City Council approves the much-anticipated event, which is set to proceed as scheduled this weekend
By Barbara Burke
Special to The Malibu Times
Just in the nick of time, the Malibu City Council approved the Malibu Triathlon’s temporary use permit in the wee hours on Sept. 26, with four councilmembers voting to grant the permit, with former mayor now Councilmember Bruce Silverstein abstaining. The decision was made in the late hours of the council meeting on Monday night.
The Triathlon will be held as scheduled on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at Zuma Beach, using a city-approved modified bicycle path because of the Zuma underpass closure. Approximately 3,700 participants will swim, run, and bicycle.
The Triathlon had appealed to the City Council from the Malibu Planning Commission’s denial of its appeal from the city staff’s denial of its temporary use permit on Sept. 19. The city staff had denied the Triathlon’s temporary use permit on Sept. 8 because the city was unable to provide 32 days’ notice to affected citizens living within 500 feet of the planned event route, which is mandated by the Malibu Municipal Code.
The notice could not be sent to those residents because the route for the bicycling component of the event had to be reconfigured because the underpass at Zuma Beach remains closed. The closure is partly because of the presence of the tidewater goby, an endangered fish, and also due to flooding attributable to rains in the past few months and, as Councilmember Paul Grisanti noted at the Sept. 25 meeting.
“Raising levels of the streambed at Zuma Creek directed the flow out of way the streambed because after the Woolsey Fire, debris such as rocks has elevated Zuma Creek, as it has Serra Creek as well.” said Grisanti, noting that city officials will “have to get used to the idea that the new normal is that those creeks are flowing over their streambeds.”
The decision was a relief for Triathlon Director Brennan Lindner.
“I’m so humbled for everyone, the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), Malibu residents, and athletes,” he said. “We would like to thank the Malibu City Council for working with us to ensure this weekend’s 38th edition of the Malibu Triathlon can proceed as planned.”
Lindner added, “We are fully focused on delivering an enjoyable and life-changing experience for so many athletes while also generating significant funds for CHLA. We are proud to announce that we have already reached the $1 million fundraising mark for CHLA in 2023, which is an incredible achievement, and we hope to raise even more funds in the days, weeks, and years to come.”
A panoply of attendees had implored the council to find a way to let the Triathlon proceed. They noted that CHLA uses funds raised by participants in the Triathlon, generous donors, and families who have been impacted by a child being stricken with cancer to conduct pediatric cancer research, which relies almost entirely on private-sector funding.
“Our cancer program is absolutely dependent on philanthropic funding like the Triathlon,” said Dr. Judy Villanblanca, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist. She noted that the cancer program at CHLA has markedly improved patient treatment modalities.
Danielle Borja, Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce’s president and CEO, focused on the deleterious economic impacts that would occur if the Triathlon was not held. She stated that five hotels in Agoura Hills stood to lose more than $100,000 in earnings attributable to Triathlon-related reservations.
When the time to vote finally arrived, Grisanti moved that the council approve the Triathlon proceeding.
“I think we should make this happen and be done with it,” he said, drawing great applause from the audience.
After much deliberation, the council greenlighted the event, determining that the law allowed for a five-day notice of the event and noting that organizers had mailed affected citizens notice regarding the forthcoming event. The council had earlier discussed the need to review the Malibu Municipal Code for clarity, and it needed to ensure that city staff’s permitting decisions are consistent. Silverstein had also shared that last weekend, an event planner for Kourtney Kardashian’s lifestyle brand, Poosh, at a Malibu mansion had misled the city to get a permit and had violated provisions in the Malibu Municipal Code delineating how operations are to be conducted at private homes that are rented out for such events.
Villablanca and others making comments had taken umbrage at any attempt to compare the Malibu Triathlon, now in its 38th year, and an influencer holding a party improperly. She stated, “I don’t think the Triathlon is the event for you to draw the line with.”
Lindner again expressed how grateful he was by the decision.
“I am humbled by the showing of support, honesty, passion, and dedication from everyone involved in helping us to carry on with the Triathlon, including the council,” he said.
For more information about the Triathlon, including individual athlete and relay athlete guides; maps of the routes for the swimming, bicycling, and running; and where to position yourself to view the athletes, visit malibutri.com. Triathlon officials note that spectators should park at Malibu High School at 30215 Morning View Drive. On Oct. 1, CHLA invites kids 12 years old and under to participate in their own race, The Tot Trot, meaning that kids can support other kids with cancer and, as Grisanti said, the Triathlon “is a good thing.”