City manager introduces interim planning director at the Planning Commission on Monday

To start off the Planning Commission meeting on Monday night, Commissioner Skylar Peak thanked Planning Director Richard Mollica for his dedication to the community serving as Planning Director for the City of Malibu for 20 years. In his comments, Peak emphasized Mollica’s performance during and after the Woolsey Fire in 2018.

“Richard worked around the clock within that disaster to put our city back together, to get residents the information that they needed and I don’t think that anyone understands the amount of work that his staff under his leadership did to get our city back on its feet,” Peak said. “I wanted to acknowledge that and tell you how much I appreciate you, and you are going to be deeply missed.”

Commissioner Denise Smith also thanked Mollica for his service.

“I do believe that your calming voice during that time, saved us; you put our city at ease,” Smith said. “I wish you and your wonderful and beautiful family all the best.”

Mollica thanked the commission for his recognition and introduced interim Assistant Planning Director Salvador Lopez Jr.

“I’m happy to be here,” Lopez said.

In other comments, Peak mentioned the recent letter submitted from Assistant Planning Director Adrian Fernandez to City Council stated that he wanted to “finally raise the curtain on abuses and collusion that [he] has both witnessed and personally endured within the City of Malibu.”

However, the commission was unable to address the letter and was asked to move the discussion forward.

Senior Management Analyst Rebecca Evans mentioned the recent passing of one of their environmental review board employees. 

City Manager Steve McClary attended the meeting to introduce their interim Planning Director Jack Wong. 

“I’m here as a person who’s eager to work for the City of Malibu,” Wong said. “Prompt your programs, work with the community, residents, and businesses.” 

The commission moved on to Coastal Development Permit-Woolsey Fire No. 23-004, Site Plan Review No. 23-026 andDemolition Permit No. 24-020; an application to allow for the construction of a 4,620 square-foot addition to a destroyed single-family residence approved under Planning Verification-Woolsey Fire No. 21-034, extension of the existing swimming pool and spa, reconfiguration of the existing driveway, hardscape, landscape, grading, improvements to the existing tennis court; demolition of existing hardscape and landscape, and installation of a new onsite wastewater treatment system; including a site plan review for construction of the residence over 18 feet in height not to exceed 24 feet in height (Continued from June 3).

The commission motioned to move the item to another meeting with recommendations and suggestions.

The commission motioned to continue Coastal Development Permit No. 22-003, Variance No. 22-024, Variance No. 23-004, and Site Plan Review No. 22-029. An application to construct a new, two-story single-family residence and associated development. Due to a tight schedule the commission voted to move to the August 5 meeting and begin the meeting at 6 p.m.

The commission motioned to approve Conditional Use Permit No. 23-009; An application for a food market to sell beer and wine for off-site consumption (Continued from June 3).

The commission had a long debate on whether to allow this location to serve alcohol due to the recent July 4 fatality on Pacific Coast Highway. 

After a break, the commission approved Conditional Use Permit No. 24-007; an application to allow the operation of a new restaurant, market, and sale of alcohol for onsite and offsite consumption.

Both Chair John Mazza and Commissioner Kraig Hill were against approving the permit. 

The commission motioned to approve the permit with recommendations. The next commission meeting is on August 5.

The next meeting will be on July 18 from 1 to 4 p.m. on Zoom

Nine months after the four Pepperdine students were struck and killed on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), the City of Malibu and Caltrans held their first in-person workshop to include the community in the PCH Master Plan development to make safety enhancements along the deadly highway. 

On July 11, Caltrans held a workshop at City Hall where community members were able to share their ideas on where they would make safety enhancements on PCH.

Many residents attended the meeting and shared their concerns on what needs to happen now before another tragic accident occurs.

“We know that time is of the essence here, and we know that the community wants something to happen now,” Caltrans District 7 Deputy District Director Marlon Regisford said in an NBCLA interview.

The group mainly focused on the 22-mile stretch within Malibu city limits. Options included reducing of speed, adding landscape medians, more sidewalks, paved shoulders, turn lanes, speed bumps, building bridges, parking spaces, or roundabouts.

