Hoping to avoid setting a precedent, opening a door to illegal building activities, the Planning Commission at its May 21 meeting continued an application to obtain a variance for grading that was already completed, to its next meeting on June 4.

The applicant in question requested a variance to build an 8,250 square foot residence on Porterdale Road after he had already graded a pad on the property in the past. The commissioners questioned the integrity of the application, which requested legalization for grading that was already done.

“It’s difficult because we’re trying to get compliance, not punish,” said Commissioner Ed Lipnick in a later interview. “We could theoretically make them put the hillside back, but what good is that going do for anybody?”

Because of the legal questions involved in such cases, the commission has asked for more legal support at future meetings.

Commissioners were hesitant in making a decision on the application when they were told that historical facts indicated that the applicant had graded other lots in the past and obtained after-the-fact legalization for the grading on those as well.

After learning about the prior activities, the commission had to decide whether this application should be reviewed independently or in conjunction with the other subdivisions.

“I’m glad I don’t drink,” said Commissioner Andrew Stern, perplexed about the situation.

The applicant’s permit coordinator, Terry Valente, was also surprised by the confusion. “I was quite shocked when I found that the city was not aware of the grading pads. The owner thought that [the grading] had been legalized,” she said.

The alleged illegal grading situation further raised questions for the commissioners who wanted to be assured that the builder had not purposely withheld information on his application.

Lipnick asked planning Director Barry Hogan to clarify what possible remedies the city had to sanction applicants when they do illegal grading.

Hogan responded that the city usually seeks compliance with the code. “All we can do is double the fee,” he said.

Carrigan did not feel that that was enough and Hogan suggested the commission ask council to pass an ordinance for future cases, but for this case, the penalty cannot be changed.

In other matters at the last planning meeting, the commission unanimously approved a request to build a 3,477 square foot home on West Beach Lane despite flaws that would have prevented the subdivision on which the parcel sits to take place if it had been presented today.

As he voted to approve the project, Lipnick said, “It’s obvious that the subdivision would not be approved today, but I do recognize that in some ways we had a fast shuffle on the subdivision at the time.”

Nearby condominium residents were concerned about view blockage and the potential effects of dirt pilings that had been done on some the lots, which are right behind their homes.

However, planning staff determined that these concerns were not issues to be addressed with this application. The subdivision had been approved in 1995 and grading was approved at the time.

Jim Cariker, the applicant, gave some background to the commissioners.

This was the first subdivision approved in Malibu. One of the reasons why the Planning Commission approved the project at that time is that it felt this would be a good transition between the condos below and larger homes above the project.

“I believe that these houses conform within the neighborhood character and they are affordable, which is a good thing for Malibu,” said Cariker.

Four homes are already completed in the subdivision, which includes eight parcels.

Given that a prior commission had approved the project, Lipnick asked Charlene Kabrin, former commissioner, to clarify the motives for their approval.

“This is the only layout in which he could get as many lots as he was entitled to,” said Kabrin, as she explained that at the time the commission was not necessarily happy with it but they went along with planning staff’s recommendations because they were not very experienced.

But an attorney representing nearby residents on Cavaleri Road requested a no vote on the matter because the fill dirt on the lots is high and steep and some rocks and mud have already begun to come down onto their patios, he said.

However, the application before the commission is only for one lot and the commission again asked if this was a matter that concerned the lot in question.

Hogan agreed that the neighbor’s concerns were legitimate but he thought this was something that could be worked on separately at a later time.

If you see a Malibu condo owner around town, be pleasant to them. Give them a hug. Treat them well. Ask them if they might want to sell their place. Ask them nicely; we need them.

Buyers and realtors alike would like to see more condos on the market; the number of local condo owners willing to sell is extremely low; less than four percent of all the Malibu condos are currently listed for sale.

During the dead of winter recently, the inventory was less than two percent. That translates to about 35-40 available listings for all of Malibu in recent weeks, ranging from about $210,000 to more than $700,000. How are first-time and lower-priced buyers supposed to find a place to live in Malibu with so little choice?

