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Doing business at home

By
13StarsManager
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I am concerned that recent letters to the editor might give Malibu residents the wrong idea about our current law regulating home businesses.

Section 9.0.03 (A)(19) of the Zoning Code allows “Home Occupations” but does place some limitations on that activity.

A resident may work at home but “the existence of a home occupation shall not be apparent beyond the boundaries of the site,” “no signage shall be permitted,” “no one other than residents of the dwelling shall by employed on-site or report to work at the site,” “the Home Occupation shall not create pedestrian, automobile, or truck traffic or parked vehicles in excess of the normal amount in the district,” and “a home occupation shall not include an office, sales room, or any other space open to any business visitors, customers, or clients. . .” These limitations are designed to allow residents to work at home while protecting neighborhoods from the impact of a business being operated in a residential area.

This ordinance does not “criminalize business meetings” as alleged by one recent letter. Entertaining employees and clients, “collaborative writing,” personal training at home, and meetings with “creative teams” are not prohibited by this ordinance. It is not true that discussing business in your home would “subject you to criminal prosecution” as was alleged in another recent letter.

The spirit of the ordinance is to prevent a residential neighborhood from being impacted by a business which has employees reporting to work on a daily basis and customers being attracted to the location–and that is how it is enforced.

There are currently only three cases in which this ordinance is being enforced. One involves a business with 10-12 employees reporting to work at a residence daily, the second involves a business with 5-6 employees daily, and the third involves 1-20 clients coming to the location daily. In each of these cases, complaints were received by neighbors who were impacted by the increased traffic and noise created by the business in the neighborhood.

The Code Enforcement Task Force may, if it chooses to do so, consider this issue–as one of its tasks is “permitted uses” which would include Home Occupations. The citizens of Malibu have every right to request a change in this ordinance but that decision should be made based on facts, not irresponsible statements intended to support a particular agenda.

Victor Peterson

Building Official

HOWS it going Malibu?

By
13StarsManager
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0

Countering the trend of consolidating into huge grocery store chains in Southern California, some of the old Hughes Family Market team is returning to Malibu in a smaller suit and with a different name: HOWS Market.

HOWS Market is an independent food retailer operated by former executives from Hughes Family Markets, Inc., which opened Wednesday.

The Malibu location is the fourth store in this new chain, intended to fill the gap left when Hughes Family Markets Inc. was converted to Ralphs in 1998.

The acquisition was complicated. The parent of Hughes Grocery Co., publicly held Quality Foods Center Inc., was acquired by Fred Meyer Inc. at the same time that Ralphs was sold to Meyer. Quality Foods was estimated to be sold for $1.7 billion. Meyer then combined Ralphs and Hughes, creating a $15 billion multi-regional supermarket chain that holds the No. 1 market share in Los Angeles.

HOWS Market will replace the former Trancas Market and be located at 30745 PCH in the mall across from Broad Beach.

“Love the neighborhood, love the people, glad to be back!” exclaimed Tom Pflaumer, assistant manager of HOWS.

The old Trancas grocery store showed signs of this change last week. There was dust on the floor, plastic on the shelves, and many managers bustling around the grocery store preparing for the new opening. HOWS Market stands in a completely refurbished 17,500 square-foot store.

A 40-year Malibu resident peered into the window and commented, “It doesn’t look that different.”

When asked about the opening, he described Hughes reputation as more client-friendly than Ralphs and expressed, “Everyone has confidence in the Hughes operation, at least everyone I know.”

In turn, Hughes has confidence in Malibu.

Mark Oerum, former vice president of operations at Hughes, described the grocery highlights: “perishables, produce, meat, seafood. [We] buy own our produce at market.”

“Organic and natural foods–finest produce and finest meat,” he added.

HOWS also brags home delivery from a brick-and-mortar place which can be called in, faxed, or ordered over the Web at www.howsmarket.com.

