City Council proposes settlement on headlands
In an attempt to fend off a Coastal Commission lawsuit the city of Malibu would almost surely lose, the City Council Monday approved the terms of a settlement offer that would open the Point Dume headlands to greater public access.
The settlement proposal, in its draft form, calls for a limited number of parking spaces at the headlands and a city-funded shuttle departing from Westward Beach for guided tours of the park.
The settlement offer to the Coastal Commission is a joint proposal by the city and the state parks department, and a product of a discussion held last month in Sacramento by Mayor Walt Keller, Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn Van Horn and state parks Director Rusty Areias. Under the proposal, the state parks department will manage the headlands, post a ranger there and lead the tours of the preserve.
The involvement of the parks department in the city’s negotiations with the Coastal Commission prompted talk Monday that in return for its assistance, the department had secured what it most wants from the city: the removal of the ball fields from Bluffs Park.
But Keller dismissed reports that have surfaced in The Times linking the headlands deal to the ball fields on Bluffs Park.
“I don’t mind criticism, but I appreciate people being fully informed of the facts when they criticize,” said Keller. “I guess you can’t depend on The Malibu Times for that.”
Still, Councilman Tom Hasse suggested that a deal had been made, but it would not win the backing of the majority of council members.
“Bluffs Park was a part of the negotiations, in fact it was supposed to be the subject of the [Sacramento] negotiations,” said Hasse.
Hasse then suggested Van Horn and Keller agreed to a one-year extension on the city’s lease for the ball fields — good until 2003.
“That certainly was not what the negotiating parameters were … for the mayor or mayor pro tem,” he said. “I can’t imagine that anybody, given what has occurred in this city over the past two years, would believe that a one-year extension at Bluffs Park is something the city would accept.”
Indeed, Councilman Harry Barovsky, in supporting the proposal on the headlands, said he did not regard the deal as having any connection with Bluffs Park.
“There is no circumstance on God’s green earth that would cause me to sign any agreement on this headlands issue that would involve the City Council asking our families, our children to vacate Bluffs Park,” said Barovsky. “If we’re going to be kicked off Bluffs Park at some point, it’s going to have to be by the state of California, not the City Council.”
Councilwoman Joan House, who did not attend Monday’s meeting, indicated at the previous council meeting that in closed session she had voted to oppose the headlands settlement proposal along with Hasse.
Hasse said Monday he opposed the deal because, he said, it was inconsistent with what the city had promised Point Dume residents last April. At that time, he said, the city agreed only to a shuttle as part of its settlement with the Coastal Commission and not the opening of any parking spaces near the headlands.
Under the settlement offer, eight parking spaces will be created, two of which are reserved for the handicapped. The commission has been fighting the city over boulders the city placed on Cliffside Drive and the “No Parking” signs in the neighborhood.
The nature shuttle offered in the settlement proposal will operate seven days a week in the summer and on weekends the rest of the year. The shuttle will take guests with reservations up Birdview Avenue to the headlands from Westward Beach.
Van Horn said she does not believe the nature walk will draw large crowds to the headlands.
“I can’t imagine hordes of people … that are going to want to go on this informational walk,” she said.
The draft offer leaves open the possibility that additional parking spaces will be created at the headlands, and that issue was a concern for most of the Point Dume residents who attended Monday’s meeting. They asked the council to delay action on the proposal until after the summer holiday so more residents could review it.
But City Manager Harry Peacock reported Areias had sent a message urging the council to approve the settlement proposal in its draft form. Madelyn Glickfeld, former member of the Coastal Commission and now a policy advisor to Areias, also pressed the council to approve the deal. She said the commission would soon review its litigation schedule and she believed there was a “good chance” the commission would reinstitute its enforcement action against the city over the boulders and the “No Parking” signs.
“The commission doesn’t want to talk without something in writing,” said Glickfeld. “There isn’t the kind of trust there should be.”
If the council did nothing, the commission would probably prevail in court that the boulders and the signs are blocking public access to the headlands. The commission would probably then install numerous parking spaces and levy heavy fines on the city.
The council voted 3-1 to approve the draft proposal and agreed to discuss changes to it at a special meeting Sept. 15 at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School. Areias is expected to attend that meeting.
