By Haylynn Conrad, Columnist
Malibu has always been a place of natural beauty and dreams — of surfboards and sunsets, of riding horses on the beach, of families raising children by the sea. But that dream is at risk. If we don’t take a hard look at where Malibu is going, and who it’s leaving behind, we find ourselves a city of mostly empty second homes, luxury storefronts, and lost character.
We’re at a pivotal moment. The question isn’t just “What should Malibu look like?” It’s “Who is Malibu for?”
Good people—teachers, nurses, tradespeople, small business owners, and young families—are being priced and pushed out. While Malibu High undergoes hundreds of millions of dollars in transformations, we should ask: who are we building it for if families can’t afford to stay or come?
I think of my friend—let’s call her Sarah—who bought a modest, fire-damaged lot after Woolsey, hoping to raise her kids here. They spent over $250,000 on consultants and expediters—not to build, just to get permission. Then a neighbor demanded $100,000 so they wouldn’t threaten an appeal. After five painful years, they finally got their permit, but the kids are now off to college, and the house hasn’t broken ground. Malibu lost a great family to the process and red tape.
That money could have gone to city fees or into the community. Instead, we’ve created a cottage industry that profits from dysfunction. We make it nearly impossible for everyday families to build, while those with unlimited time, money, and legal teams glide through. I know our city staff is working diligently, and so is Council. This is not just a people problem—it’s a process problem. And it’s a system we’ve unintentionally designed to be too slow, too expensive, and too easy to manipulate.
I believe expeditors have a role to play in the city—especially for complex or technical projects—but not for the simpler ones, where they’re increasingly being used just to hold applicants’ hands through an unnecessarily confusing and intimidating process. That’s a sign that something is broken. It shouldn’t require a middleman just to navigate basic permitting.
Even more frustrating is the pattern of developers who insist at public hearings that they’re building their forever home—only to flip the property or list it as a short-term rental. It erodes public trust and makes it harder for the real residents to be taken seriously.
This isn’t about being pro-development or anti-development. It’s about helping people who want to live here full-time. We say we don’t want to become a city of Airbnbs and absentee owners, but our process is enabling exactly that—it’s catering to applicants like developers who have deep pockets and endless time.
Now, with an estimated 700-plus homes needing to be rebuilt on the east side of Malibu, I fear we’ll be confronting this challenge on a much larger scale. If we don’t fix the system, we’ll repeat the same mistakes—only multiplied.
So what are we really protecting when we talk about “rural” and “neighborhood character”? Is it people, nature, history—or just a status quo that only works for the wealthy and well-connected?
A long-term vision for Malibu means finding balance. That means:
• Streamlining the permitting process so families aren’t bankrupted before they can build
• Ensuring transparency and fairness so appeals and delays aren’t weaponized
• Creating real paths for affordable housing so workers and families can live here, not just commute
• Reclaiming public lands for parks, senior centers, cultural events, and community use
• Supporting local businesses that give Malibu its heart and soul
• And protecting our environment—not just for its beauty, but because our coast, canyons, and wildlife are part of what makes Malibu worth fighting for
The true character of Malibu isn’t in its square footage… it’s in its people, its natural beauty, and its spirit. Little League games, creative shops, and neighbors who stop to wave. That’s what we risk losing.
Write to Haylynn at hconrad@malibucity.org.