By Barbara Burke
Special to The Malibu Times
“We are excited to welcome the Malibu Farmers’ Market back to the Malibu Civic Center now that the beautiful Santa Monica College Malibu satellite campus is complete,” Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath said on September 26th after the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors passed her motion addressing the Cornucopia Foundation returning to the County-owned SMC parking lot. “Now, the Malibu community can enjoy fresh, local produce and this cherished Sunday tradition, organized by the Cornucopia Foundation.” Horvath added.
The Farmers Market has temporarily been operating at Legacy Park under a temporary use permit issued by the City of Malibu that expires October 7th.
Horvath introduced a motion entitled, “Fee Waiver and Gratis Issuance of a License Agreement for the Cornucopia Foundation’s Malibu Farmers’ Market held on certain Sundays at the Malibu Civic Center.”
The motion noted that the Cornucopia Foundation (Cornucopia) is a non-profit organization that has previously operated a farmers’ market held on certain Sundays at the County-owned Malibu Civic Center parking lot (Parking Lot) located at 23525-23555 Civic Center Way, Malibu, CA 90265, through a gratis license agreement approved by the Los Angeles County (County) Board of Supervisors (Board) on July 27, 2021.
The motion continued, saying, “Cornucopia’s farmers’ market provides locally grown organic home farmed fruits and vegetables and associated farmers’ market items to the residents of Malibu and the surrounding County areas. According to Cornucopia, proceeds from the farmers’ market are used to fund community projects that teach and demonstrate resource conservation as well as programs that provide opportunities for the Malibu community to participate in gardening, composting, and sustainable agriculture.”
The license agreement issued by the County to Cornucopia expired on December 30, 2022, and Cornucopia has since been operating its weekly farmers’ market on the City of Malibu-owned Legacy Park, adjacent to the County Parking Lot, under a Temporary Use Permit (TUP) issued to Cornucopia by the City of Malibu. Horvath’s motion noted that TUP “expires on October 7, 2023, and Cornucopia has requested the County to return the farmers’ market to the Parking Lot once its TUP expires.”
Horvath proposed issuing Cornucopia day use permits on certain Sundays through January 31, 2024 (Permit Period), and waiving Cornucopia’s day use permit fees of $175/day for the Permit Period, during which time the County will complete its review of Cornucopia’s financial and tax documentation, health and safety permits, non-profit status, and any other associated documentation, for the County to determine if Cornucopia meets the County’s standards to operate a California Department of Food and Agriculture-certified farmers’ market on County property, under a license agreement.
The motion also stated, “During this Permit Period, the County will also evaluate if Cornucopia has been operating the farmers’ market in accordance with the requirements placed on them by the County, and if their prolonged operation of a farmers’ market on County property is negatively impacting the County’s and the public’s use of the Malibu Civic Center. At the end of each month during the Permit Period, the County will evaluate Cornucopia’s operations and if the County determines, at its sole and absolute discretion, that Cornucopia’s operations are not negatively impacting the County and public use of the Malibu Civic Center, including but not limited to the use of the County public library, then the County shall issue a new day permit for the following month to Cornucopia, with the intent to issue a gratis license agreement for farmers’ market for an approximate term of (2) years. The issuance of day permits shall not exceed the Permit Period and the County’s review of Cornucopia will determine if it will eventually issue them said license agreement.”
The Board of Supervisors passed Horvath’s motion as submitted, determining that issuance of day use permits and the granting of a non-exclusive, gratis license agreement to the Cornucopia Foundation for a farmers’ market on County owned property is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15304(e) – Minor Alterations to Land and Class 4 of the County’s Environmental Document Reporting Procedures and Guidelines.
The Board determined, pursuant to Government Code section 26227, that “the portion of the County’s Malibu Civic Center Parking Lot proposed for the farmers’ market is not currently needed for exclusive County purposes during those certain Sundays and those hours of operation of the Malibu Farmers’ Market, to be defined in the license agreement. The Board also determined that the Farmers Market is necessary to meet the social needs of the County and serve public purposes that benefit the County.”