HOWS is the type of market where you can find both Cooks champagne for $5.89 and Piper-Heidsieck French Extra Dry for $40.79. Oerum also explained that HOWS niche in the market fell with; “Ralphs and Vons at one level, Gelson’s and Bristol [Farms] at the higher–we think we fit in the gray area in between–more for the clean look.”

HOWS caters to middle-and upper income clientele and aims, according to Pflaumer, to “supply quality merchandise at a fair price.” The name is an acronym for the initials of the former Hughes Market executives involved in the new venture: Roger Hughes (H), Mark Oerum (O), David Wolff (W), and Steve Strickler (S).

These four executives together number more than 100 years in the grocery store business.

Oerum said that after six months working at Ralphs he was eager to return to the Hughes family style of business.

“We just think that there is a better way to sell groceries,” said Oerum. “People here, want to be here–they enjoy what they are doing here.”

Civic Center development battle turns mean

By
13StarsManager
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0

In the inevitable style of a Malibu major land development battle, the proposed Civic Center deal between the city of Malibu and the Malibu Bay Company, which will be the subject of public hearings later this month, took a bizarre and very personnal turn for Mayor Tom Hasse.

Recently, a story broke in the national Internet media, attacking Hasse over a series of traffic tickets he received and then neglected, which then led to warrants being issued for his arrest.

The story, written by former Malibu Parks and Recreation Commissioner Sam Hall Kaplan, who is a writer and TV journalist, and a friend and former appointee of defeated Mayor Carolyn Van Horn, ran on the website of ABC news. In his story Kaplan said about Hasse that he, “lives in a modest rental apartment, is unemployed and has so many traffic tickets that a warrant was issued for him last week and his driving privileges revoked.”

Kaplan, who has been an outspoken opponent of the proposed Malibu/Malibu Bay Company development deal, characterizes Hasse in his story as part of the pro-development faction of the council. He then goes on to quote Van Horn, a Malibu resident, and Marcia Hanscom, an environmental activist, both of whom are opponents of the development deal and strong proponents of the idea of turning the Malibu Civic Center into a wetlands.

Van Horn, apparently still smarting over her election defeat by an almost 2-1 margin in which she finished dead last in a field of six, which some insiders say she attributed in part to Hasse’s refusal to support her in this last election, was quoted as saying “The nature of the violations raises serious concerns whether Hasse should be representing our community in private negotiations with major landowners.”

Hanscom, executive director of the Wetlands Action Network, another strong proponent of turning the Civic Center into a wetlands, said in the Kaplan story, “Hasse’s modest circumstances raises the question of how susceptible he might be to undue influence.”

In his story Kaplan says, “Alerted to the warrant, Capt. John O’Brien, commander of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station said he called Hasse as he would any other citizen similarly charged. We don’t pursue an arrest. We just suggest that the matter be taken care of, which I did to the Mayor.”

According to Hasse, the matter has since been taken care of, the fines paid, the bench warrants recalled and the drivers license reinstated upon payment of the fines.

The Kaplan ABC Internet story was then sent by an unidentified person to most of the city employees, which caused Hasse to send a memo to the same employees, outlining his version of events, which we are in The Malibu Times in full (see page below )

The hearings on the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), in connection with the proposed Civic Center development deal, are now set for June 27 and 28, and July 5. The Malibu Parks and Recreation Commission will also be holding a series of public meetings in the near future to discuss the proposed 15,000 square-foot community center and the ball fields, being proposed for the Point Dume area on the parcel that borders PCH, east of Heathercliff, and which is an integral part of the proposed Civic Center development deal.

In a related development, a new Political Action Committee (PAC) has formed, called Malibu Right to Vote on Development. The president and primary proponent is Malibu resident Marilyn Dove, 456-2518.

According to their press release, the group filed a proposed initiative June 2, with the city of Malibu, which would require voter-ballot approval on all future large commercial development in Malibu. The proposed initiative measure would require that voters of the city of Malibu make the ultimate decision as to whether to accept or deny proposed commercial, industrial, and combined commercial and residential development in excess of 25,000 square-feet; and which development requires a variance or other discretionary approval inconsistent with the laws of Malibu. The law firm of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips drafted the initiative.

