Mayor Steve Uhring was disappointed that Planning Director Richard Mollica was absent from the meeting   

The Malibu City Council received a large turnout at Monday night’s meeting. Nearly 40 speakers took the stand to oppose the construction of the Malibu Inn Motel project, a development that was approved by the Planning Commission in June 2023. 

Mayor Steve Uhring said the city received nearly 88 letters before the meeting.  

“I tried to read all of those and most of those were in opposition,” he said. 

Uhring expressed displeasure to not see Planning Director Richard Mollica at the meeting to answer questions.

“I thought this was going to be a complicated issue, a lot of decisions have been made, and I thought that having him here to sort of defend those decisions would’ve been a good move. That didn’t happen,” he said. 

Before the item was addressed, the council presented Public Safety Director Susan Dueñas with a city tile for seven years of service to the City of Malibu. 

“Public safety and fire, when I have conversations with the resident’s those are the two issues that come up the most, and you have done an excellent job at addressing both of those, so I thank you,” Uhring said to Dueñas.

Dueñas thanked her staff for the support and various public safety organizations who volunteer. 

“I’m proud to be a part of the community working to make Malibu safe,” she said.

Knowing that Item 4.a was going to take a while to address, the council moved the Zuma Foundation Inc. Road Race Agreement to the next City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 28.

Assistant Planning Director Adrian Fernandez presented the report. 

Councilmember Bruce Silverstein presented his findings and asked Fernandez questions about the development, such as the slopes, the bluffs and who helped write the report. 

“I also learned that it’s important to protect the bluffs not only because they can damage property when they collapse but also because they need to be able to deteriorate naturally over time in order to replenish the beaches,” Silverstein said. 

After a brief break, the council moved on to speakers and Uhring said he received nearly 40 speaker slips on this item. 

One parent has children who attend Gan Malibu Preschool, which is located above the proposed development, and said the construction would impact the kids during school hours. 

“To me, this is a hotel,” Mayor Pro Tem Doug Stewart said. “You’ve gone to great lengths to put ‘motel’ on every document in here, but when you look at the uses of it, a motel is basically 20 rooms, 20 cars, and that’s it. You may have some vending machines, but this is a hotel.”

Councilmember Marianne Riggins was in support of the project. 

“A motel is something that we need in our community; we don’t need any more restaurants, we don’t need another office building, we don’t need unnecessary retail space,” Riggins said. “What we should be doing as a community is coming up with ways to have projects that are designed [to] not only meet the private property owners’ right to develop their property as it is zoned with what is necessary for the community.” 

Environmental Sustainability Director Yolanda Bundy said the project has not been reviewed.

“We haven’t done a grading review, we haven’t done a structural review,” she said. “The graphics that you see and the renderings that you see, were designed by the architect, it has never been through the building and safety, or building code, so the possibility of these structural elements being different are very high.” 

After about two hours of speakers expressing their concerns with the parking, slopes, and traffic, the council approved the appeal and denied the project. 

After the meeting, Malibu Township Council and Public Works Chair Jo Drummond provided a statement about the meeting. 

“Tonight was a victory for the residents of Malibu,” she said. “Malibu Township Council (MTC), concerned citizens, and four of five City Councilmembers all came together to defeat a proposed hotel development that was strongly at odds with our city’s mission, vision, and general plan. 

“The proposal contained multiple unacceptable variances designed to benefit the developer, not our citizens. We are grateful for the many passionate and knowledgeable fellow residents who wrote and came to speak before council. Our city is a better place because of it.”

’21 Miles in Malibu’ screening and discussion event starts ongoing conversation about the perils of PCH

By Barbara Burke 

Special to The Malibu Times

Safe on PCH, a Malibu nonprofit organization, presented the “21 Miles in Malibu” screening and discussion at Malibu High School Theater on May 1. The event was hosted by the MHS and Malibu Middle School Parent Teacher Association, Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District, and the Malibu Association of Realtors.

MHS Principal Patrick Miller began the meeting by lamenting the long, tragic history of all-too-frequent accidents on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. 