Crowd tells city, state: ‘We want more ballfields’
In an indication of the city’s burgeoning needs for ballfields, parks and recreation facilities, as well as the start of next April’s City Council election, nearly 90 people, just under fire code limits at the Michael Landon Center at Bluffs Park, attended a city public workshop last week on creating a Park Master Plan.
In spite of fears that summer vacations would decimate attendance, four out of five City Council members, four out of five city Parks and Recreation commissioners, representatives of Little League, soccer and equestrian organizations, service clubs, and the business community, as well as two senior state officials, gathered to hear what the city is doing in light of the state’s intention to reclaim the park when the current lease expires, in 2002.
Introducing representatives of the city’s urban design consultants to the audience, which included state Parks and Recreation department sector superintendent Hayden Sohm and state Sen. Tom Hayden’s constituent services director Ann Hiller, Mayor Walt Keller emphasized that the Master Plan, which the consultant, Takata Associates, is preparing, is just one way the city is dealing with the overwhelming demand for parks and recreation facilities.
Referring to his response to a letter Hayden wrote Gov. Gray Davis last month lambasting the city for not choosing new sites, Keller said the city is looking and negotiating for more playing fields but there is not much affordable, sizable flat land available. The city has no desire to take Bluffs Park away; it simply wishes to continue operating ballfields on eight of the 93 acres of property, Keller said. [See chart list of existing facilities below.]
Bluffs Park is used by residents of the local, national and international communities, Keller noted. Moreover, the city spends large sums to operate the park and a visitor center. Former resident Pierce Brosnan donated a Whale Watching Station, and local residents were prevented by State Parks from using funds they raised to build a toddler park.
Underscoring residents’ fears of losing scarce playing fields and anger at the City Council for not selecting new sites, as enunciated in a letter by state Sen. Tom Hayden to Gov. Gray Davis published last month in The Malibu Times, representatives of a the park advocacy group PARCS (People Achieving Recreation and Community Services) buttonholed Hiller after the meeting to say the City Council had not told them the state had been reminding the city since October 1997 of its intention to reclaim Bluffs Park.
Showing Hiller the community needs assessment survey PARCS recently presented to the city, PARCS representatives Laureen Sills, Kristin Reynolds and Patricia Greenwood (chair of the city Parks and Recreation Commission) asked, “Can we begin a discussion now?” Sills, who raised more than $8,000 in four years from the sales of a musical tape she produced featuring Beach Boys, Mamas & Papas and Paul Simon songs, represents the local residents who were prevented from building the toddler park Keller was referring to.
The public workshop was the first of two planned for Takata’s investigation phase in preparing a Park Master Plan.
Stage Reviews
“In Lieu of Flowers” and “Desire”
Shaana Ruth Balaber’s “In Lieu of Flowers,” is a basic fairy tale, updated with a pop psychology twist.
Directed by T.J Castronovo and in production at The Bitter Truth Theatre, it mesmerizes because of the sheer physical beauty of the actors, most of whose characters occupy some fairly ugly spaces.
The story includes a lovely woman, Alley (Jillian McWhirter), held captive by her unhappiness, forced by circumstances to move back home where she seems imprisoned.
There’s her mother (Babs London), who speaks to her adult daughter mainly in the imperative: “Don’t make crumbs. Try this on. Train your hair back. Don’t use that tone with me.”
There’s Little Alley (Zoe Warner), presumably the “inner child,” whom only the audience can see, yet whose presence gives the other characters a chill.
And there’s the rescuing prince of a guy, a gentle, understanding neighbor, Tony (Filippo Valle). Sadly, this supposed savior gains entry based on a lie; he tells Alley and Mama that he’s a “doctor.” What lesson does this play teach?
While McWhirter has a tough go playing a Jewish daughter of the likes of Mama, she fares better simply as “victim,” an unhappy woman trying to unlock herself. The mother is the quintessential emotional abuser, but London keeps her from a level of fairy-tale evilness.
Valle is a very natural actor, perhaps too much so, as much of his voice is lost even in the small theater. But his character is so real, it’s somewhat forgivable, and McWhirter becomes young and animated in his presence.
The play has examples of bad writing: “Have you ever been in love?” “Yes. No. Maybe.” It also has examples of good writing: While Alley and Little Alley are on a job interview, Little Alley voices the little girl thoughts that Alley delivers in more adult dialogue.
Until she meets her prince, the only joy Alley seems to have is in caring for her cactus collection — metaphors for people who seem untouchable to those who don’t know them.