Streets are for Everyone Executive Director Damian Kevitt attended the meeting and said it was refreshing to see Caltrans reach out and get input from the community.

“It’s definitely a new thing for Caltrans, them reaching out and sort of digging into the community or getting sort of more in-depth feedback,” Kevitt said. “Sort of phase one outreach session where you get the community feedback and what they would like to see. What are the issues that they would like to see or how they would like to reimagine, and what comes up from that.”

After the meeting, Kevitt said he felt as though Caltrans was listening and taking their input.

“We’ll see if that reflected in their design plans,” he said. “The design plans still have to be brought into reality. All of this is just going to be basically a blueprint of what could be done down the road.”

As far as what the City of Malibu is doing to create awareness, Kevitt said there could be more that could be done. 

“This is not a criticism of the work that’s put into it, because I do feel like there’s been efforts and improvements made, but there could be better awareness, there could be better education, there could be better enforcement, there could be better engineering, there’s some things that will take time,” he said. “And we know that there are things that are gonnatake time to fix in Malibu. It doesn’t change overnight, but there are things that could still be done better.”

Kevitt also said there weren’t that many people who attended the workshop.

“The outreach to get people there wasn’t sufficient — that room should have been packed with people,” he said. “It shouldn’t have been just 30 people in a room. It should have been 100 people.”

Kevitt also mentioned the recent fatality that occurred near Carbon Canyon on July 4.

“That should have never happened,” he said. “It’s both an enforcement factor as well as the fact that that area could have been made safer. It’s a design aspect as well. There’s a design aspect of that exact area that needs to be addressed. So kudos to what’s been done, it still needs to be done better.”

Malibu resident and co-founder of the Emily Shane Foundation Michel Shane submitted a letter to the editor this week after attending the meeting on July 11. Shane was among the 25 to 30 people who attended the meeting.

“Given how crucial PCH is to our community, you’d think this would be a packed event, but no — only 25 to 30 people bothered to show up,” he said. “That’s a slap in the face to everyone who cares about this road and our town’s future.”

Shane said the attendees were put into groups and were asked to brainstorm ideas on their suggestions.

“There were no engineers, no experts, just us,” he said. “They handed out lists of possible changes and aerial images as if we were qualified to redesign a major highway.”

Shane said Caltrans should have led with their expertise and proposed solutions. 

“Instead, they sat back while we flailed. That’s not community involvement — it’s abdication of responsibility,” he said.”Enough is enough. We deserve better. Caltrans must take this seriously, step up with real plans, and listen to our input meaningfully. It’s time our community demands more. Attend the next meeting. Speak out. Our lives depend on getting this right.”

On June 26, Caltrans representatives attended the Public Works and Public Safety joint meeting and provided an update on the PCH Master plan.

During the meeting, commissioners shared their ideas on what can be done to improve PCH and make it safer for drivers and pedestrians. One idea was to implement trees along the highway. 

Executive Liason of Special Projects Ryan Snyder presented most of the slideshow and said they would “figure out” how to implement everyone’s suggestions. 

Caltrans said they would release the final draft in December. The goal is to start work on the short, medium, and long-term projects as soon as next year.

The Caltrans Master Plan Feasibility Study aims to identify safety and multimodal travel improvements for all users of PCH in Malibu, including multimodal travel options for pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as enhancing transit opportunities on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Malibu. The PCH Master Plan will include community stakeholder engagement activities and community outreach meetings to gather input on various traffic calming measures and other street improvements, including a “boulevard” roadway. This Master Plan will be used in future PCH safety improvement projects. For background information, review the Fact Sheet on the city’s website https://malibucity.org/DocumentCenter/View/34265/PCH-Master-Plan-Factsheet-6-20-24. 

To view the video of the meeting visit: https://youtu.be/e8fAP7l0eq4?feature=shared

For further questions, please contact: D7.System.Planning@dot.ca.gov. 