“Over the past 17 years I’ve worked at MHS, accidents on PCH have hit too close to home and too often,” Miller said. “From the time when a former MHS student and a current MHS student hit and killed a grandmother of MHS students, to other accidents involving MHS students, incidents involving PCH are too frequent.” 

Miller recounted that after Emily Shane, 13, a MMS seventh-grader, was tragically murdered in 2013 by a wild and irresponsible driver who was excessively speeding on PCH, the Shane family has stayed involved in MHS and MMS.

“Ellen and Michel Shane and their family have shown the school kindness and good deeds,” Miller said.  “They support creative writing at MMS promotion every year.” 

The family also supports the wider community with their Emily Shane Foundation, which provides tutoring to middle school children who otherwise could not afford to receive such support, Miller noted.

“After Emily Shane’s death, parents and community members organized Safer PCH, a grassroots nonprofit effort that has accomplished some changes, most notably, the relocation of a bus stop and a new turn lane at Morning View and PCH,” Miller said. “However, the most important change we need to address as we strive to solve the safety issues on PCH is to change human behavior.” 

The screening of “21 Miles of Malibu,” produced by Michel Shane, was part of the inaugural Be Safe on PCH Week for teenagers at MMS and MHS, according to PTSA President Kevin Keegan. 

“The week was an outcome of the effort of the Malibu PTSA which made school safety a priority this year, with a boost from the Malibu-Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department which has prioritized school safety in 2024, as well as from Supervisor [Lindsey] Horvath’s efforts to support the city with PCH safety improvements.” Keegan said. “Because of the subject matter, we recommended parental discretion and for students watching it to be older than 16 to attend the screening.” MHS freshmen watched the documentary film in special classes with teacher facilitation, he added. 

“The focus of the screening is on education,” Keegan added. “We sought to ensure that the experience is impactful and highlights lessons that parents and students can take away.

“Our new Schools Safety Committee knows that what happens on one of our local campuses affects all school campuses in Malibu, and that is why we felt it was so important to include Bridget Thompson, a Pepperdine student — hearing her perspectives regarding PCH issues since the tragic event on PCH in October was important.”

For its part, the Malibu Association of Realtors helped support the event because its members seek to foster efforts to make Malibu safer.

“The idea to sponsor this event was conceived in one of our board meetings because we have the utmost concern for the safety of our students and of our community,” Susan Manners, executive director of MAR, said. “Kelly Pessis, MAR’s strategic planning and membership director, carried the ball and made it all happen!”

A life-and-death conversation: The PCH hazards statistics astound 

“21 Miles in Malibu” is difficult to watch as it includes intense PCH accident scenes and heart-wrenching interviews of those grieving lives tragically lost on the PCH, including the daughter of the movie’s producer, Michel Shane. The movie is a must-see for parents of teens beginning to drive on the PCH and in the canyons in the Santa Monica Mountains, event organizers emphasized. The movie is also a traffic safety conversation starter that is so necessary in Malibu, as discussed by the panelists speaking after the screening and attendees alike.

Lindsey Horvath, the Los Angeles County Supervisor who represents Malibu, moderated the discussion between panelists Sheriff’s Capt. Jennifer Seetoo, California Highway Patrol Lt. Matthew Zane, Cognitive-Behavioral Specialist Robert Cohen, Safety advocate and movie producer Michel Shane, and Bridget Thompson, the roommate of the four Pepperdine students who tragically lost their lives on PCH last Fall.

“Forty-three percent of first-year drivers nationwide are involved in an accident, and 37 percent of second year drivers are involved in an accident,” Cohen stated. “The number one cause of death for teens aged 13 to 19 is motor vehicle accidents and what is needed most is a change in driving behavior — everyone needs to slow down!” 

A consummate bottom-liner with a “we will get this thing done ASAP” approach to addressing challenges in Malibu, Seetoo leveled with the parents in the audience.