“In Lieu of Flowers” runs Sundays at 2 and 7 p.m., through Aug. 22 at The Bitter Truth Theatre, 11050 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. Telephone 818.766-9702.
“Desire” is well written, well acted and stunningly staged. This powerful play does, however, ask much from the viewer: thought, open-mindedness and a strong stomach.
Written and directed by John Patrick Langs, “Desire” is an expansion of his one-act play, “Desire and the Black Masseur,” which was a narrator’s story of man’s search for self through “punishing atonement.” Its present incarnation includes that story plus much more of the narrator, Tom.
Said Tom is likely Tennessee Williams (the one-act was credited as an adaptation of a Williams short story), a writer from Missouri who heads to New Orleans to immerse himself in a more flavorful life — “a diet of observation and recollection.”
In production at the Gascon Center Theatre, Langs has recast Douglas Sutherland as Burns, the seemingly fragile man who seeks comfort from sadistic “massages” by a black masseur. It’s disappointing that we never get the full skinny on Burns but a compliment to the playwright and actor that Burns is real enough to make us demand more.
Mark Doerr portrays Tom with just enough information to flesh out his character while leaving some mystery to him. Langs has added a woman to the obsession triangle. As Viviane, Kiersten Van Horne is sweet, sensible and attractive — but not enough to keep Tom’s mind from filling with images of Burns. Klea Scott plays Tom’s landlady with abandon.
The thought and practice behind the staging are well worth the effort, resulting in an exposition that moves smoothly and expertly. For example, a character stands in a doorway talking to Tom; while they talk, the doorway moves across the stage with her in it, leaving Tom in place to begin the next scene without a clumsy scene break.
Set designer Brian Sidney Bembridge, lighting designer Lonnie Alcaraz and sound designer Robbin E. Broad proficiently ply their professions.
“Desire” plays the Gascon Center Theatre, tonight through Aug. 7 at 8 p.m., 8737 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City (Helms Bakery complex). Call 323.468-2250.
How many planning commissioners does it take to change a light law?
Planning Commissioner Jo Ruggles Monday doggedly continued her quest to dim the lights in Malibu by proposing strict new guidelines regulating exterior home lighting, despite specific instructions from the City Council last week that staff not prepare such an ordinance at this time. The proposal died when most of the other commissioners said they would not support a major amendment to the zoning code without staff research and a public hearing.
Ruggles’ proposal came in the midst of the commission’s minor revisions and grammatical and organizational changes to the interim zoning ordinance in preparation for its conversion to the city’s official zoning code. It also came on the heels of her move at the last Planning Commission meeting to prohibit lighted tennis courts in single-family and rural residential zones.
At Monday’s meeting, the planning staff wrapped up their suggested minor changes to the code section dealing with commercial parking, and the commissioners were then asked whether they had any recommended changes.
Ruggles started off the discussion by saying she wanted revisions on side-yard setbacks and exterior home lighting.
But Planning Director Craig Ewing jumped in and told Ruggles the commission was only cleaning up the code and members should not be proposing any new policy revisions. As a compromise, he suggested the commissioners compile a list of the major items they would like to see added to the code, and he would present it to the City Council for future action.
“We should have the council review them before we spend time on the issue,” said Ewing.
Ruggles then later asserted that a provision requiring all exterior lighting to be low-wattage, shielded and down-directed would not be a major change to the code because the General Plan includes such a land-use policy.
“The General Plan and the zoning code have to be consistent,” she said.
Ewing told the commissioners they could adopt the suggestion, but it would mean that if the council upheld it, security lighting and motion detectors would be banned.
Commissioner Ed Lipnick and Vice Chair Ken Kearsley strongly protested the proposal, and Lipnick accused Ruggles of trying to legislate in the guise of cleaning up the code.
“This is last-minute, poorly thought out and it doesn’t cover all the contingencies,” said Lipnick. “It’s a major change to the zoning code that needs to be dealt with at a later time.”
When Chair Andrew Stern suggested he would like to speak with the interim city attorney before proceeding, Ruggles withdrew her second to the motion that Commissioner Charleen Kabrin had made on Ruggles’ behalf.
“All this rhetoric, discussion, dialogue … this is ridiculous,” said a clearly frustrated Ruggles.
When no other commissioner would second the motion, the proposal died. Ewing then reminded commissioners that the exterior lighting issue would probably be taken up by the City Council when it considers the revised housing design ordinance this fall.