The condo inventory problem is exacerbated by home prices overall. Since prices have risen so dramatically since 1997, as much as 60-70 percent, very few homes in Malibu are offered for under $500,000.

Two recent house listings in Corral Canyon went into escrow relatively quickly, with offering prices in the $400,000s. Excluding mobile homes, a Southern California buyer willing to pay twice the regional median average for a Malibu residence is limited exclusively to a condo or townhouse.

At one point in January, only 10 units were listed for under $400,000. That’s out of approximately 1,200 condo and townhouse total units for all of Malibu.

Currently, with approximately 40 listings overall, the median asking price is about $375,000.

Previous to a tight selection during the last several years, the inventory would exceed 70 listings in less hectic times.

The following is an inventory of total units and median asking prices for all condo listings in mid-April of each year:

2001: 38, $375K; 2000: 42, $372K; 1999: 38, $324K; 1998: 46, $297K; 1997: 53, $339K; 1996: 57, $275K.

During 1997, the new Pointe of Malibu, across from Point Dume, added to the inventory and raised the average asking price, due to the newer and larger nature of the units. It was one of the last new complexes planned.

The new Vista Pacifica under construction near Trancas/Bailard (not be confused with Vista Pacifica adjacent Webster School) will offer almost 40 new units at asking prices around the $700,000 level. Several have sold already.

The only other future development will be approximately 20 units near Webster School across from Maisson Deville. Otherwise, it may be years before any new condos and townhouses get past the drawing board in Malibu.

Even in many of the larger complexes such as Malibu Villas, Malibu Gardens, Zuma Bay Villas and Malibu Canyon Village, none or few units are for sale. The selling has also ceased at the Bella Mar complex at Cavalleri/PCH. All units are for rent only.

About two condos sell every week in Malibu. According to Malibu realtor Judy Van Schoyck, who specializes in condo sales, the median sale price during the past two years was $320,000 for listings on the land side and $340,000 for units on the beach (including Tivoli Cove and the Malibu Bay Club).

Van Schoyck reports that market time was very quick, less than three months in 2000, for an average sale. That certainly makes sense considering the supply and demand factors.

Condo owners face an attractive combination these days of increased prices and little competition should they elect to sell.

Rick Wallace of the Coldwell Banker company has been a Malibu realtor for 13 years. He can be reached at RICKMALIBU-realestate.com.

Given that the City Council met on Tuesday night, too late for this week’s publication deadline, specifics about the council’s decision on the items listed below will be reported on in next week’s issue.

• One year after the controversial home occupation rules that currently exist in Malibu were loudly disputed at City Council meetings by residents who thought they were too restrictive, a revised set of home office regulations came back to council for approval on Tuesday.

“We debated it extensively last July and this is just the ordinance resulting from that debate,” said Councilmember Tom Hasse in an interview before the meeting.

The home office ordinance was under fire because it was thought to be too cumbersome for businesses, and residents organized in an effort to request that the rules be relaxed. The rules prohibited employees or even occasional customers in a home office setting, which addressed such professions as lawyers, CPAs, psychiatrists, therapists, Web designers, writers, editors, artists, designers and others.

Last summer, a code enforcement task force was set up to review current code enforcement methods, including enforcement on home businesses. The task force deciphered the interim zoning code in an attempt to suggest simplified rules that would be easier to comply with and enforce. The Planning Commission unanimously agreed to amend the zoning text as proposed by staff.

Ordinance No. 222, which revises home office criteria, is in front of the City Council awaiting approval.

Among other things, home businesses that employ less than six employees, or home-based educational facilities that serve six students or less at a time, will be able to operate without a permit.

• In other matters, the City Council listened to public comments on a Local Coastal Plan that was revised by Interim City Manager Christi Hogin, based on a document that was drafted by an advisory committee over a six-year period.

The California Coastal Act requires that each local government within the coastal zone, prepare a local coastal plan. But Malibu has not created an LCP in a timely manner and the state assigned the California Coastal Commission to draft one for the city.

Last week, in an effort to keep the coastal plan local, Malibu officials went to Sacramento to ask several legislators to intervene, hoping to get a favorable response that would allow the city drafted LCP, which is now being finalized, to be certified by the state.