“Parents — we need your help!” Seeto stated emphatically. “There is an app to monitor how fast your kids are driving — please get and use that app! Further, kids’ brains are not fully developed until they are about 26 years old — please, please don’t give your kids a sports car that can speed at 100 miles an hour and, in some cases, even up to 200 miles per hour! Finally, pull your child’s license if they speed.”

When Horvath asked him what advice he would give to parents and kids who are beginning drivers, a somber Shane responded, “Parents, you never want to walk in my shoes — the loss of a child never goes away.”

Shane continued, “Teenagers, think about the people who love you and who will survive you if you have a terrible accident — how would they feel?”

The flawed litmus test for changing dangerous road designs causing PCH fatalities 

The most startling thing discussed at the meeting — indeed, a thing that audience members and panelists found totally appalling and unacceptable — was when Duffy Marcellino, the bereaved older sister of Terry Marcellino, 52, who was tragically killed in 2012 on PCH by Vista Point in Ventura County near Pt. Mugu State Park, spoke. 

“My sister was killed when a distracted woman who had passed by Leo Carillo made an illegal turn and killed Terry — my sister never stood a chance,” Duffy said. “We have advocated for delineators to be installed in the area where the tragedy happened, as they prohibit turns when they are installed.”

Mustering strength and fighting through her fury, Duffy said, “However, we’ve been told that a total of three deaths — my sister’s and two subsequent deaths at that part of the highway are ‘not enough’ to justify installation of the delineators!”

A totally silent, stunned audience gasped en masse. An overwhelmed and appalled Horvath said, “That a certain number of deaths is used as the litmus test for installing a life-saving measure is totally unacceptable — contact my office immediately and we will help to address the problem ASAP!”   

Despite the somber and overwhelming statistics about PCH fatalities attributable to speeding and excessive traffic, panelists nevertheless found grounds to make steps to address the PCH safety issues.

Shane noted that he thinks that real, measurable changes can be made with regard to the speeding problems.

“If we address excessive speeding on PCH in the same way that we attacked drunk driving a few years ago and in the same way that we informed citizens about the dangers of smoking, we can help people change their speeding behaviors,” Shane said. 

Seetoo focused on efforts in Sacramento to pass a law allowing Malibu to install speed cameras along PCH.

“The governor has heard you in the public,” She said. “I need you to contact your elected representatives to demand a safer PCH.” 

Seetoo explained that there are two pending laws that would help greatly — one is to allow speed cameras in Malibu and the other significantly increases penalties for excessive speeding.

Zane noted that CHP is aggressively ticketing speeders and, when appropriate, officers can impound vehicles that belong to speeders. 

“We need the public’s help,” Seetoo noted, adding that when residents observe excessive speeding, they should call 911 directly and for less excessive speeding infractions, they should call the Lost Hills Station at (818) 878-1808.

“If any residents want to serve as volunteer officers, please contact my office.” Seetoo added, noting that an all-hands-on-deck approach is needed to monitor speeding and erratic driving on PCH as the summer tourist season begins.

Malibu Times chatted with panelists as attendees dispersed. Malibu Mayor Pro Tem Doug Stewart expressed optimism for the passage of the bill proposing speed cameras on Malibu’s segment of PCH.

“The speed camera bill, SB 1297, advanced out of the transportation committee and now goes to the appropriations committee on May 16.” Stewart said. “We are hopeful the committee will also pass it, especially because there are no state appropriations needed to fund the cameras as the City of Malibu is paying the entire cost.”  

Seetoo emphatically said, “Give me technology to help solve this problem! Speed cameras can help officers enforce the speed limits!” 

With Malibu High School graduation approaching, Manners stated, “As realtors, we in MAR are deeply concerned for the safety of students and the community, so we find ways to promote safety however we can, including sponsoring Malibu High’s Grad Night which allows our students to celebrate graduating in a safe and sober way.”   

Be Safe on PCH Week will be an annual event sponsored by the PTSA and that organization will support and offer advice to Michel Shane and his company, Shane Gang Pictures, to assist with its educational initiatives, Keegan said. 

