First City Council Candidates Forum Looks at MoHo Issues

• Mood Is Cordial at Community’s First Major Look at Five Hopefuls for Three Council Seats

BY BILL KOENEKER

There were no fireworks. No controversy erupted. All of the Malibu City Council candidates at the first forum held at Paradise Cove last Saturday afternoon were extremely polite to one another.
The council hopefuls gathered at the mobile home park for the two-hour question and answer session hosted by Paradise Cove homeowners and their neighbors from the Point Dume Club.
Each of the candidates was given a brief two minutes to introduce themselves to the 50 or 60 folks who filled the clubhouse, and then the same questions were asked of each candidate.
Jefferson Wagner, who calls himself Zuma Jay, said he had spent many days and hours sneaking into the park for the prime surfing at their shoreline. He said he has lived in Malibu for 33 or 35 years, depending upon where “you place me.” He said as operator for the Malibu Pier he helped open it up, has run a small business and remembered the fire of 1983, which burned perilously close to Paradise Cove.
Kathy Wisnicki described herself as Malibu’s representative on the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District board, has been a resident since 1966, raised her children in Malibu and was instrumental in getting the Boys and Girls Club started in Malibu.
She said she was prepared to fight Propositions 98 and 99, which are on the June 3 ballot and would phase out rent control in California, and urged tenants of the parks to do likewise.
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich, who is running for reelection, said she was proud of what the council has accomplished, including acquiring the Bluffs Park. She said she had just come from the Bluffs Park where Little League season started and remarked that the children were told to play fair. “I think we [candidates] are all going to play fair,” she said.
Conley Ulich also mentioned Prop. 98. “I talked to the city council about opposing it. The terms are deceptive,” she said. Talking about the mobile home park at Paradise Cove, she said, “Your water quality and poop need to be cleaned up.”
Susan Tellem spoke about how her background for the last 30 years has been in the business of public relations. She mentioned she taught at UCLA, raised four children, was a registered nurse and at one time was a reserve deputy sheriff. “I am an environmentalist and animal rescuer,” she concluded.
Planning Commissioner John Sibert said he has lived and worked all over the world and decided he wants to spend the rest of his life in Malibu.
Sibert talked about his service on the Malibu Township Council and his work to stop sewers. He noted his tenure on the planning commission where he witnessed rules he wanted to see changed, which gave him the impetus to run for city council in an effort to change those laws.
The first question asked of the candidates was whether they would ever change the zoning on the two mobile home parks, and if they did, would they resign from office. They were told their answers were a verbal contract with the voters.
Not surprisingly, all of the council hopefuls answered they would not change the zoning, and, if for some reason they did, they would then consequently resign from office.
Conley Ulich used her answer as an opportunity to announce that the city’s Mobilehome Park Rent Stabilization Commission is scheduled to meet on March 13. “The commission has not met in five years,” she noted.
The candidates were also asked to explain their views on rent control and Malibu’s law in particular.
Wagner said he thought it is important to find a balance. He said he has been both a property owner and tenant.
Wisnicki said she believes rent control allows diversity of residents who otherwise would be forced out.
Conley Ulich said if rent control was abolished under Prop. 98, then once a home is sold, it would devalue other tenant property. “I am for rent control. Under the [city’s] commission, they have the power to decide for all issues. We have the law on the books. Are the owners doing their fair share? If they are not living up to their end of the bargain, should the rents be increased [per CPI]? I qualified for rent control when I lived in Santa Monica. I appreciate it,” she said.
Tellem said she had done her homework on Prop. 98. “It is a frightening proposition. I am glad to hear the city council is against it. There are many organizations against it. I am totally in favor of rent control. You have to stop Prop. 98,” she added.
Sibert said he opposed changes to rent control. “I own apartments in Hollywood under rent control. I do just fine. It keeps people in their homes. I am opposed to Proposition 98. It is designed to fool people. I think the city should oppose it,” he said.
Candidates were asked what could be done about the traffic problems in Malibu, especially in the summer when residents feel they cannot leave their homes.
Tellem said she agrees that traffic is “horrible” and is a problem in the entire city. “It is up to you to put your foot down,” she said about proposed development that would add to traffic woes.
Conley Ulich proposed a shuttle that would take residents from one end of town to the other and be funded by developers. “We should tell the developers why they should do it. We should be part of the solution,” she said.
Sibert said, despite what might be said is the cause of traffic congestion, “we know it is Z traffic.” He said he believes the problem of traffic is different in different parts of the city. He said the timing of the signals on Pacific Coast Highway has still not been done. “We need to go to Caltrans. They control PCH. We need to get the stakeholders together now,” he added.
To some laughter, Wagner stated, “There are too many cars.” He said since Malibu is a destination spot, metered parking on PCH could help fund solutions.
Wisnicki said it would be to everyone’s benefit to help solve the problem. She ticked off some possible solutions, such as widening the road, and attempting to eliminate Z traffic.
“At the La Paz hearing, the traffic expert said the traffic was already so horrible, that the added traffic of the project would not make it any more horrible,” she noted.
The council hopefuls were also asked if they were willing to make some kind of trade-off with developers to bring back a hardware store.
Sibert said that he too missed Malibu Lumber, although he noted he never imagined he would ever say that. “I don’t know an easy solution, maybe a development agreement,” he said, noting that expensive land and building requirements made a lumber yard prohibitive.
“I am going to do something about it, if I am elected,” said Tellem, who said folks don’t want to go over the hill to the west valley to get things.
Wagner said it is difficult to do business in Malibu, and that he thought a development agreement might encourage a property owner to offer a long-term lease for a hardware store. “We can do that,” he added.
Wisnicki agreed there are ways to do it. “Development is a dirty word in Malibu. Maybe we can identify amenities, such as a place for teens and seniors,” she said.
Conley Ulich used the opportunity to tout her proposed retail formula ban ordinance. “We can restrict what stores come here,” she noted.
Candidates were asked other questions about water pressure in the mobile home parks during a fire, if the municipality has any jurisdictions in the parks other than rents, and what could be done about the 28-foot-high homes sprouting up on the hillsides.