Once the city’s LCP is certified, Malibu will be able to issue coastal development permits and the Coastal Commission will only consider appeals from certain types of projects.

• Council discussed the possibility of authorizing the city manager to hire an environmental consultant who would prepare an Environmental Impact Report for the La Paz office and retail project in the Civic Center area.

• Council also discussed a $15 million parks and open land bond measure, focusing on the process and clarifying what steps need to be taken so that the measure can go onto the November ballot.

• Discussions on the Civic Center guidelines, a comprehensive set of design guidelines for public spaces and private projects in the Civic Center area, and a proposed budget for the fiscal year 2001-2002 totaling $19.5 million were continued because Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Jennings was not present at Tuesday’s meeting.

• Council reviewed a professional services agreement with Hatch and Parent, the law firm that has provided legal services for the city over the past year but was recently terminated in favor of Interim City Manager Christi Hogin’s law firm, Jenkins and Hogin, which will take over the job as of June 2001.

If the council approves the professional services agreement with Hatch and Parent, drafted under the substantially same terms as the city’s current agreement, present City Attorney Steven Amerikaner will be able to continue to serve as special counsel to the city when necessary.

• Council reviewed a claim for damages filed by Malibu La Costa Owners Association. Staff recommended that the council deny the claim, which was filed against the city alleging that the city was negligent and bears responsibility for property damage.

In a letter to council, Frank Thomas, treasurer for Malibu La Costa Owners Association, said that a grading permit issued in 1999, allowing a builder to place a mobile home in the street over a storm drain, caused uncontrolled flooding and erosion, thereby damaging property owned by the association. Total damages were estimated at $13,290.

The associations requested the city pay for the damages and take appropriate action to prevent a repetition of the occurrence, but the claims management company hired by the city suggested the city reject the claim.

• In closed session the council reviewed a proposed contract and hired Katie Lichtig as assistant city manager.

Katie Lichtig, currently serving as Santa Monica’s assistant to the city manager for management services, was selected by the council to be the assistant city manager at Tuesday night’s City Council closed session meeting.

If all goes as planned, Lichtig will later become city manager, replacing Christi Hogin, who is currently the interim city manager.

After a council-appointed subcommittee, with the help of former Malibu City Manager Ray Taylor, reviewed 47 resumes from potential applicants and made recommendations narrowing a first round of interviews with four candidates down to two, Lichtig came out as a clear winner.

As a result, the City Council reviewed and approved a contract proposal with Lichtig Tuesday night and she will begin her work in Malibu on June 11.

“She is wonderful, bright, enthusiastic, and community minded,” said Hogin. “She is process oriented and I think she will be a great match.”

Lichtig will become acting city manager immediately upon her appointment. The process, while a little unusual, will give council an opportunity to know her before they make a final commitment, said Hogin.

After a series of trial and error situations in the past, and hoping to avoid any more changes in the near future, the city developed a process specifically tailored to give the council and the potential city manager an opportunity to know each other, explained Hogin. Sort of like an engagement before marriage, hoping that the relationship will work out.

But on the surface, Lichtig’s professional abilities appear to be a clear match.

Lichtig worked in Santa Monica for a little over nine years and started her career in public service about 17 years ago.

Lichtig already has relationships with representatives of this area, said Hogin, aware that her position with the City of Santa Monica has given a head start to the chosen applicant.

Working for Santa Monica, Lichtig was responsible for a variety of things related to internal operations of the city. These included the administration of the city’s capital improvement budget, the coordination of earthquake recovery, emergency preparedness and managing the city council agenda and the policy documents relating to that.

Lichtig also worked on the implementation of the city’s performance measurement program.

Before coming to Santa Monica, Lichtig worked with the federal government. She started as a presidential management intern, a highly regarded competitive program for 200 people entering the federal government service.

She was then assigned to the Federal Office of Management Budget and she ended her federal career with the department of education as a special agent conducting criminal and civil investigations.

Lichtig received her bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Davis and went on to earn her masters in public administration from the University of Syracuse in New York.