Grant opens floodgates on wetlands mitigation
In announcing their $150,000 flood mitigation grant to the city last week, FEMA officials emphasized one particular option for reducing the risk of flood damage from Malibu Creek: restoring at least part of the land in the Civic Center to its former presumed status as a wetlands, including vacant land and that lying underneath existing developments.
But the head of FEMA’s community mitigation program for the Western United States said this week that the mitigation route chosen by a local government depends on the financial resources available and the support in the community for the methods proposed for reducing flood damage.
The most common mitigation option local communities use under the guidance of FEMA is the removal of buildings that have repeatedly flooded in flood-prone areas. The buildings are either relocated or demolished, and the land is publicly held in perpetuity as open space, said Jack Eldridge, regional chief of FEMA’s community mitigation program. Properties that have had two or more flood loss claims in any 10-year period are considered repetitive loss properties.
On its Website, FEMA boasts of the success of these mitigation measures in flood plains across the country, including the moving of entire towns in the Midwest along the Mississippi River to higher ground. FEMA helped coordinate these projects, including assisting the communities in acquiring funds from other federal and state agencies to buy the property from private landowners.
But because of pricey California real estate, Malibu may have to focus on other options during its grant-financed study of flooding problems in the city, said Eldridge. Other options are elevating buildings, constructing protective walls and working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on public works projects to redirect flood waters.
“FEMA officials often mention the acquisition option because it is the cleanest of the bunch,” said Eldridge. He added that in Malibu, “Obviously, that option would not be as widespread as in the Midwest, but the community has to look at each and every one of these properties that have repeatedly flooded and decide what [it] wants to do about [it].”
Still, both the regional director of FEMA and the head of the mitigation program in Washington, D.C., last week emphasized their visualization of wetlands restoration as a key component of flood mitigation in Malibu.
Martha Whetstone, regional FEMA director, said last week that one of the objectives of the study financed by the $150,000 grant is to assure “that existing wetlands and open space in the flood plain are retained for natural storage for flood waters.” She also said FEMA is “very interested in helping local governments identify land that should never have been developed and should never be developed in the future.” And she added that communities often find the “wisest” flood mitigation measure “is to allow properties to revert to their open, natural state as wetlands.”
The head of the national flood mitigation program, Michael Armstrong, said such measures “not only create a disaster-resistant community, but an environmentally compatible community.” Armstrong added, “Wetlands are not only good for the environment, they also protect against floods.”
The Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy, the local organization that attracted FEMA’s attention to flooding and played a pivotal role in convincing the agency to award the grant, has been working to recover land near Malibu Creek for wetlands restoration.
Marcia Hanscom, a member of the conservancy board, said the group has not taken up the issue of whether to advocate for the removal of existing development in the Civic Center. Instead, she said, the group is focusing on keeping undeveloped parcels as open space.
Gil Segel, president of the conservancy, also said in a telephone interview that his group is focusing on preserving undeveloped land in the Civic Center, but he added, “If we had our druthers, we would make it all open space.” Segel quickly called back to clarify that he did not think moving existing development was “doable.”
“We’re focusing on the undeveloped piece of property,” he said.
The $150,000 grant will be used mainly to pay for the study and proposed mitigation plan. City Manager Harry Peacock said the city is waiting for the actual grant money before taking additional steps to prepare for the study.
Straight from Keller
Once again I must take time to correct what you distort and present as fact — this time about the meeting Mayor Pro Tem Van Horn and I were invited to attend by State Parks Director Rusty Areias. The tone of your editorial implies that you had access to information on the meeting with Mr. Areias and council closed session — if so, it didn’t turn out to be very accurate.
About the only thing correct in your editorial is that we did go to Sacramento to discuss Bluffs park, and Mr. Areias did “control the discussion agenda” and bring up the Point Dume Headlands first but, after all it was his meeting. It is absolutely untrue that we made any deal on behalf of the city. We discussed, not bargained, and he was made well aware at the beginning, that any of his proposals were subject to council majority approval.
You claimed as fact that we linked the headland’s parking to a deal on the Bluffs Park ballfields issue and “agreed to get the ballfields off Bluffs Park when the lease expires in two years.” We agreed to nothing of the sort. Mr. Areias was given a copy of my strong rebuttal to Sen. Hayden’s letter opposing ballfields on Bluffs Park. He did offer to extend the lease until 2003 or until State Parks is ready to proceed with Bluffs Park Development. You, however, fail to mention that Mr. Areias also proposed formation of a committee consisting of city, State Parks and resident members (including Little League) to work together to find a solution.
