Ticket sales for Pepperdine’s men’s basketball home opener donated to a memorial fund for four students

By Barbara Burke

Special to The Malibu Times

​As the families and friends of the four young women who perished in a vehicle collision on Pacific Coast Highway on Oct. 17 grapple with how to move forward in the wake of the tragedy, and Malibu’s community leaders, the town’s elected state representatives in Sacramento, and officials from various state, county and city agencies make efforts to begin to remedy the highway’s severe deficiencies, the entire Pepperdine and Malibu community also are reeling from the incident. They are struggling with how to begin to heal. The university offered students around-the-clock counseling to help them address their emotional trauma.

On Monday night’s Pepperdine men’s basketball home opener, all proceeds raised will be going to a memorial fund in honor of seniors Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir, and Deslyn Williams.

“To the students who loved, lived with, and were in the community with the departed members of our Pepperdine family, my heart is broken with yours,” Pepperdine University President Jim Gash said in a message to the Pepperdine community. “I join you in your grief as we process this profound loss.” 

The Malibu community has strongly supported Pepperdine throughout the long days after the harrowing losses.

​“Your acts of kindness and generosity have been a great source of comfort for us all,” Gash wrote in an Oct. 31 press release sending gratitude to numerous area churches, restaurants, florists, the Malibu Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department, the Malibu City Council, the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce, university alumni and friends of the university. “From the moment we heard of the tragic loss of our students, you have stepped up to offer your help and support and we thank you for providing meals, flowers, and donations.”

Students and student organizations also found ways to celebrate the lives of the four students and to help those most intimately affected by their loss. All ticket-sale proceeds from Pepperdine’s men’s basketball team home opener on Nov. 6 were donated to a memorial fund established to assist the families and friends of four students and for general university activities. Readers who want to contribute can go to give.pepperdine.edu/studentmemorial.

Mental health professionals provide support to the university and community

“Malibu has lost four beautiful, competent and talented young women, and the young driver’s life has been altered in a way no parent wants,” said Dr. Ericha Scott, PhD, LPCC917, ATR-BC, REAT. “I remember the slogan that helped rally courage during the Woolsey Fire, ‘Malibu Strong.’ This is a good one for today, and for the weeks, months and years to come.

“We need to be there for everyone in our community impacted by this tragedy, just as we were there for each other during the Woolsey Fire. Although it is not commonly understood, it makes sense, trauma is cumulative over time. We all experienced the Woolsey Fire, and then the COVID pandemic, and now this — and so, please reach out to families, students, friends, and coworkers.”

Scott elaborated, stating, “The creative arts are able to help people find balance, meaning, purpose and joy in the midst of sadness. All of the arts are well suited to address and ameliorate emotional and physical pain. A new book entitled, ‘Your Brain on Art,’ is full of examples and research about the healing nature of the visual arts, music, poetry, dance, theater, drumming, and more.”

On Saturday, Nov. 25, from 12:45 to 4:45 p.m., Scott is offering a workshop at The Malibu Library entitled, “Creative Forms of Gratitude in Times of Despair.” 

Scott described the event as “an experiential workshop to express the polarity of grief and gratitude with journal writing, poetry and art.” She emphasized that, “There is no need for skill, talent or even interest in the arts to have a positive experience.” 

This workshop has been priced to be affordable, even for students, at $35. The event provides a safe, healing space, Scott noted.

For more information go to www.artspeasksoutloud.org or call (310) 880-9761.

Wellness professionals support grieving students

​“Malibu is my and my partner Jen Rossi’s hometown, and when a tragedy as severe as this one happens, we feel it so personally and deeply,” said Willow Kalatchi, co-owner of The Mindry, a Malibu meditation, yoga, and wellness facility. “We have Pepperdine students as our clients, and one of our wonderful team of employees is a student at Pepperdine.

​“Our intention always is to be a local sanctuary and a place for healing and we wanted to open our doors and space to what small amount of healing we could provide to Pepperdine members of our extended Mindry family as they navigate this time of terrible loss. In addition, our guides have offered their time to provide free group sessions to those affected.”

