View Protection Task Force Gets Ready for Its Close-Up

BY BILL KOENEKER

The View Protection Task Force has only met once, but the Malibu City Council agreed this week to sunset the committee in six months, pay for videotaping its sessions and hire a facilitator to move the panel along.
Councilmember Sharon Barovsky, who said she observed the first meeting and found it contentious, wants the public to see what is going on. She asked, and the council agreed, to having the meetings videotaped for broadcast on City TV-3.
The panel would also be required to work within a deadline and present a product for staff and council review in six months.
There was some debate about whether the task force should produce a draft ordinance or a set of recommendations. Councilmember Andy Stern said he was opposed to the committee preparing proposed legislation and said he thought that might be a waste of time.
City Attorney Christi Hogin said that how the work product was delivered, including a draft ordinance was not a problem, and indicated there were many issues the task force needed to deal with.
The cost of the staff time for videotaping meetings, including set-up and editing time, is estimated at $4000 based upon 12 two-hour meetings.
The cost of hiring a consultant to facilitate the meetings is estimated to be $25,000 for six months.
Councilmember Jefferson Wagner said he thought the expenses were small in light of the millions of dollars a future ordinance could cost the city. He also thought there was nothing wrong with videotaping the meeting, since it might temper remarks.
Barovsky indicated she wanted the council to consider videotaping the meetings for community viewing. “This would keep the public informed and would encourage participation. It would also relieve staff time and provide additional reference to the action minutes,” she added.
Councilmember John Sibert said he agreed with broadcasting the meetings. “There were 67 percent of the voters in favor. They need to see how the law gets made. It is also important to have a deadline,” he said.
Stern reiterated his position that he probably would not support any law being brought forth if it did not have the input of the council. “I am opposed to the city spending a lot of money on this. The task force could spend a lot of time on a draft ordinance that might be a waste of time,” he added.
Sibert said the task force could also recommend doing nothing. “That is an option,” he added.