Around Town

By
13StarsManager
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Dr. Chester King, the often controversial Malibu city archeologist, has been told the city will no longer need his services. He was recently given a 45-day termination notice by City Manager Harry Peacock, and his services with the city will terminate July 10 of this year. King, who is a contract consultant with the city, serves as an “at will” consultant, which means that his contract can be terminated by the planning director or his appointee, in this case the city manager, at any time, without cause, subject only to a 45-day notice. Peacock indicated that the city is looking for a new consulting archeologist and King has not been asked to submit a new proposal. Most city contracts now have a termination date, but King, who was highly favored by some on the old council, had an open-ended contract without any specific termination date.

Peacock refused to be specific as to the reasons he had decided to give King the termination notice other than to say that a couple of years ago the City Council decided to review consultants contracts every two years, and they are now looking at the contracts of all the consultants. Some will be invited to resubmit for renewal their contracts for another two years, but this was not the case with King.

King, a vigorous defender of the Chumash and their cultural artifacts, had, during his long tenure with the city, been at odds on a number of occasions with homeowners who have complained to the city about some very costly archeological studies that King required in his function as city archeologist–studies that King himself would carry out. Several homeowners charged there was an inherent conflict in that arrangement.

In a virtually unprecedented enforcement action, the California Coastal Commission has set a public hearing on Tuesday June 13, at their Santa Barbara Meeting, to consider a proposed cease and desist order, which, if approved, would direct Malibu attorney Sam Birenbaum and his wife Nidia Birenbaum, a former city of Malibu commissioner, who has a show running on local cable TV called “Cookie Cutter,” to virtually remove significant portions of their dwelling on Malibu Road, which the Coastal Commission has charged are unpermitted. The Public Hearing Notice issued by the commission charges that they are to cease and desist allegedly development activity without permits, which the notice states includes unpermitted rock revetments, grading of 1,800 cubic yards of material (mainly sand) to create a beach patio, construction of a patio enclosure, replacement of a septic tank, placement of a trailer on the beach and construction of two 22-foot high wood retaining walls.

The council is definitely moving ahead post-haste to get our Local Coastal Plan finished and approved by the Coastal Commission and to get the legislature, namely Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) and Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-San Fernando Valley), off our backs as soon as possible. The council took the first giant step and said, “Thank you very much ” to the Local Coastal Plan Committee, which has spent six years laboring on the prospective plan. They did that despite a last minute plea by committee chair Werner Keonig, asking to give the committee one last crack at it. The council politely, but firmly, said, “No thank you” and “we’ll take it from here” and turned it over to their land-use subcommittee of Joan House and Jeff Jennings. The Local Coastal Plan Committee–consisting of Debra DeCray, Sarah Dixon, Melanie Goudzwaard, Jeff Harris, Lucile Keller, Werner Keonig, Patricia Lee, Joan Plummer and Jo Ruggles–was then disbanded.

If any of you had an idea that the recent results at the polls where the zero-growthers were firmly rejected by the electorate meant that the city was ready to move on, you had better look again. Despite losing in every one of the Malibu 13 precincts by margins of almost 2-1, it’s now apparent that the old alliance of Walt Keller/ Carolyn Van Horn/ Gil Segel/ Marcia Hanscom/–and now we can add Sam Hall Kaplan and the Wetland Network crowd– is digging in for a long and nasty fight to try and come back to power. It’s not just that the group opposes the proposed Civic Center/Point Dume/ Trancas/development deal between the city and the Malibu Bay Company, or they don’t appear to be overly concerned by the lack of a community/senior/teen center or ball fields, it’s the tenor of the attack. Judging from the recent attack on Hasse, civilized discourse is out, and “take no prisoners” is the order of the day. The battle promises to be long, very personal and very nasty with more than a hint of fanaticism about it.