“The event was an extremely well-balanced, informative and impassioned discussion by all participants and the community,” audience member Kelly Pessis said. 

Other attendees vowed to doggedly persevere in their efforts to improve highway and canyon road safety in and near Malibu.  

“Stay alert! Talk and text later!” said Merrill May, a stalwart and unrelenting champion of efforts to address speeding. “Get home safely!”

SMC, City of Santa Monica, and the Malibu Foundation collaborate on a project to restore nature in urban areas 

In celebration of Earth Month, the Malibu Foundation, in collaboration with Santa Monica College (SMC) and the City of Santa Monica,  a microforest was unveiled on SMC’s main campus. The microforest was the first one at a U.S. community college. 

Microforests are densely planted, multilayered indigenous forests planted in small urban spaces, which act as self-sustaining ecosystems that reconnect fragmented habitat and restore biodiversity. The microforest will also provide research experience to SMC biology students.

This method of planting is being adopted all over the globe to restore nature in urban areas, where space is limited. 

During the event, the Malibu Foundation also highlighted its Million Trees for Los Angeles County 2025 initiative, which addresses extreme heat, droughts, landslides, and the severe loss of biodiversity.

SMC Superintendent and President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery welcomed the crowd to the ceremony.

“Microforests not only reduce our reliance on water, but they also effectively tuck carbon away, while providing opportunities for biodiversity to flourish right in the heart of SMC’s main campus,” Jeffery said. “Projects like this showcase how, throughout its history, SMC has been an early adopter of sustainability measures. After all, we are in the business of education, which requires testing new methods to improve the world we are leaving for our students.”

Executive Director and co-founder of the Malibu Foundation Evelin Weber thanked her team at the foundation for helping bring this project to fruition.

“My team has been so forward-thinking and really pushing all of the operations, from talking to communities to cities and organizations and really pushing forth the message that these plants will actually improve fire diversity,” Weber said. 

California State Senator Ben Allen also attended and shared a few words about the project at the ceremony.

“It’s all about getting more native plants and recapturing the magic of California’s native landscapes, and our land is made for these beautiful landscapes,” Allen said. “This is a part of an effort to recapture our own local environment, and it’s going to help educate the next generation of students coming here.” 

Allen also shared his appreciation for the collaborative efforts between organizations and acknowledged the native land.

“I’m certainly hopeful that a part of this project there will be a strong coordination with native peoples. I know it’s important to the Malibu Campus [Santa Monica-Malibu Campus] as well,” Allen said. 

SMC’s Director of Sustainability Ferris Kawar said the microforest can have a “mighty big” impact in fighting climate change and supporting biodiversity and says he hopes it inspires others to turn underutilized small spaces into microforests.

Benefits of microforests — in a small footprint — include: 

• Building soil, 
• Capturing stormwater 
• Mitigating heat, 
• Providing native habitats,
• Improving biodiversity,
• Sequestering carbon 2.5 x faster 

The SMC microforest will only take up around 300 square feet, but that space will become a biodiverse habitat for the pollinating insects, birds, and small animals that are so vital to our environment.

Plants chosen are native to the region, supporting the local environment rather than invading it, and they are also edible and medicinal. And as the forest’s ecosystem becomes self-sustaining, its plants will need very little water.

These woodlands are low maintenance as well. Once the plants are up and healthy, the forest thrives on its own as an example of nature in action. As the bugs and worms feed, and bacteria breaks material down, more soil is made to feed growth.

Speakers also shared the benefit students will take from the microforest, such as education, research, and experience. Students will evaluate the microforest’s plant growth, examine how microbes feed and develop its soil, and study the insects and animals it attracts.

The Malibu Foundation has held numerous events in Malibu such as volunteer opportunities, fundraiser events, and emergency response workshops with the City of Malibu.

The organization also held another microforest planting event on Saturday, April 27, down the street from the SMC campus on Olympic Boulevard. 