​The Mindry has also donated its services to raise funds in support of “Derby Days,” an effort by Sigma Chi Fraternity, whose GoFundMe page announced an effort to raise money to construct a monument next to the organization’s white cross with a plaque and four crosses inscribed with the deceased students’ names, providing “a place for loved ones and friends to remember them, visit them and pray for them.” The fraternity is also advocating for a safer Pacific Coast Highway and is also working with the four students’ sorority’s Alpha Phi Foundation to donate towards scholarships honoring the deceased students.

For more information, go to www.gofundme.com/f/our-4-angels-niamh-asha-peyton-and-deslyn.

Ceremonial/Presentations: 

1. Proclamation Declaring December 13, 2023 Dick Van Dyke Day

Previously Discussed: 

1. None.

New Items:

1. Findings to Hold Virtual City Council, Commission, Committee, Board and Other City Bodies, Meetings Under AB 361
2. Award Malibu Park Resurfacing Project
3. Westward Beach Road Shoulder Repair Project
4. Award Professional Services Agreement with Water Resources Economics, LLC
5. Rejection of Bids for the Legacy Park Benches and Arbors Renovations Project
6. Investment Report for the Month Ending September 30, 2023
7. Fee Study Professional Services Agreement
8. Amendment to Professional Services Agreement with Stoel Rives LLP

Ordinances and Public Hearings

• An amendment to Title 17 (Zoning) of the Malibu Municipal Code (MMC) and the Local Coastal Program to Update Regulations Related to Accessory Dwelling Units

Old Business:

1. Woolsey Fire Fee Waiver Program
2. Initiate Code Amendments to Address Home-Sharing.

New Business: 

1. MOU and License Agreement with Zuma Beach FM Emergency and Community Broadcasting, Inc. (KBUU) for a Booster Antenna at Malibu Bluffs Park (Continued from October 23, 2023)
2. Resolution No. 23-51 Authorizing One-Time Winter Closure of City Hall
3. Consideration of Declaration of Emergency Regarding Conditions on PCH
4. Consideration of Gift of Smart Coast California Membership Fees from Councilmember Grisanti (Continued from October 23, 2023)

Council Items: 

1. Smart Coast California Presentation (Councilmember Grisanti) (Continued from October 23, 2023)
2. Proposed 2024 Calendar of City Council Meetings

To view the full City Council Agenda, visit malibucity.org/virtualmeetings.

Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriffs Captain Seetoo attended the meeting to provide an update on enforcement and traffic safety

During the Public Safety Commission meeting on Nov. 1, Commissioner Josh Spiegel raised his concerns with The Trancas Creek Bridge Replacement Project and proposed closing the first parking lot entrance to Trancas Country Market coming westbound on PCH due to witnessing multiple rear-end accidents.

“The first one is a really dramatic, right-hand turn, like 90-degree turn, and what I’ve been seeing a couple accidents there, people slam on their break trying to slow down to make that right-hand turn, and they’re getting rear-ended. Is there any way to close that first entrance into vintage [grocers].” Spiegel asked. 

After passing the creek bridge, the entrance to the structure comes fairly quickly, so some drivers who are aware, try to make the first entrance but end up halting traffic coming westbound on PCH.

The current speed limit on the bridge is 30 mph, but Spiegel said vehicles are going as fast as 50 mph.

Public Works Director Rob DeBoux said they are discussing with Caltrans and the shopping center property owner to address the entrance.

The existing 96-year-old, 85-foot-wide, 90-foot-long concrete bridge, constructed in 1927, is being replaced with a new concrete bridge 105 feet wide by 240 feet long. Completion was originally scheduled for summer 2024.

According to the City of Malibu’s website, there will be minimal construction activity, as the project permit does not allow work in the creek area between Nov. 1 and May 1. Work within the creek can only be done during Dry Season which is from April 15 to Nov. 15.

Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriffs Captain Jennifer Seetoo made a surprise visit in the meeting to provide an update on enforcement and traffic safety. 

Seetoo said they have been posting on social media to bring awareness about speeding.