Only one census question needed

By
13StarsManager
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0

Malibu Residents have every right to be census leery the way it is being used by the government for its own political purposes. The only true and constitutional function of the census is to count the number of people so that the proper number of representatives can be had. The only question on the census should be is how many people live at this household? The only race that counts is human. Knowing how many flush toilets, bedrooms, credit cards, health data, health services used and what type or one’s income is simply none of the government’s or anyone else’s business. The only reason for this is so that politicians can be social engineers and accordingly take from one to give to another. Citizens know this intuitively and no amount of propaganda from the news media saying it’s for schools, hospitals, fire, etc., will not change individuals’ perception that the government is far too intrusive and interfering. Our Malibu resident’s actions were right and proper. By all means be counted but just say no to all the other questions.

As for the government’s assurances that all will be private and confidential, just ask one of the survivors of Manzanar what they think.

Charles Black

Soulless city lacks vision

By
13StarsManager
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0

RE: Village Project Nightmare or Dream by David Wallace, May 18, 2000

I admire many of Ed Niles buildings. There are two areas of concern which I have regarding his concept. First, putting buildings around “rooms” for public use usually invites tenants and landlords to encroach on this space.

Witness that signs have had to be posted to enforce the deeded park in the Malibu Country Mart. Even still Tra d’ Noi continues to create a false impression that the tables under its awning are theirs! They routinely put “RESERVED” on these tables, and most people respect this non-existent right.

My second concern is what exactly does the Malibu Bay Company, Ed Niles and the City Council envision our Civic Center will look like after these buildings are constructed? Do they actually think that a City Hall surrounded by malls and scattered trees is something the council and the citizens of Malibu will be proud of? Think of any city that you admire and enjoy visiting: Santa Barbara, Carmel, Monterey, Beverly Hills. All their civic centers are situated on a large park. What will Malibu Civic Center look like in four years, then ten years if the Malibu Bay Company development agreement goes through? Keep this thought in mind and ask yourself, “What are the chances that a city which has to sell its soul for some ball fields will come up with the cash to buy land and build elsewhere?” Furthermore, what a waste of public resources it would be if Malibu is forced to go down that road because of a lack of vision now.

Marilyn Dove

There’s no place like home

By
kimdevore_2
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0

Occasionally, it’s good to get out of town for a while.

Last year, around this time, I chose to leave the humble surroundings of the quaint Malibu Times for a foray into the hi-profile, hi-glamour, hi-income, hi-stress, hi-tech, hi-risk world of syndicated television.

National Enquirer TV was a producer’s dream. M.G.M had given us every conceivable toy. There were gleaming digital editing bays, dazzling computer-generated graphics, an arsenal of souped-up iMacs, lightening-speed Internet access and every killer application known to man (not to mention my totally rockin’ personal assistant Eddie.)

It’s been a year of 4:30 wake-up calls, 14-hour days, long commutes into the big city and non-stop ratings-driven hysteria–a year of no life and no sleep. Brushing my teeth and bathing became my biggest luxuries.

As the show wrapped I began to contemplate the future (and a serious loss of income.) So, the all-important question–should I leap right back into another show? Should I sign on for another round of studio suits with slick cell phones and language all their own? Should I look wide-eyed at the sound of vertically integrated companies, target market vehicles, aggregated channels, cable migration, media clustering and hard quality viewing options? No. I decided to shut down–at least for a little while. I needed the beach. I needed Guido’s. I needed Tony’s. I needed a bath. I needed the Times.

My first day back, I decide to dial up the voice mail I haven’t had time to check since early1999 and peruse the correspondence I haven’t had time to open since early 1999 and take note of all the people who have been looking for me since I, like, left the planet.

Weak, weighing 10 pounds lighter and looking 10 years older, I stagger into the Joni Mitchell-style canyon hideaway, which serves as the office of The Malibu Times. There I find a funky, comfy, shake shingle shrine where time stands still.

