The recently formed PAC, which is intending to put an initiative on to the ballot to be known as “The Malibu Right to Vote on Development Initiative,” has apparently begun the process too late to make it on to the November 2000 election ballot.

According to City Manager Harry Peacock, there is a process set down in the California state statutes for the processing of ballot initiatives with a timeline that is mandated in part by the state statute. Peacock said, according to his calculation, the drop-dead date for getting an initiative on to this November’s ballot (that’s the last day it could have been filed) was May 25. The backers of the petition didn’t file their Notice of Intention to Circulate the Petition until June 2.

Assuming the initiative gets the necessary signatures and meets the other legal requirements, a special election could be called, in Peacock’s opinion, by early spring 2001.

The proposed initiative, which was recently under review by the Malibu city attorney, would, if passed, require the voters of Malibu to approve any real estate project in the city of Malibu where a proposed commercial, industrial, and combined commercial and residential development, in excess of 25,000 square feet, which development requires a variance or other discretionary approval, is being sought. Since most of the Civic Center projects currently proposed exceed 25,000 square feet, and all practically require some discretionary approvals, they would all require a vote of the electorate to proceed. The initiative, if passed, would reach out and probably affect the proposed Malibu/Malibu Bay Company development deal negotiated by the Ad Hoc Committee of Tom Hasse and Joan House for the development of the Civic Center and the Trancas area developments. It could possibly also affect the Pt. Dume developments.

The timing of this proposed initiative election would, however, have no impact on the City Council election now set for November 2000 to choose the fifth council member to serve out the balance of Councilman Harry Barovsky’s term. That seat is now held by his widow Sharon Barovsky, who was appointed recently by the council to fill out the term until November of this year, at which point she will go before voters.

Until a major celebrity paid about $9 million for his Point Dume bluff estate in the mid-eighties, Malibu lagged well behind other famous environs in high-priced-tag home sales. Places such as Beverly Hills, Greenwich, Connecticut and Palm Beach, Florida set the pace for mega-dollar deals.

At the beginning of the month, however, 10 properties in Malibu were listed at or above the staggering $10 million level. Indeed, the day has come that Malibu boasts a collection of listed estate properties competitive with any place in the world.

No home off the beach had sold for more than $3 million locally until 1988 and only the biggest and brightest beach homes caught the attention of the most elite home purchasers worldwide. Paying top dollar for real estate did not make sense, given Malibu’s distance from the city.

Much has changed in recent years. Malibu has rapidly elevated among the most expensive environs in the country, according to most studies, keyed by the standout upper-end properties. The booming economy of the past 15 years, combined with technological advances allowing for work from home and car, have reduced the disadvantage of Malibu’s distance from business and entertainment centers.

Only four homes have sold above $10 million, led by the $27 million sale of a six-acre beach and bluff compound last year that ranked among the nation’s all-time highest. Two properties without beach access are Malibu’s highest-priced listings currently, each of them asking $25 million or more.

Malibu’s most elite listing is a Mediterranean mansion on a private knoll directly overlooking the pier and lagoon. It sits on about 16 acres and features a home of about 15,000 square feet. It could be yours for $32 million.

The property has a small golf course and two guest houses, including one at the massive gated entrance. There are seven bedrooms, 10 baths in the home as well as a state-of-the-art media room. The garage holds 10 cars.

About three miles up Kanan, in the adjacent canyon, is an estate of about 240 acres and several homes, all with acres of manicured grounds. The property is made up of several parcels that may allow for additional estate sites. Asking price: $25,000,000.

The French Normandy main residence of more than 8,000 square feet is surrounded by other guest homes and pools along a maze of private roads within the compound.

It wasn’t until 1997 that Malibu saw its first $10 million-plus transaction: a six-acre Encinal Bluffs estate that was in the $14 million range. The estate, with nearly 400 feet of beach near Broad Beach, topped $12 million in ’98, as did a Pt. Dume bluff home on one acre later in the year. Previously, in 1995, three separate bluff homes were purchased for a total of about $12 million, since combined into one large estate.

All of Malibu’s eight-figure deals to date have been beach-adjacent properties.