“This week we had 112, 107, 109 (mph), two kids racing in the canyons — yes it’s on the canyons — but it just falls right on PCH, just because they hit PCH it doesn’t mean they stop racing,” Seetoo said. “So we are doing everything we can.”

The Sheriff’s Department has had decoy cars parked on PCH, to help increase awareness on vehicle thefts and enforcement, but Seetoo said they’re going to rotate and replace the decoy car with an actual deputy. 

“We’re open to trying new things; this is where it comes as a whole of the community just because I’m law enforcement, I don’t pretend to know it all,” she said. “I believe the community has great ideas and that’s why this grassroots group and these public safety meetings are so important because the community really comes to the table with incredible ideas.”

Seetoo said she hopes to change people’s behaviors by driving cautiously.

“I will do everything I can to keep this enforcement up,” Seetoo said. “I call them ‘our girls,’ our girls are not going to die in vain, this is not going to be in vain and I’m going to do everything I can, but I have to balance what my staffing really is and that’s why I’m looking at technology to help out with that, as well as engineering.”

After the fatal incident that took the lives of Niamh Rolston, 20, Peyton Stewart, 21, Asha Weir, 21, and Deslyn Williams, 21, Seetoo proposed to approach the incident with three E’s: “Education, Enforcement and Engineering.”

“We must educate everyone of the dangers of PCH: pedestrians, road racing, cyclists, drunk driving etc.,” she said. “We must increase enforcement with LASD and CHP to deter bad actors, including demanding immediate implementation of speed cameras. And we must pressure Caltrans to expedite significant engineering changes to re-envision how we look at, and drive on PCH.”

Commissioner Keegan Gibbs attended the City Council meeting on Monday, Oct. 23, and wanted to acknowledge the Malibu VOP (Volunteers on Patrol) for their enforcement.

“After working with you, (Malibu VOPs) and seeing what you guys do, I can’t believe how invaluable you guys are as resources and the fact that one of the VOPs was first on the scene and how horrific that crash was. I had to throw my hat in for that,” Gibbs said. 

Gibbs also provided an update on home assessments he has been conducting and an update on PCH and wildlife safety.

“A lot of people have so many misperceptions still about the dangers and risks of fire,” he said. “It’s really mindblowing how many people are going to stay or shelter in place during a fire.”

Chair Chris Frost also acknowledged Malibu VOPs.

“I don’t think we can exist without them,” Frost said. “The amount of stuff they do out there, the way they control situations is just unbelievable.”

Director of the Westside Outreach of the People Concern Zack Coil attended the meeting and gave a presentation on homeless services provided by The People Concern.

“Outreach for us is not just giving someone a bottle of water or granola bar, it’s about trying to enter into a relationship with someone, build trust and move them along the spectrum of wellness to, at the very least, improve their wellness in their place in the community and hopefully try to help them access and qualify for inter, or permanent support of housing,” Coil said. “Try to form a relationship of trust and care to try to move them forward in terms of their general wellness while they’re on the street.”

According to the city’s website, the recent data for the 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count showed 71 people experiencing homelessness in Malibu, a continuing decrease from 2022, 2021, and 2020.

Fire Safety Liason Jerry Vandermuelen provided an update on Cal Fire Wildfire Prevention Grant.

Cal Fire’s Wildfire Prevention Grant program provides an opportunity for local agencies to apply for funding each fiscal year. These grants are aimed at supporting hazardous fuels reduction, wildfire prevention planning, and education programs. In the past, the Public Safety Department has received grants to fund public education initiatives such as the Public Safety Expo, a fire extinguisher training prop, and advertising materials. For the FY 23-24 program, staff intends to apply for funding to implement recommendations from the CA Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Subdivision Review Program.

The following five communities in and around Malibu were identified as meeting the criteria for this program:

• Big Rock
• Principio (Malibu West)
• Rambla Orienta (La Costa)
• Trancas Canyon
• Corral Canyon (Not within Malibu city limits)

The significance of this program is that addressing the mitigation recommendations in the survey reports not only makes these communities safer but is also part of the criteria for attaining recognition on the Fire Risk Reduction Community List. Also, CAL FIRE Prevention Grant funding to address these mitigation recommendations will receive priority.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Soderlund provided an update on enforcement and speeding and said despite the impact the incident has created, the issue is increasing.