I am greeted by a fat feline, named Ginger, who is lounging on the flower-filled patio. An old fashioned typewriter bangs away as I boot up a Powerbook so prehistoric it belongs in the Smithsonian. The wind is whistling, the birds are singing and everything is just as I left it. Compared to the glitzy, whiz-bang tension-filled extravaganza from which I had emerged, it is a vision of Amish sensibility–blissfully low-tech. Green Acres meets Gilligan’s Island at Las Flores.

I stroll over to the office commissary (Duke’s) where the attentive staff is all smiles at the sight of my vaguely familiar face. Lingering over fish tacos and an ocean view, I go to work on this story. It’s old times at The Malibu Times. So, okay castaways–I’m back. Bring on the surfer dudes, the City Council and Caltrans. I’ve had eight hours sleep and I’ve reclaimed my life.

Occasionally, it’s good to get out of town for a while.

Workshops part of proposed deal with MBC

By
13StarsManager
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0

In the opening gun on the proposed long-term deal between the city and the Malibu Bay Company, the City Council authorized three workshops on a proposed park and community center on Point Dume, Friday.

By a 2-1 vote, with Mayor Tom Hasse and Mayor Pro Tem Joan House supporting, and Jeff Jennings dissenting, the council authorized the city Parks & Recreation Department to run workshops on the site to be donated by the Malibu Bay Company as an essential part of the proposed deal.

The workshops on the 19-acre site, fronting Pacific Coast Highway just east of Heathercliff Road, will take place before the June 27, 28 council hearings on the city-Malibu Bay Company deal.

At last month’s City Council meeting, many people, including Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy head Gil Segel, warned of rushing the deal through.

City Parks & Recreation staff, Parks & Recreation commissioners and, hopefully, volunteers would handle the workshops aimed at getting public input on a prioritized list of amenities for Heathercliff Park.

During public comment at the meeting, community education was emphasized. Parks & Recreation Commissioner Barbara Cameron put a priority on the city-wide mailing notice of the workshops.

“We should add a concise paragraph that the workshops are a very first step in getting an Environmental Impact Report,” she said, referring to the EIR on the city-Malibu Bay Company deal. “Community education is important.

“People are concerned about uses before a traffic study is done,” Cameron added. “The Council should educate the community about what issues are discussed in the EIR.”

Cameron and seniors activist Jo Fogg (Malibu’s Senior Citizen of the Year) said volunteers were crucially important to increase interest in the project. They were needed to prepare the mailings, host the workshops and summarize workshop responses.

“The workshops are a basis of information critical for Proposition 12,” said Cameron, referring to the recently passed parks bond measure. “We need the information as part of the city’s Parks Master Plan.”

“We should use volunteers to hold costs down and increase interest in the project,” said Fogg, referring to the $7,570 bid of City Parks Consultant Takata Associates for running the workshops. “Volunteers would spread the word around.”

Jennings dissented because he did not see the necessity of having an extra series of workshops when there would be so many of them on the city-Malibu Bay Company deal.

“We will have lots of critical issues,” he said, referring to City Manager Harry Peacock’s statements about the necessity for formulating a project for the EIR.

Jennings also said he had “trouble” with the mailing component of the council’s action.

“We will probably have 12 hearings for the EIR,” Jennings said. “These [Heathercliff Park] ones might not be the most important.”

A morning meeting June 17, at Point Dume, as well as June 21 and 22, were mentioned as possible dates for the workshops.

Deciding to use city personnel and volunteers rather than consultants Takata Associates saved the city $5,000. Takata had bid $7,570 for preparing, leading and summarizing the workshops. The council authorized $2,500 for the workshops and mailing, which includes $970 for postage.

Math students up to the ‘challenge’ in club

By
13StarsManager
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0

Think you’re as smart as a fourth-grader? Try answering the problems below. Answers are given at end of story.

A: How many more states are there that border the great lakes than there are great lakes?

B: The international nautical mile is 6070 feet. How many feet longer is the international nautical mile than the statute mile?

If you know the answer to these questions then you are as smart as a smart fourth-grader. A select group of Webster Elementary School’s brightest fourth-and fifth-grade students meets each Friday before school to solve problems like these in the Math Club.

