‘Larger than Usual’ Great White Shark Spotted off Malibu

• Expert Pegs Animal at 14–to–15 feet in Length Several Hundred Yards from Surfrider Beach

BY ANNE SOBLE

While the outside media reacts with its usual histrionics to a shark sighting, Malibuites, who know that large sharks, such as whites and makos, are fellow co-inhabitants of local waters, regard these sightings as a reminder to remain alert to the diverse species that are part of the area’s marine life.
On Thursday, the local coast was already in the spotlight because of an impending swell, but local videographer Dave Ogle ramped that up a notch when he captured footage of large great white shark while shooting offshore from a helicopter in the Surfrider Beach area for a client.
Ogle said that he was banking back toward the coast less than 450 yards out when he happened to look down and saw a shape in the water. Ogle, a longtime local resident, told the Malibu Surfside News he grew up in an ocean-oriented family and has always been around marine life, including sharks. Even so, his first reaction was that this might be a dolphin, until he realized it was too large.
Ogle said he videoed the shark for several minutes while hovering overhead. As soon as he got back on the ground, he said he contacted news agencies.
Ogle’s shark footage led at least one major network’s news, then hit the Internet quickly, spiraling from a report of a shark sighting to reports of a “shark attack off Malibu” in blog posts from Argentina to Zimbabwe.
Ogle’s video was also sent to Ralph Collier, a noted shark expert. Collier, who heads the Shark Research Committee, told The News, “It is a white shark, and although there is nothing on the water for scale, the hovering two-seater helicopter did provide some relationship of size [and] the shark appears to be about 14 or 15 feet in length.”
Collier also noted that the report of a decapitated sea lion washing up on the beach right after the sighting is consistent with great white activity as pinnipeds are their primary food source.
The shark researcher added, “There have been several juvenile and sub-adult white sharks that have been using Will Rogers/Sunset beaches as a possible feeding station for more than two weeks. Surfers have been reporting breaches by a 7–9 foot white shark at various times of day.”
Collier reiterated his contention that the ever growing local pinniped population—estimated at over 300,000 statewide—means that more sub-adult (such as this sighting) and larger adult whites are remaining in waters that were formerly host only to juvenile whites who pose no problems in human interaction.
Oceangoers have to remember that several species of large sharks swim in the waters off Malibu at all times. The presence of abundant numbers of sea lions and seals is an attractant.
That locals are able to keep this in perspective was evident in the numbers of surfers who turned out for Friday’s swell. The flip side of that might have been that there were so many surfers in the water that the sharks became wary of coming in too close.

Lumber Yard Center Issued Notice of Violation by Regional Water Board

• Complex Exceeded Standards for Effluent Composition

BY BILL KOENEKER

The executive officer of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a notice of violation last month for wastewater problems at the Malibu Lumber Yard mall.
The upscale shopping center is owned by the City of Malibu and was developed and is operated by Weintraub Financial Services.
RWQCB executive officer Tracy Egoscue made the announcement at a board meeting on July 16. She commented in her executive report. “During the month of April, the dischargers violated important effluent limits for nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as several other waste discharge requirements,” Egoscue told the panelists.
The NOV directed compliance with all limits and provisions of the WDR and documentation of corrective action by July 15, 2009.
“The applicant Wientraub Financial is putting together the required report,” said Malibu City Manager Jim Thorsen. When asked what that contained, he said, “It is being prepared.”
The commercial center located in the Civic Center area opened for business in April 2009. Under the WDR adopted by the board in December 2008, the dischargers, who are both the city and Weintraub, were allowed to discharge a maximum flow of 17,000 gallons per day. Since no restaurants have opened yet, as well as some other businesses, the “native” flow from on-site activities during April was only 300 gallons per day to 600 gallons per day, according to the RWQCB staff.
“However, the discharger did accept 90,000 gallons of sewage from off-site businesses during April,” the report notes.
Thorsen explained that the added flow was for testing. He said the system was in testing mode and there needed to be enough of a flow to make sure the system is operating at top peak performance. “It is a complicated, high efficiency, state-of-the-art system. It is to make sure it is flowing [properly],” the city manager added.
Thorsen was asked if the board had been informed in advance of what is being described as testing when it considered its NOV. “It was technically out of compliance. I concur it doesn’t make a lot of sense. There are always a few tweaks during testing,” was his response.
This is not the only time the Lumber Yard has been discussed at regional board meetings during the delivery of the executive report. At the May 7 board meeting, members were told the information presented to RWQCB from the dischargers contained “significant deviation from the material required in the WDR.”
The laundry list of deficiencies includes the groundwatering plan, which the RWQCB staff reported only identifies wells under the leachfield, not downgradient of the irrigation at the building or in Legacy Park. “The groundwater program is not sufficiently detailed to include a design for continuous monitoring,” the report noted.
The operations and maintenance plan does not include any mention of irrigation. “The only option described for the operator is to truck water offsite in the event that the disposal capacity is not available,” the report goes on to state.
The water conservation plan assumes some usages and does not include any additional detail about tenant space, “despite ongoing construction of those spaces. The plan and lease do not contain any specific method of accounting tenant water usage or practices.”
“The ultraviolet equivalency report does not constitute a measure of equivalency and in fact, it does not represent a portion of a Final Title 22 report which must be approved by the California Department of Public Health before discharge can begin,” the report concludes.

