housing illegal businesses): Check! Ramshackle old illegal trailers, buses, and lean-to’s: Check! Bootleg utilities to those illegal buildings and containers installed by Malibu’s own Skylar Peak with no permits: Check! (there are witnesses who saw his truck there during the installation of a high voltage line for a kiln — and they are prepared to testify). An entire huge building put up without one single permit during COVID: Check! Illegal parties: Check! An illegal bar in one of the trailers without a liquor permit: Check!
Illegal agriculture next to the creek: Check! Illegal grading next to the creek: Check! Chopping down old growth sycamores: Check! Zero safety inspections or ADA compliance or restroom facilities: Check!
Any single one of these issues would cause major repercussions for a “normal” Malibu property owner, yet somehow the Surf Canyon owners get a free pass and I want to know why? This property was cited in 2020 by the Coastal Commission and issued removal orders for the shipping containers, yet the containers are still there (and have multiplied). Why, Malibu? We need answers and fair application of code enforcement to everybody!
Tracy Wentworth, Malibu