• The Publisher’s Notebook •

Malibu Cause and Effect

BY ANNE SOBLE

Two members of the Malibu City Council did an excellent job of serving as public conduits at Monday’s discussion of the survey of Malibu shopping patterns. They brought different generational perspectives as they asked some tough questions of the consultant and the survey, much of which was boilerplate in content and addressed only part of the local retail equation. The consultant appeared to have no local context in which to place the data, which may be representative but not if it’s used as the rationale for high-density commercial development. There was little sense of Malibu as a unique community that has exercised its political muscle against that high density when it defeated the ill-designed Measure M. Would any consultant aware of that debate even discuss doubling or quadrupling commercial Floor-Area-Ratios with the impunity found in the report that was presented Tuesday? The survey should be regarded as a pricey first testing of the purchasing waters. Additional outreach that asks more specific questions and presents more “if-then” options is required. Asking “what stores would you like to see in Malibu (even if its economically unfeasible or might come with major traffic or wastewater problems) is like conducting a survey to see whether people would like world peace. To conclude that any survey results support “desirable economic development” without defining what it is and, more importantly, who selects the definition, puts the consultant in charge.

All the bemoaning that businesses such as hardware stores, printshops and other low profit services will not be part of the city’s own commercial holdings seems to ignore that a key reason this is the case is not market forces but the need to service the major debt that the city incurred with a land purchase that some still maintain was overpriced. The city’s financial needs dictate the high-rent mix of businesses—which for the most part sell superfluities rather than necessities—and it is this that drives local shoppers to Westlake, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Calabasas and the Westside, precluding much potential for change in Malibu shopping habits. As the commercial mix becomes more oriented toward gifts and visitor shopping, there may be no noticeable impact on municipal revenues when the weather is good. But Malibuites who have to leave the community to purchase necessities will not fill in any gaps when visitors take a pass. The proposals for the lumber yard site may exacerbate this dissatisfaction, not to mention parking and circulation issues. Another council member said his colleagues should focus on the big picture—the details will work themselves out. Perhaps he never heard the old maxim that the devil is in the details, or is it just too easy to leave the details to consultants? Besides, is there time for details when you have to drive 30 miles for corral gate hinges or fencing?