City Council Says No to Putting Retail Formula Ban on the April Ballot

• Majority Says Proposal Needs Work

BY BILL KOENEKER

Should the voters get to decide whether the Malibu City Council will draft an ordinance regulating retail formula stores?
Not yet, answered council members who contend that the proposed law, as currently written, would not do what it was designed to do.
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich has pushed for such regulation for over three years, going so far as to prepare an ordinance herself.
“This is a great solution for a problem that does not exist,” said Mayor Andy Stern, who said people in Malibu complain about the proliferation of high-end retail outlets rather than chain stores.
“But that has nothing to do with this,” he added, noting that stores Malibu residents say they like, such as Starbucks, would not be allowed in Malibu.
Shopping center owner Michael Koss, who in the past has expressed opposition to the proposal, insisted there was already strong opposition to the measure and to take the matter to a vote is too costly.
Koss said the majority of shoppers like chains because they offer the best quality and prices.
Koss also said the proposed law could lower residential property values because a retail formula ban could ultimately bring an inferior shabby shopping experience to Malibu. “The majority does not want to exclude high quality,” he added.
Councilmember Sharon Barovsky said she believes many of the problems in Sacramento were caused by ballot initiatives and the unintended consequences of the popular measures being enacted into law.
“What if Ace Hardware was willing to come to La Paz or somewhere else? We could not have it. We could not have Ruby’s. The public is entitled to know what are the possibilities. What is being presented tonight is very vague,” she said, suggesting the matter should be sent back to a council subcommittee.
Councilmember John Sibert said it was the first time he had seen the proposal. “It is complicated. Even if we did decide for a vote, we have to craft the language. I don’t think we have thought this through. I’m not sure why this issue should go to the voters. We were elected to do this. I would love to do this, but it is not ready for the ballot,” he said.
Councilmember Jefferson Wagner said he concurred the drafting of the ordinance would be difficult.
The council continued to debate the merits of the measure. Conley Ulich defended it saying there was already a proliferation of chains in Malibu counting out four Starbucks, two Subways and expected others.
However, Barovsky continued to maintain, “I don’t see how this ordinance will save mom and pop stores. You will get high-end, one-of-a kind arts and jewelry stores.”
Conley Ulich originally proposed continuing the agenda item until Sept 14 since critical pages of the ordinance and staff report are missing, but that failed, whereupon Barovsky made a motion to not put it on the April ballot and send it back to the committee where it came from. That passed on a 4-1 vote with Conley Ulich dissenting.
The proposal was heard by the council in 2007 which initially sent it to committee and subsequently called for the measure to be included on a priority list for future zone text amendments.
Subsequent to that, the issue, while still in committee, was recommended for voter consideration before it made its way to the planning commission and council.
Proponents of the ordinance, including Conley Ulich, suggest something is needed to allow Malibu to keep its small town atmosphere and cite the city’s General Plan mission statement as authority for keeping Malibu’s “special natural and rural setting.”
When the measure was initially proposed it met with a firestorm of criticism from shopping center owners and other real estate interests, who attributed many other factors to the demise of mom and pop stores rather than chain stores.
One of the arguments used by opponents was that the low floor area ratio restrictions on commercial development resulted in increased price per square feet for commercial space chasing away mom and pop stores.

Planning Panel Gives Tentative OK to Project after a Surprise Size Cutback

• Opponents Wore Shirts Saying ‘Don’t Cross Creek Trancas’