Gulls Way, the 12-acre compound near Latigo Canyon owned for decades by the Ulrich family and now Pepperdine University, is for sale at $15 million. The property has been used hundreds of times for social functions as well as film shoots. Besides a traditional-style 6,000 square foot main home, originally built in 1947, there are a variety of caretaker quarters.

Among a stretch of condos along Carbon Beach is an estate known as the Shell House because of the large white shell design on its outer wall along PCH. It is currently listed at $17 million.

On Cliffside Road, near the headlands of Point Dume, sits a new listing for $17,700,000 for a home just finished, featuring a view of the entire Santa Monica Bay and coastline. Surrounding the home of more than 11,000 plus square feet is a forest of thousands of tropical palms, plants and flowers. The property is over an acre and has a 60-foot pool.

Another Encinal Bluffs estate is also new on the market, listed at $21 million. The property includes three lots and three homes, sitting on nearly 200 feet of beach. One of the homes is a four-bedroom beach house on a small bluff. The property owns an entire sandy cove to itself. The main house is French Normandy style, originally built in 1968 and surrounded by gardens.

It may be that only a couple of these listings will sell in 2000. The higher the price, the tougher the sell, obviously. Still, the price-tags are indicative of our entry into the world’s most elite neighborhoods and home values throughout Malibu are only helped by such listings.

If it is simply a nice beach house you desire, consider a home on Carbon Beach listed for $11 million on approximately 137 feet of sand. Despite its beachfront location, the property has a north/south tennis court and large ocean front pool. There is a guest house also, with two bedrooms. The main house is entered via a large flower-filled courtyard.

Another Cliffside estate, listed at just over $10 million, features curved walls of glass that take in the ocean view. Not only does the home have extraordinary craftsmanship in a very private, gated location, the bluff property features a direct beach access, rare among Pt. Dume bluff properties.

Some of Malibu’s most impressive properties are along Paradise Cove. One current listing, with views of city lights to the east and the Malibu Riviera to the west, is over two acres with four homes on the property including a beach cottage on the sand. There are a total of eight bedrooms on the estate, listed at $10 million, as well as a pool and tennis court.

An Encinal Bluffs property with five acres and 300 feet of beach was designed by the son-in-law of Frank Lloyd Wright, and is on the market at $12,500,000.

After nearly a seven-month closure, Italian eatery, TraDiNoi is expected to reopen by the end of this month.

A December fire at neighboring gift store, the Malibu Colony Company, damaged a portion of the restaurant, causing it to shut down temporarily.

“We’re in the last stages of putting all the finishes together,” said co-owner and operator Antonio Alessi. “We’re just waiting for the city to give us the final approval and then we should be ready.”

According to Alessi, most of the restaurant’s interior and exterior is renovated, but the restaurant will retain its country-Italian dcor and charm.

“Basically, it’s all brand new and everything will be laid out pretty much the same,” said Alessi. “We’re trying to keep everything original and close to the way it was before.”

While the Malibu Colony Company reported 100 percent damage, TraDiNoi was not “totaled.” Only its roof and the wall shared with the gift store were called a total loss. There was also water damage to the restaurant floor, the air-conditioning system was damaged and it suffered smoke damage.

“We’re looking forward to having a brand new place,” said partner Claudio.

“Instead of having half-old, half-new, we decided to remodel and make it all new.”

The restaurant’s patio will have new tables, chairs and umbrellas so customers can eat lunch or dinner outdoors.

The Malibu Colony Company has been operating out of its annex store also located in the Country Mart Shopping Center.

“We basically moved as much as we could in here (the annex) from the main store but we’re hoping to get approval from the city any day,” said Hugh Kinsellagh, owner of the Malibu Colony Company.

Owners say TraDioNoi will have a “soft opening” upon approval from city health inspectors, but will host a grand opening shortly after the restaurant gets functioning once again.

“The kitchen, the bathroom and the roof are all new, but we have the same chef, the same food, and we hope to see many of the same faces after we open,” said Alessi.

