Youth sports athletes came together at Monday’s City Council meeting to support more field space in Malibu
Malibu City Council began Monday’s meeting by honoring Malibu native Tom Schaar with accommodation for winning a medal at the men’s park skateboarding at the U.S. 2024 Olympics in Paris on Aug. 7. Schaar was the third U.S. skater to win a medal at the Paris Games.
Schaar attended the meeting on Monday night and was presented with the award.
“Thank you, City Council members, this is an incredible honor. I always came to these meetings with my mom, but I never thought I would be a part of one,” Schaar said. “I’m really excited that Malibu is getting a skatepark, I’m sure every kid here is very happy about that, so it’ll be very exciting.”
Schaar earned a score of 92.23, finishing behind his good friend, Australia’s Keegan Palmer, who won gold by scoring 93.11.
“It is indeed an honor to have a local a part of the Olympics, and it’s even more of an honor for them to come back with a medal,” Mayor Doug Stewart said.
Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Soderlund provided an update on traffic and safety and the recent candlelight vigil honoring the Pepperdine students Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir, and Deslyn Williams.
On the night marking one year since the fatal incident involving the four students, family and friends returned to the Ghost Tire Memorial on Webb Way for a candlelight vigil and a night of remembrance. Friends left flowers for the victims and shared a moment of grief. The following day, the City of Malibu held a press conference at the same location and highlighted the infrastructure and safety initiatives that have been implemented over the past year by the City of Malibu, state of California, Caltrans, and law enforcement agencies to improve safety on PCH. The press conference focused on key initiatives such as SB 1297, recently signed into law, which will enable the installation of speed cameras at critical locations on PCH in Malibu.
In honor of the students, Streets Are For Everyone, along with the Emily Shane Foundation and members of the FixPCH team, have worked with the California State Parks District Superintendent to design a memorial program honoring these four girls. This space will feature four wooden picnic tables or benches, one for each of the girls, as places where others can come and enjoy Point Dume. Each bench or table will have a small plaque with a QR code linking to a digital memorial of all four girls, Asha’s poem, and reminding people to drive safely, especially along PCH. For more information visit, www.gofundme.com/f/never-forget-help-fund-memorial-benches-for-the-four-peppe.
Baseball players, swimmers, and skateboarders — most still in athletic gear — attended Monday night’s meeting to express their support for more recreational field space in Malibu.
Deputy City Manager Alexis Brown presented the Malibu Community Lands Outreach Project (MCLP) report at the meeting.
The Malibu Community Lands Project was established to determine the most appropriate use of 60 acres of city-owned land. This community-driven initiative has engaged residents through a variety of outreach methods to ensure the project aligns with Malibu’s environmental, recreational, and developmental goals. So far, phase 2 of the outreach has been completed, and it found open space and grass sports fields were consistently popular through all feedback channels. Other frequent suggestions on specific lands include a community pool, splash pad, sports courts, and an outdoor amphitheater. The city has not combined the data to maintain the integrity of each dataset.
The Malibu Arts and Parks and Recreation commissions also had a joint meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22, and addressed the community lands project.
Recommendations from the commissions:
- The Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Dan Skophammer moved, and Vice Chair Alicia Peak seconded, a motion to recommend a multi-generational use community center with a gym, pool, field space, and potentially library annex services to be preferably located on the Heathercliff property. The motion carried 4-1 for the Parks and Recreation Commission, Commissioner Goldfarb dissenting. The motion carried 3-1 for the Malibu Arts Commission, Commissioner Jones dissenting and Commissioner Cherin absent.
- The Malibu Arts Commission’s Recommendation Chair Fireball Tim Lawrence moved, and Vice Chair Julia Holland seconded, a motion to recommend an arts center with art galleries, a 500-seat auditorium with first-class projection and sound, with possible library annex services preferably on the east side of Malibu with a sculpture garden on the triangle property. The motion carried unanimously for the Parks and Recreation Commission. The motion carried 4-0, Commissioner Cherin absent.
Barry Haldeman, Lawrence, Skophammer, Suzanne Guldiman, and Peak were among the commissioners who attended and spoke at the meeting.
“Some open space and a community center, our seniors are important too, and they need room and a place where multi-generational youth can come together — it would be a real asset for this communtiy,” Guldiman said.
Nearly 20 speakers signed up in person and on Zoom to speak on that item.
Malibu High School parent Heather Gardner has been advocating for the permanent skatepark to be built since the closure of Papa Jack’s Skatepark in 2011.
“We started when my son Dakota was in kindergarten; he’s now a sophomore in Malibu High School,” Gardner said. “As a member of this community, I find Tom’s journey bittersweet, we should be celebrating a young man who thrived in Malibu, nurtured by our community support; unfortunantly, Tom and his family were compelled to relocate to Carlsbad,to access the facilities to cultivate his talent. This transition meant that he was no longer considered a Malibu kid but rather a representative of another city. While we honor Tom tonight on his achievement, it’s crucial to reflect on what this signifies for our community. We have credibly failed to nurture the talents and ambitious of our own children.”
“Act swiftly and purposely,” Gardner said. “It is imperative that we do not let any more promising athletes like Tom Schaar to slip away from Malibu due to inadequate support.”
Coaches spoke and shared their concerns on the lack of field space and asked the council similar questions, “what can we do right now for our kids?”
“You have a big task tonight and that is to actually do something,” Peak said. “You guys need a project manager to manage the projects that you are doing; we have to become more efficient; you have to learn from the skatepark.”
The council motioned to bring back the item as soon as possible. City Manager Steve McClary said the earliest he can add to the agenda to consider hiring a consultant is in December.
After a break, a representative from Southern California Edison attended the meeting, and addressed the recent power outage that occurred over the weekend. Councilmember Steve Uhring and Riggins were both upset about the power outage and urged SCE to make a better effort to inform the community about any power outages they will be planning.
The council approved the Malibu Film Society Fee Waiver Request, the Veterans Day Recognition Ceremony Fee Waiver, and the Road Race Agreement.
The council quickly moved on to review the current standing of the Mobilehome Park Rent Stabilization Commission. The commission motioned to direct staff to provide staff with direction as needed.
The last item on the agenda was resolution 24-55, Amendment to Parking Fine Schedule. In October 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 413, which prohibits the parking or stopping of vehicles within 20 feet from marked and unmarked crosswalks or within 15 feet of any crosswalk with a curb extension. It is commonly referred to as the Daylighting Law. On Jan. 1, 2025, violators can be cited even if the curb is not painted red. To enforce the new parking restriction, the city needs to amend its current parking fine schedule to include violations for CVC 22500(n). The citycurrently issues parking citations for (12) other CVC 22500 subsections with a corresponding fine of $73 or $53. Due to the impact on pedestrian safety, staff recommends that fines for the new parking restriction be set at $73.
Public Safety Director Susan Dueñas and Public Safety Liason Luis Flores answered questions and concerns about the parking regulations.
The council shared concerns about residents who don’t have parking or parking garages near their homes and are getting cited.
“I don’t have know how we’re going to address that issue to help them, but I do know that pedestrian safety is very important,” Dueñas said.
The council adopted the resolution.
The next City Council meeting will be on Nov. 12.