“We’re so proud to close out Earth Month 2024 by installing the United States’ first street median microforest!” Malibu Foundation shared on Instagram. 

A former worker at Malibu Creek State Park has been awarded nearly $2.3 million in a discrimination lawsuit. Angel Alba worked 12 years at various state parks in Malibu and was even provided housing before his lawsuit was filed in 2018. Alba claimed his former boss, Lynette Brody, who retired in 2016, discriminated against him due to his Mexican heritage. Alba claimed his boss made disparaging remarks about him and said there was retaliation after he filed a complaint alleging racial discrimination in 2007. Alba was seeking $4 million. After four days of deliberations, the jury in the case still awarded Alba a large sum for emotional distress and loss of income.

Brody called the complaints against her “exaggerated,” adding “It’s so after-the-fact; I’ve been retired for almost eight years.” It’s not known yet whether California State Parks will appeal the verdict. The agency said it will review the court’s decision.

Public Safety Liaison provides homeless service report, mentioning two individuals who died this year 

With summer fast approaching, the Public Safety Commission voted to have the temporary impound yard at Malibu High School. Last summer, the lower parking lot adjacent to Morning View Drive was used to facilitate towing of illegally parked vehicles in Malibu while the city has been trying to find a permanent location. 

In 2022, the Malibu City Council decided to permit a temporary day-use impound yard on city-owned property situated at the intersection of Heathercliff Road and PCH. The impound yard was used to facilitate towing of illegally parked vehicles in Malibu. Last year, the commission motioned to make MHS the temporary location. The item had to be approved by the Planning Commission, and Chair John Mazza raised concerns about the permits, planning coordination, and who would be liable if an accident were to occur on campus, in the school district, or in the city. 

For staff updates, Public Safety Liaison Luis Flores provided an updated homeless services report and said two individuals experiencing homelessness had died this year. On March 29, one individual, identified as 32-year-old Dimitri Failla, was struck and killed by a semi-truck on Pacific Coast Highway near the intersection of Cross Creek Road. After the investigation, sheriff’s homicide detectives said the incident was a suicide. 

On April 12, Russell McMonigle, 73, was found at Zuma Beach by an LA County Beaches and Harbor maintenance employee with a head injury and was pronounced deceased at the scene. According to Malibu/Lost Hills Sgt. Chris Soderlund, the medical examiner said the incident was a natural death. No evidence of foul play was found. Friends say McMonigle has been experiencing homelessness in Malibu for many years. 

Malibu Community Labor Exchange Board President Kay Gabbard honored McMonigle during the City Council meeting last month. 

“For 15 years we have watched Russell walk up and down Zuma picking up trash and treasures. The last six or seven years pushing or pulling various cards loaded with his current fully stocked belongings more and more hunch from arthritis and sleeping on hard, cold surfaces. Many of us walked by him with a smile, some offered him food or a new cart, and listened to his stories,” Gabbard said. “He left us the day after our two outstanding People in Concern outreach workers took him to see the apartment that could be his in Santa Monica. He loved us knowing he had friends and was loved for who he was.”

Flores said McMonigle had been working with their outreach team and said he had searched for an apartment a day before he passed.

“It’s very unfortunate,” Flores said. 

Flores said the lidar guns that were purchased by the city are being utilized by sheriff’s deputies to record hazardous driving behaviors in the city. 

The commission received an update on construction and the upcoming Annual Safety and Preparedness Fair, which will take place on Saturday, Sept. 14. The city has also been hosting a series of safety and preparedness training and classes as part of their community-wide emergency preparedness. The city held two free classes in May on how to operate a fire extinguisher and safety considerations. For more information on classes and upcoming events, email Emergency Services Coordinator Sarah Flores at saflores@malibucity.org.

Public Works Director Rob DeBoux provided an update on PCH construction and projects by Caltrans. Topanga Canyon has been closed indefinitely since March 12. 

Commissioner Josh Spiegel asked about the closure and asked, “Can we do anything to expedite that? Because there’s no way out.”

DeBoux said Caltrans is doing everything they can. 