Presenting a “mini state-of-the city” report to community activists Thursday, Mayor Tom Hasse told the Malibu Youth Coalition the city has been negotiating with state parks head Rusty Arieas and local property owner Roy Crummer about sports fields next to Bluffs Park.

The city hopes to have a proposal ready the beginning of July, Hasse said.

Negotiations between the city and Crummer began last November. At the time, the city wanted Crummer to donate six acres of land next to the existing ballfields at Bluffs Park, in exchange for which the city would approve Crummer’s request to build eight homes on the remainder of the 24-acre site.

The land is currently zoned RR-2, or one home for every two acres. It has sufficient flat ground for two baseball fields, one soccer field and parking.

Even with the city’s blessing, Crummer might not be able to secure approval of the California Coastal Commission. Reportedly, the agency was opposed to the land being used for residential purposes because it is designated as visitor-serving.

Because the state wants to keep Bluffs Park as open space, negotiations have been ongoing between Crummer, the city, and Arieas, head of the state’s Park & Recreation Department. When Areias was in Malibu last summer, someone suggested a deal with Crummer to obtain additional land for ballfields if the Coastal Commission was willing to let the remainder of the Crummer parcel be used for residential purposes.

Development agreement workshops

Speaking to the youth alliance created by education activist Laure Stern, Hasse also announced that Parks and Recreation Commission workshops on Heathercliff Park have been slated for June 21, 22 and 24.

The June 21 and 22 workshops will take place at the Michael Landon Center at Bluffs Park, 7 p.m., while the June 24 meeting will take place at the Malibu Community Center on Point Dume, 9 a.m., Hasse said.

The community can tell the city what amenities and environmental mitigation measures they would like to see for the 19-acre site fronting Pacific Coast Highway near Heathercliff Road. The project includes a community center and three adjacent sports fields, which the community can design, Hasse said.

He urged the group to attend both the Heathercliff Park workshops and the City Council hearings on the proposed long-range development deal with the Malibu Bay Company set for June 27, 28 and July 6.

Copies of the city’s proposed development and donation agreements with the Malibu Bay Company are available at City Hall, Hasse said. Input is needed at both sets of hearings, in order to define a project for an Environmental Impact Report on the proposed Malibu Bay Company deal, Hasse said.

“This is a very important step for the city,” Hasse noted. “The development agreement has been a point of contention for the last few months.”

He urged people to fax or e-mail the city with comments if they cannot attend these hearings.

Hasse also distributed to the group his first Mayor’s Report.

Beginning this month, the report will be posted on the city’s Web site, ci.malibu.ca.us, which has just been improved at a cost of $40,000, Hasse said.

Development initiative, transportation hearings, budget

Continuing with his report, Hasse announced that:

• An initiative regarding voter approval of future large commercial development has just been filed with the city clerk. It is proposed to be placed on the November ballot.

* People who are concerned about traffic on Pacific Coast Highway or regional air traffic should attend a 2 p.m. June 20 hearing at City Hall, Hasse said. The hearing has been set to solicit public input on the Regional Transportation Plan to be considered by the Southern California Association of Governments. If people fax or e-mail their comments, they will go into the public record, Hasse said.

• The city is working with supermarkets to develop a program to fund parks and recreation facilities. Under the program, called “Round Up for Kids,” any money on a super market bill rounded up to the nearest dollar is used for parks and recreation. The program is modeled after one done in New York.

• Previewing the bi-annual budget discussed at Monday’s City Council, Hasse said the city’s General Fund (the city’s discretionary money) is projected for $10.1 million for fiscal year 2001 (July 1, 2000-June 30, 2001) and $9.2 million for fiscal year 2002 (July 1, 2001-June 30, 2002). The difference is explained by a loss of $700,000 in new city status funds from the state. The current reserve is $2 million. About $2 million is owed to the city from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state’s Office of Emergency Services for natural disasters over the last seven years. The city’s new parking fee should bring in about $165,000–$200,00 this fiscal year, said Hasse, in response to a question by school board candidate Michael Jordan.

The City Council’s fax number is 310.456.3356. Mayor Hasse’s e-mail is thasse@ci.malibu.ca.us