“Because the problem is continuing, the city has agreed to pay overtime for extra traffic enforcement and so ideally, I wanted an extra deputy a day for extra enforcement, but as we all know, we’re stretched so thin up here between all the cities and all the different events,” Soderlund said. 

An estimated 27 citations were issued at Las Tunas Beach last month in the course of a week for illegally parked vehicles.

Soderlund said he is also conducting a street racing enforcement operation for the months of October and November. 

“Our entire focus will be on people racing and people driving recklessly, so that’s in the works,” Soderlund said. 

The next Public Safety Commission is scheduled for Dec 6.

Community feedback will help inform the final portions of the assessment as it nears completion

By Barbara Burke

Special to The Malibu Times

The City of Malibu announced that its Coastal Vulnerability Assessment is available for the public’s review. The assessment determines the vulnerability and projected impacts of sea level rise in Malibu for the short-term, mid-term and long-term. 

“With 21 miles of coastline, it is no surprise that Malibu has identified the Coastal Vulnerability Assessment as a high priority issue,” said Malibu Mayor Steve Uhring. “Projected rising sea levels threaten our beaches, the Malibu homeowners who have houses on the coast and significant portions of Malibu’s infrastructure. Understanding the conclusions incorporated in this study will make us all smarter. I hope everyone in Malibu will participate in this important project.”

“Climate change and sea-level rise are projected to impact communities across the globe,” the city’s website states, adding that the assessment will be a tool to begin to plan for measures to reduce the potential vulnerability of the city’s built and natural coastal resources to project sea-level rise. 

The assessment analyzes coastal hazards, including tidal inundation, shortline and bluff erosion, and extreme coastal flooding, and will help public and private stakeholders be aware of the potential impacts and the development of sea level rise adaptation strategies to avoid or reduce the impacts. 

Data collection

Malibu’s shoreline, which stretches approximately 22.6 miles from Nicholas Canyon County Beach to Topanga Beach, was evaluated, including the lower Trancas and Zuma canyons and low-lying areas around Malibu Lagoon.

The assessment considers plausible climate change scenarios, with one assuming rapid ice sheet loss in Antarctica, and others assuming emissions as usual with no ice sheet loss, culminating in identifying various risk aversion scenarios. Potential future hazard zones are identified using publicly available hazard maps utilizing geospatial analysis software. 

“Malibu has experienced impacts from coastal hazards and flooding and much of its oceanfront development is armored today,” the assessment concludes. “With sea-level rise, the city’s residential and commercial properties and supporting infrastructure along the coast may be impacted more frequently and to a greater degree by coastal erosion and flooding while regular tidal inundation will progress further inland and expose more coastal property and structures to regular high tides.”

The assessment also concludes that the Pacific Coast Highway may be exposed to coastal storm flooding in several locations by mid-century, while local roads may also be impacted, both by coastal storm flooding and wave run-up and even regular tidal inundation by late-century. Further, many of Malibu’s narrow beaches may disappear while others may disappear annually due to seasonal fluctuation. 

Next steps

There will be an in-person workshop on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 3 to 5 p.m. at Malibu City Hall (23825 Stuart Ranch Road) in the Multipurpose Room. A virtual workshop will be held on Thursday, Nov. 16, 3 to 5 p.m.

Community feedback gathered from the workshops will help inform the final portions of the Coastal Vulnerability Assessment as it nears completion.

Following the community input, the city will develop a range of potential adaptation measures that can be undertaken to reduce the sea level rise vulnerabilities. The study takes into account the California Coastal Commission’s Sea-Level Rise Policy Guidance adopted in 2018. 

To register for the virtual or in-person workshop, visit bit.ly/MalibuCVA.

Community members are also invited to give their feedback by taking the city’s online survey: www.surveymonkey.com/r/MalibuCVA. For more information, visit malibucity.org/coastal, call (310) 456-2489, ext. 292, or email sandico@malibucity.org.