“In every classroom there is a variety of teaching methods. I don’t want any student to feel like Math Club is getting something that they are not. It is extra focus on a group of students who are high-achievers,” said Phil Cott, principal of Webster School. “Math Club is more of the best of what we do for them.”

But, whereas in regular math class students “just do a page of math in the book, in Math Club you do mental math and matrix,” said Cameron Burrell, who just completed the fourth grade. Students learn to compute in their heads and also solve problems using a matrix.

And that’s not all. They learn how to solve spatial relations and logic problems that you “don’t see until eighth or ninth grade,” according to Kevin McCarthy, coordinator of state and federal programs in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and former Malibu High School math teacher. He manages the math curriculum for the district, professional development of teachers and program funds.

McCarthy, who was invited by Phil Cott to observe Math Field Day, May 16, noted, “The children leave the traditional, rote-learning that’s in texts, to discover learning.”

After a year of Math Club, Math Field Day allows the members to show off their intellects and compete against each other in teams. Until a few years ago it was a district-wide event.

It was canceled because “it was getting too difficult to do the teaming, funding and staffing for it,” said Pat Samarge, principal of Franklin Elementary School.

Parent volunteer Karen Chu said, “The parents are there as a support team. We collect papers and correct them. It gives a message to our kids when we are there.”

“The club gets the kids really excited about the different aspects of math. They start to feel really confident that they can do it,” said Kris Stewart, a third-grade teacher and sponsor of the club for the past 6 years.

Selection for the Math Club begins in the third grade where students who score well on the exams are invited to join the following year. Alternatively, students in GATE and those recommended by their teachers are asked to join the club.

The kids love Stewart for giving them “hard” and “challenging” math they can work on with their friends. Parent Jackie Williams praises her for “making math fun and exciting.” And Principal Phil Cott commends her “innovative” approach.

In the eyes of district officer Kevin McCarthy, the math presented at Math Field Day is along the same line as the College Prep Math (CPM) that he instituted at Malibu High School. It’s an open-ended way of doing math and it’s less teacher-directed. CPM was developed in the ’80s, and in the mid ’90s it started entering the schools.

At present, schools are permitted to choose textbooks from a list of books approved by the state.

“State lists are getting more liberal, you can choose from a greater variety,” said McCarthy. “There are more student-centered learning books, not teacher-centered.”

The Math Club is just one of many extra academic programs for students. Webster School also has a Chess Club, Law and Bill of Rights course, and the annual Yearbook class. This year a handful of students qualified to participate in summer programs administered by Johns Hopkins University.

A answer: 3

B answer: 790

News cluttered by negative bias

By
13StarsManager
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0

If what the Malibu Surfside News reported last week is true–that Sharon Barovsky is soon to be nominated as interim City Council replacement for her late husband–I say great. I don’t, however, agree with the spin taken by the Surfside News staff that characterized Sharon in the words of some unnamed Malibuites, as a “king maker,” and the move of the new council to appoint her as “muscle flexing.”

Clearly, a negative bias cluttered up what was supposed to be a news piece. It portrayed Sharon as some larger than life political presence with ominous intent.

The reality is that Sharon is a rather private person and surprisingly shy. She and Harry were friends and supporters of many Malibu causes and always a good neighbor. Harry died just two months ago. It has been unspeakably difficult for Sharon to face life without him because they were a remarkable team. They shared a passion for politics, helping others in need, and doing the right thing for their neighborhood and the Malibu community.

In conclusion, I would offer my opinion as a close friend of Sharon that the many persons who have urged Sharon to accept the councilship position in Harry’s place are right on. We would agree that Sharon Barovsky is the most capable, hardworking, and logical choice to fill Harry’s position in this interim period until the November election. I know that Sharon’s primary motivations are to do and accomplish whatever unfinished things Harry might have wanted for the good of Malibu and its people. I trust her judgment and her knowledge of what Harry wanted implicitly.

Mona Loo

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