You state that we “gave away” a deal for 33 Point parking spaces to service the headlands. This is nonsense. Because residents of Point Dume did not support this alternative, the council unanimously rescinded the settlement agreement with coastal last year. I was fully prepared to describe our discussion with Mr. Areias regarding the headlands at Monday night’s open council meeting but was cautioned by the city attorney not to because it involves litigation with the Coastal Commission. All I can say is that I did make the motion to submit Mr. Areias’ proposal of a joint letter from State Parks and the city to the Coastal Commission outlining an agreement which could settle the litigation. That letter is on the Aug. 9 council meeting agenda for council approval.
Your reference to a “nature bus that would cost the city $50,000 per year” as another “give away” is fiction — apparently based on a confidential memo drafted by City Manager Peacock prior to last April’s meeting on the headlands in which he estimated $50,000 for a shuttle bus serving the entire Point, not just from the beach parking lot to the headlands. This was rejected by the community and the council at that meeting.
Once again, I ask you to get your “facts” straight.
Walter F. Keller,
mayor
Brought to light
Recently, I have noticed that there have been quite a few accounts of discriminative activity in and around Malibu. I really didn’t think much of it until I was denied service at our local Malibu branch library solely due to my ethnic background. This isn’t Selma, Ala., in the 1950s, but rather Malibu, Calif., in 1999. I can ride in the front of an MTA bus, but upon entering our local library I instantly become a second class citizen.
The incident in question occurred [one] Friday afternoon. I had called the branch at 12:50 p.m. to reserve a time to access the Internet. I was offered 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., since I lived nearby I chose the 1 o’clock time. I arrived at the branch 10 minutes after reserving a time, and as soon as I physically entered the branch and identified myself the computer became “unavailable” and I was told that they had given my hour of time to another individual (who was not an individual of color). It should also be noted that no one was on the computer when I entered the branch and the staff did not offer any resolution to this matter, but just indicated that it was his time to use and since the 2 p.m. time had subsequently been booked I was out of luck. Never mind that my name was in the official appointment book for 1 p.m., or that the individual who ultimately used my hour was booked for 11 o’clock. I had followed all of the procedures required to book a time, and once I had physically arrived to use the time I was denied access. Apparently there is very little oversight for the staff of our local branch and in such a supervisory vacuum incidents like this can and do occur.
Hopefully this letter will bring to light what is going on at our local library and hopefully with that knowledge will come change.
Mark Jackson
Council says, ‘Party on’
New restrictions on private celebratory activities approved by the City Council last week are not likely to crimp the style of Malibu’s party animals, as restrictions proposed by the Planning Commission had threatened to do in May.
That proposal, which caused many a local socialite’s heart to flutter, would have restricted residents to two parties per year when 50 or more guests are invited, and limited nonresidential facilities to four events per year when 100 or more guests are invited.
The council in May rejected that proposal as too strict and asked the staff to draw up a new set of recommendations. The city was responding to complaints from residents of Ramirez Canyon who are suffering from the numerous events and catered functions held at the Streisand Center for Conservancy Studies. A few other residents in town regularly rent out their homes for private parties.
The restrictions approved last week require residents to obtain a permit if they plan to charge an admission fee, rent out their home, charge for valet parking or shuttle services, or advertise the event. In those cases, residents are entitled to host four events per year in their home and nonresidential facilities are permitted six such events per year.
If guests are not assessed a fee, or if an event is not advertised, a permit is not required. Organizations such as the Malibu West Beach Club and La Costa Beach Club are exempt from the permitting requirements as well.
Council members sought to assure the public that the new restrictions do not apply to weddings and parties residents host in their home.
“This is not for your Brownie parties, your Cub Scouts, and we’re not talking about having your friends over,” said Councilwoman Joan House.
Councilman Harry Barovsky said the restrictions are only for the few groups that are abusing the system.
“We would not vote for an ordinance that would require you to come in for a permit to have a party,” said Barovsky.
Mayor Walt Keller suggested limiting fee events in homes to two per year, but the rest of the council, perhaps mindful of upcoming City Council and general election fund-raising parties, rejected his proposal.