Nobu Ryokan Motel and Tidepool Health Club intend to become bed and breakfast inn, seek liquor license

By Barbara Burke

Special to The Malibu Times

​On Nov. 6, the Malibu Planning Commission deferred its consideration of an application by the owners of the Nobu Ryokan Motel and the Tidepool Health Club to change the properties’ uses from a motel and adjacent health club to a bed and breakfast inn with a private gym available only to guests. The matter is now slated for the commission’s consideration on Dec. 18 at a special meeting.

​Commissioners John Mazza and Kraig Hill expressed grave concerns concerning a lack of clarity with regard to several matters relating to the application as well as concerning various historical details relating to the parcels. Commissioners Skylar Peak and Drew Leonard joined Mazza and Hill in voting to defer the matter, with Commissioner Dennis Robert Smith dissenting.

The application asks for the city to authorize a combined facility, merging the two commercially developed beachfront parcels via a lot tie so that they cannot be separately sold, a covenant that will run with the land unless the city releases that restriction. 

The proposed development and uses would include a bed and breakfast inn and lobby providing lodging accommodations consisting of 17 guest rooms with kitchen facilities adequate to provide meals to guests only, a 300-square-foot gym, a 600-square-foot swimming pool, and a deck. The swimming pool would close at 10 p.m. every night, and noise emanating from the premises shall not be audible at a distance of 5 feet of any neighboring building between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., as required by Malibu Municipal Code Section 8.24.050(L). Further, the applicant will agree to comply with MMC Chapter 9.24 (Ban on Plastic Food Packaging and other Plasticware), and will not allow any food packaging that utilizes expanded polystyrene, sometimes referred to as styrofoam, a Dow Chemical Company trademarked form of polystyrene foam. 

The application also seeks the commission’s approval of a proposed conversion of office space in the health club to a new guest suite with a kitchenette and authorization for the city planning director to issue a letter of public convenience or necessity for the sale of alcohol for onsite consumption by guests only either on the deck or for room service, a possible condition precedent to the applicants’ applying to the Alcohol and Beverage Control Board for a license to serve beer, wine, and distilled spirits in the private gym. The proposed hours for alcoholic beverage service are from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The motel currently has a liquor license.

Commissioners’ concerns regarding the application

Mazza stated that combining the parcels and allowing amenities such as a swimming pool, a gym, the sale of alcohol to guests, and meal service from morning to late evening would expand the character of the property to be tantamount to a hotel, not a bed and breakfast. Mazza noted that a hotel designation would require almost twice the parking than currently exists on the property as relevant law states that a hotel must have two parking spots per room and one parking spot for each staff member. 

Hill opined that adding another guest suite on the parcel as well as allowing room service and the serving of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks would constitute an intensity of use of water and sewage which should perhaps be considered by the water district. 

“It is unclear if the city ever issued a letter of public convenience or necessity for the sale of alcohol for onsite consumption at the motel,” Mazza stated. “I think that staff should search to find out the answers about that as well as about why the applicant is requesting a zoning reclassification to CV-2, which would allow the applicant to change the character of the property to a full hotel in the future without having to get permission from the city. That is a big gift and I wonder how that can be justified under the city’s laws? For a bed and breakfast, all the applicant needs is a CV-1 zoning classification.”

Such “upzoning” also seriously concerned Hill, who also stated that in his mind, the ancillary uses proposed on the property, such as a gym, alcoholic service and food service all day resulted in the proposed property constituting a hotel.

​Jo Drummond, president of the Malibu Township Council, expressed concerns about the parking not being sufficient, but also stated that the proposed establishment “is a hotel, not a motel or an inn, because the parking spots are not directly outside the room doors and the property has accessory uses such as all-day dining, alcohol service, massages, and a gym … Because it is not zoned for hotel use a Local Coastal Plan Amendment needs to be completed.”

​Drummond also noted that the proposed hotel “does not meet section 30212 of the Coastal Act to provide lower-cost visitor facilities when feasible.” 

​The staff will conduct an investigation into all of the concerns expressed before the meeting on Dec. 18.