Malibu Green Machine Short of Funds

• But May Be Long on Potential Liability Issues

BY BILL KOENEKER

There was a good news, bad news scenario for the Malibu Green Machine, the volunteer organization that is attempting to beautify the Pacific Coast Highway median.
The Malibu City Council agreed to assume liability and maintenance for the project, which stretches from Cross Creek Road to Malibu Canyon Road on PCH.
However, with just 23 days to go before construction is supposed to start, the project is short $300,000.
That was the word from Jo Giese, who heads up the group, and told the city council it has been using the $50,000 in funding given to MGM by the city to try to raise additional funds.
What kept the project alive this week is the city council’s approval of an agreement with the California Department of Transportation for maintenance of landscape areas within the state highway right-of-way.
Prompted by comments from local activist Ryan Embree, who cautioned that the Caltrans agreement would subject the city to liability on PCH, the council spent a considerable amount of time discussing the pros and cons of entering into an agreement that indemnified the state.
Caltrans had made it clear that it would not issue an encroachment permit if the city did not agree to its terms.
City Attorney Christi Hogin said the request was a standard indemnification arrangement, and the city would be assuming the same liability it does for any public works project it is involved in that requires a complete assumption of risk.
“The alternative is to sit here and do nothing,” said Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich.
Councilmember Sharon Barovsky said it was clear to her that without the permit, there would be no project, when she asked Hogin to weigh in on the matter.
Eventually, the council members were reassured, and unanimously approved the agreement.