• Virtual community workshop — Thursday, July 18, 1 to 3 p.m.
• In-person community workshop — Wednesday, Aug. 28, 6 to 8 p.m., Malibu City Hall, Council Chambers (no remote participation option)

Watch video of Caltrans’ presentation at the June 26 joint Public Works and Public Safety Commission meeting visit at www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7kutcbJ-fQ

SMMUSD superintendent meets with parents to explain

Some Malibu parents are scrambling to find transportation to school now that the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District is unable to provide school bus service for general education students. The SMMUSD announcement caught many families off guard last month who rely on what they consider a “fundamental right” to school bus service. At a meeting July 10, SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton explained the unfortunate lack of personnel: “I wish I had the drivers, but I don’t.”

There were four Malibu routes with one originating in Santa Monica that made stops from Sunset Mesa through Malibu, terminating at Malibu High School. Last year, the district was already short drivers causing inconsistent and late arrivals to school. Two drivers and two mechanics also retired, adding to the paucity. 

A school bus driver shortage is hitting districts across the country, but Malibu’s distant location and lower ridership could be a factor in recruiting outside vendors from taking on the work. Larger districts provide more opportunities for outside bus services that Shelton called “often inconsistent.” He said he has witnessed scheduled buses simply not showing up because they “turned down the job last-minute and go to another school.”

Shelton explained to parents the two-year recruitment efforts the district has been taking, but it hasn’t been fruitful.“We’ve had a 28-percent increase in wages,” Shelton said. “We’re trying to make the job more appealing.”

The current starting salary is $31.13 [per hour], expected to rise to $32.69 [per hour] by July 1, 2025, and included are health care benefits, $20,000 life insurance, paid training, vacation, and sick pay.

However: “We’re not finding drivers in our communities,” Shelton said. “LA Unified for instance has drivers who live in their community.”

After advertising for drivers on nine websites this past year, the district got nearly 9,000 hits online. Sadly, out of that number, there were only 42 applicants. And out of that, only a single eligible candidate. Along with one rehire, it is still not enough to keep the buses running.

Shelton and his staff pointed out the stringent requirements for school bus drivers in California. At a minimum, they must possess a Class A or B driver’s license. Of the 42 applicants only one had the required license. SMMUSD is paying for training though as an enticement.

“Safety is number one with us,” stated Melody Canady, assistant superintendent of business services for SMMUSD, with Shelton adding, “We are not doing this based on money. This creates a complication for families. We understand that.”

Another complication is the union bargaining contract. “We have to provide first, jobs to our employees,” Shelton said.”We just can’t go and say this is what we’re going to do because we have an agreement we must follow.” 

Shelton said the district has contracted out work, calling it, “the only way we’ve been able to sustain busing services we already have.” He listed nine charter companies with current contracts but added, “They have the upper hand at this point because they know there’s a shortage.”

“Our challenge is our competition,” according to Canady. “We’re a small district competing with a large district(LAUSD).” Canady also said the salary offered from SMMUSD is a little more than Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus, but the school drivers need more certification which could lead to drivers taking other jobs. “Yet, we still can’tattract because most of our employees are coming from a far distance to even to get to the bus yard,” Shelton included.

Malibu High School PTSA President Kevin Keegan admitted the bus situation was an unusual one.

“The Malibu transportation environment is unique,” he conceded. “We cannot compare bus service in Malibu with bus service in Santa Monica.” 

Yet, Keegan asked district officials for clarification. 

“In the short term if your message is, ‘We’re having trouble. We need your help to get through this,’ many of us want to help solve the problem,” he said. “If your message is ‘Hey, good luck, it’s probably not going to be there in the future,’ then we’re going to have some issues.”

Shelton answered, “No one wants to take something away that we know is needed in this community.”

Parents voiced their frustration with the district, explaining the drive from Sunset Mesa to MHS and back can take up to three hours. Others said they chose Malibu schools over closer Pacific Palisades schools because bus service would make attendance possible. One parent said, “It’s like a breach of the contract we made with the district. We agreed to send our kids here. This is a deprivation of our ability to get our kids to school.”

Keegan and Advocates for Malibu Public Schools (AMPS) President Wade Major say they’ll be brainstorming and working with Malibu officials to try to come up with a solution before school starts Aug. 22. SMMUSD said it will issue notices before that date.