By passing Horvath’s motion, the Board “authorized the Chief Executive Officer, or her designee, to provide monthly non-exclusive, gratis day use permits to the Cornucopia Foundation provided the Cornucopia Foundation is cooperating and providing the information the County needs to issue a license agreement, and the Cornucopia Foundation is not negatively impacting the County and public use of the Malibu Civic Center, including, without limitation, the County public library, and provided such day permits do not extend past January 31, 2024.”
The Board waived the $175 per-day event fee and the $250 cleaning deposit fee, excluding the cost of security and liability insurance, for the day permits.
Finally, the Board delegated to and authorized the Chief Executive Officer, or her designee, to negotiate, execute and issue a gratis license agreement to the Cornucopia Foundation, for a two-year term, for the operation of a farmers’ market at the County-owned Malibu Civic Center Parking Lot, upon review of the operations of a farmer’s market on County property during the Permit Period, and upon review and approval of the license agreement by the County’s legal counsel.
Before the Board of Supervisors approved Horvath’s motion to allow the Farmers Market to resume operations at the SMC parking lot, Debra Bianco, President and co-founder of Cornucopia Foundation, had reached out to the City of Malibu seeking to extend the Farmers Market’s operating at Legacy Park, which would have required the prior owners of Legacy Park to release a deed restriction on the parcel prohibiting a Farmers’ Market, as the owners had temporarily done during the construction of SMC. At that time, the City of Malibu, which is powerless to force the release of the deed restriction, was attempting to assist the Farmer’s Market’s effort to discuss that possibility with the prior owners. In so doing, the City issued a statement stating that it recognized the value of the Farmer’s Market to residents and visitors alike, both as a gathering place and a source of organic and farm-fresh food.
Debra Bianco, Co-founder of The Cornucopia Foundation, discussed the Foundation’s position in light of the Board of Supervisors’ action.
In an email to Malibu Times on the evening of September 26, Bianco wrote,
“To refer back to the matter of the county college parking lot, John Perenchio generously offered us Legacy Park temporarily.” Perenchio is one of the prior owners of the property now known as Legacy Park. Perenchio’s father and other prior owners imposed a restrictive lien on that property prohibiting, among other activities, operating a Farmers Market on the property.
Bianco continued, “He (referring to Perenchio) made it clear that as long as the Malibu Farmers Market was actively engaged with the County of Los Angeles, he would provide us time, ensuring the farmers market would not be displaced. To this day, I haven’t seen an outline or a draft of the contract with the county. Consequently, my board and I have not had the chance to review its terms and conditions. Just yesterday afternoon, we received a revised site map from the county. It considerably reduces the space we initially had. Although we were set to meet with the county representatives at the parking lot this Wednesday, given these unexpected changes, we’ve requested that the meeting be postponed to the following week. This will allow us to reevaluate the site in light of the new information.”
Bianco’s email added, “It’s important to note that the County of LA had assured us that the market would be restored to its original footprint, with no reductions, including the grassy area in front of the library. If the necessary space isn’t provided, it could jeopardize the market’s success. Additionally, during a planning commission meeting, the County of LA promised a ten-year lease or contract for us. The new design eliminates 51 parking spaces, changes the farmers market’s layout, and disregards the grassy area which accommodated 10 spaces. The reconfiguration has led to the loss of an additional ten spaces. To give context, each booth requires a 10-foot space.”
Finally, Bianco stated, “Until these matters are addressed and resolved, we cannot proceed with the move. Thankfully, Mr. Perenchio’s generosity has afforded us the time needed to work through these challenges, ensuring the market’s continued operations as we strive to return to our original location. We see no reason why the County won’t keep their promise, and we can return there shortly.”
When Malibu Times spoke with Malibu Councilperson Paul Grisanti on September 25, Grisanti stated that he had talked to Perenchio about the Malibu Farmers Market and that Perenchio stated that he was not inclined to make further exceptions to the deed restriction.
On September 25, Steve McClary, Malibu’s City Manager, issued a statement stating, “The LA County Board of Supervisors has a motion scheduled for tomorrow (September 26) to permit the Malibu Farmers Market back on the County’s Civic Center property. Given that, the City is not going to continue to actively seek for the property owners to release the restrictions on the uses of Legacy Park, but City staff would be open to further discussions with the property owners should they have interest.”
Malibu Times will update readers concerning whether The Farmers Market will return to the Civic Center when new information develops.