Lichtig is well acquainted with the region; she grew up on the West Side and currently lives in Marina Del Rey with her husband of 15 years.

She said she decided to apply for the post of assistant city manager in Malibu because there are many challenges facing the city and from a professional perspective, she thought she could assist the community.

“I hope to meet the needs and expectations of the public,” said Lichtig.

“I just think that the community is going to find her to be very confident and interested in achieving the community’s goals,” said Hogin.

More than four years after a heated dispute developed between the City of Malibu and the California Coastal Commission over the Point Dume headlands, the two agencies came together Friday morning at the dedication of the Point Dume Natural Preserve.

The Coastal Commission and the city were once at loggerheads “in a costly legal struggle” over the city’s alleged violations of the Coastal Act of 1972, which resulted in diminished public access to the Point Dume coastal area.

As part of the costal access improvement, the City of Malibu will fund the “Nature Bus,” a shuttle, which will be available daily to transport residents and visitors from Westward Beach to the Pointe Dume Natural Preserve free of charge.

The cost to operate the bus per year, for the first two years, is $50,000, according to city officials. At the end of two years, the contract to operate the bus is to be renegotiated, which may or may not result in higher costs.

The total cost of the designated work at the Point Dume Natural Preserve and adjacent area is approximately $200,000, according to city officials. The California Coastal Commission, State Parks and the City of Malibu jointly funded the project. The California Coastal Commission’s approximate contribution is $100,000, while State Parks contributed approximately $50,000 to the effort.

A Point Dume resident celebrated the revitalized preserve Friday, noting that protected land secures the tranquil site from being purchased by developers, while another resident bemoaned the installation of a shuttle bus in particular, fearing it will bring in “more transient traffic to the community.”

Rusty Areias, director of California Parks and Recreation, praised the community, the City of Malibu, the California Coastal Commission and the work of State Parks for their “passion and for answering our call to resolve these issues” before a crowd of community residents, participating concerns and local government.

In 1997 the City of Malibu received a cease-and-desist order from the California Coastal Commission directing it “to remove all parking restrictions, signs and boulders, and to restore the shoulder along Cliffside Drive’s south side between Birdview Avenue and Dume Drive, adjacent to the Point Dume Preserve.” The order reportedly ended when the city and the commission agreed to work together to provide public access improvements to Cliffside Drive and the bordering preserve.

Areias, who mediated the settlement agreement between the city and the Coastal Commission, added, “We had some spirited conversations and meetings, traded a lot of ideas and concerns, but in the end, we were successful and we achieved our goals.”

Sara Wan, chair of the Coastal Commission, acknowledged Areias’ vision in bringing the City of Malibu and the commission together stating, “Each of us compromised a little bit. In the end, the public, the residents of this area and the citizens of this state are the big winners.”

Specific improvements to enhance the preserve and provide better public access now include 10 parking spaces, restoration of preserve vegetation, boulder removal, the installation of a decomposed granite walking path now surrounded by a new boundary fence, and the implementation of the shuttle.

It is hoped that the shuttle will reduce traffic in addition in providing access to the preserve.

As to the commission’s views on monies allocated to this project, Wan said, “State money is spent to purchase property like this to keep it maintained and to restore it. We cannot expect the state to expend funds without giving the public an opportunity to use that land. Public access and coastal protection go hand-in-hand. If you don’t have the money set aside for coastal protection, you wind up with an area like this being developed. I don’t think anyone here wants to see that happen.”

The Point Dume Natural Preserve is designated a state historic landmark by State Parks.

The area is also said to contain a significant Chumash Indian site and, accordingly, Alan Salazar, of the Malibu Native America Cultural Resources Advisory Committee, conducted a Chumash blessing.

Areias reported that California State Parks has assigned Craig Sap, a State Parks lifeguard, to work at the Natural Preserve full-time, whom he said, “has already developed a team of 63 volunteers who have begun caring for the preserve by working on trail improvements and native plant restoration.”

The Nature Bus will operate seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the summer, shuttling from Westward Beach to the Point Dume Preserve, and is scheduled to run 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. weekends and holidays during the fall and winter.