“We get updates every week on what they’re doing and they’re moving, they’re getting things done,” DeBoux said. “It’s a big slide, it’s a lot of work, so they’re doing everything they can to try to open up.”

The commission received an update on the temporary impound yard for this summer. 

For public comment, Moshe Ben-dayan, owner of Tip-Top Towing, suggested the city create a parking location to assist with tow companies.

“It’s essential for business, I think it’s essential that every city needs, and I think The City of Malibu will need something there if you want to be efficient,”  Ben-dayan said. “I can tell you that in no way, in my opinion, that the sheriff’s department can do their jobs properly if they have to wait for us an hour to an hour and a half to get there, so it’s definitely essential.”

Ben-dayan said they don’t keep vehicles for more than 72 hours and after that, they move them to Santa Monica. 

Chair Chris Frost suggested using the lot at Heathercliff Road and PCH to park tow trucks.

In the summer, MHS parking will be used during summer months. Frost said on a recent Sunday, 350 tickets were cited, and 150 of those were for hazardous parking. After discussion, the commission suggested using the upper chili cook-off lot for a permanent tow yard.

Sgt. Chris Soderlund said the site would assist the sheriffs who have to wait for a tow truck to arrive.

“The way it’s been going now, a deputy has to wait an hour for a tow truck, you have six to seven deputies down here; that’s one deputy out of the field for an hour,” Soderlund said. 

Spiegel voted in favor of parking the impounded cars at the chili cook-off site. 

Coincidently, the city will host a community meeting on May 21, seeking feedback regarding the future use of five community lands. Over the next several months, the city will seek input from the Malibu community, including residents, businesses and community groups.

This meeting will provide background on following five vacant parcels of land: 

• Chili Cook-Off 
• Triangle 
• Heathercliff 
• Trancas
• La Paz

The meeting is on Tuesday, May 21, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at Malibu City Hall, located at 23825 Stuart Ranch Road, or via Zoom. For more information visit the city’s website at malibucommunitylands.org/events/community-meeting-1/.

“In the meantime, we need to take care of a safety problem in the city, this doesn’t have to be permanent 10 years from now, but we’ve got to do something soon to solve a problem we’ve got right now, and these properties all sit vacant,” Frost said. “So what happens five years or 10 years down the line will probably be completely different, but this shouldn’t affect that.”

Malibu Volunteers on Patrol Team Leader Mark Russo provided a brief update on the team and said they are constantly looking for volunteers. Russo said they currently have 19 volunteers. 

Russo said year to date, they have written 5,300 citations, and in the month of April, they have written just as many cities as the first three months of the year. 

“We see pressure at all the normal spots, Winding Ways, Point Dume obviously, we try to do as much as we can there,” he said. “It’s kind of an area where we have to keep someone devoted to just patrolling that area specifically.”

With staffing, “we’re always trying to recruit,” Russo said. “If people want to get involved, this is a great program to do it. Every one person helps, so we try to have someone every single day doing this.”

The next meeting is scheduled for June 5 at the City Hall Multipurpose Room.

The captain of the “Conception” dive boat that caught fire and sank, killing 34 people, has been sentenced to four years in prison. Jerry Boylan, 70, was sentenced May 2 for his part in the tragedy off the coast of Santa Barbara on Labor Day 2019. The fire is considered the worst maritime disaster in modern California history. Thirty-three passengers and one crew member were trapped below deck when a fire erupted on the ship. Boylan and four other crew members jumped overboard in the predawn disaster. At the sentencing hearing, victims’ families were allowed to make statements. One mother who lost her husband and three daughters spoke of the agony she’s lived through the past five years. Boylan’s attorney read his client’s statement that said, “It was my goal to bring everyone home safely — and I failed.” Under the captain’s watch, a roving night patrol was required as well as fire training for the captain and crew. Evidence presented at the trial showed a series of failures on Boylan’s part, including inattention, gross negligence, and misconduct that led to the deaths. Boylan was reported as the first to abandon ship.