BY BILL KOENEKER

After a surprise announcement that the owners were withdrawing plans for development of the old Riders and Ropers site, the Malibu Planning Commission last week tentatively approved permits and entitlements for the Trancas shopping center expansion by a unanimous vote.
At the outset of the meeting, Dan Bercu, an owner of the Trancas Country Market located on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Trancas Canyon Road, declared he was withdrawing the application for the nearly 11,000-square-foot, stand-alone building, which requires a General Plan amendment and zoning change. The commission is scheduled to formalize the vote at its meeting next week, on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
At the beginning of the meeting, before Bercu’s announcement, which was praised by almost everyone, the commission had been set to simply make recommendations and turn the approval process over to the city council.
However, planning panelists were told that with the General Plan amendment and zoning change requests for the parcel located east of Trancas Creek out of the way, the commission could choose to grant the approvals sought by the applicant.
Consequently, the commission directed the staff to bring back a resolution reflecting the added conditions they wanted imposed and the reduced expansion plans.
The tone of the hearing was in sharp contrast to previous meetings before the city council on the proposed Trancas Canyon Park, when west Malibu residents jeered and cheered during what everyone described as raucous sessions.
However, at this hearing, Planning Chair Ed Gillespie insisted there would be no noise and demonstrated that the standing-room-only crowd should show their favor by putting their hands in the air and flailing them, or show their displeasure by putting their hands and arms in the air and crossing them. It worked.
Supporters, who wore baseball caps emblazoned with Trancas Country Market sat in the front and the opponents sporting T-shirts that proclaimed “Don’t Cross Creek Trancas,” sat in the back.
In an apparent effort to show that Bercu and his architects and consultants were regular citizens, none wore suits or ties. They were all dressed casually, much like the opponents. The only suit and ties to be found in the crowded council chambers that the fire marshal could have closed down for exceeding its occupancy were on the dais.
Planning Commissioner Mazza was the only panelist who made a reference to the outfits of the crowd, saying he had just been to the North Shore of Oahu Hawaii and recognized the slogan on the back of the T-shirts, “Keep the Country Country.”
Bercu said he lives in “the country,” as far west in Malibu as possible on Deer Creek Road. “I know about not being comfortable with change. I get it,” he said. “My kids go to Trancas [shopping center], and they say there is nothing to do, nothing to eat. Ninety percent of the people opposing us go to Starbucks,” he said.
Bercu noted that he wanted to create a park or common green where folks from Broad Beach could walk to, customers from Malibu West could bike to the shopping center and equestrians from Malibu Park could ride to the market—a focal point for the west end of Malibu.
However, several individuals from Malibu West and its homeowners association, who put on an organized presentation, said they had come to the conclusion that the project was too large for the site and required an Environmental Impact Report.
They ticked off a laundry list of items during a Power Point presentation that they maintain had not adequately been studied, such as air quality, noise, public services, water and evacuation plans.
They insisted an EIR is needed because the project is growth inducing, represents a near 100 percent increase in commercial space, would attract beachgoers and the traveling public, create a problem for bus service and encourage jaywalking because of the off-site parking lot.
They also noted the proposal does not have enough on-site parking, intrudes into an Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area buffer, creates building heights that are too high, lacks adequate visual setbacks and is an inadequate site design.
Other viewpoints arose. Melanie Beck, from the National Park Service, said their concerns were addressed when the Riders and Ropers site was withdrawn from development plans. The NPS wants to purchase the site and restore Trancas Lagoon. Bercu has repeatedly said he is a willing seller.
Some of the other business owners currently at Trancas praised Bercu and said he is the only hope for local businesses to survive in Malibu at the shopping center.
Joey Escobar, who runs a karate instruction business in the center, talked about how times had changed when contrasted with his youth. “Cross Creek was not a bad name. We went on dates there,” he said. “It is great the kids are talking about surfing, but what about jobs? Dan is a great landlord. I see dream homes and dream cars in Malibu. When I saw the plans, I saw my dream karate studio,” he said.
Another set of opinions was offered by an entourage of male teenage surfers sporting the T-shirts, who appeared at the speaker’s podium together, and all spoke about wanting to maintain clean water at Zuma Beach and said they feared expansion plans could add pollution to one of the cleanest beaches in Malibu.
A contingent of younger females, also sporting the T-shirts, voiced the same thoughts and said, though they liked shopping, they too worried that the traffic and water quality would worsen. “We already have the Malibu Country Mart. Don’t wreck our ocean,” they said.
There were over 40 speakers, who told planning panelists what was on their minds and expressed either opposition or support for the plans.
Malibu Park resident Carol Bretonne talked about how much Malibu has changed and said the change planned for Trancas is good. “I worked at Malibu Lumber. Now it is a big concrete box with stores. I and my friends can’t afford to go there. I want to shop here. I don’t want to go over the hill. When I had my business, it was the locals who kept me in business, not the tourists,” she said.
Then it was time for planning panelists to deliberate. Commissioner Joan House said she could support parking across the street for employees and could also support the side yard setbacks. “I wish the market was going to be bigger. I’m looking for a nice community center in Malibu for the twenty-first century,” House added.
Commissioner Regan Schaar said she was amazed that the developer was not trying to reach the building threshold allowed by city codes. “This is 40 percent of what you can do. I am surprised anyone would oppose that,” she said.
Mazza said he had several conditions he wanted the commission to support, and members went through each one of them. He had earlier said he wanted to put forward a motion requiring an EIR, but decided not to do so, saying he did not think he had the support.
Mazza asked why a 2002 EIR prepared for the Malibu Bay Company proposal could not be used. He was told it could not.
Most of the rest of the meeting time was taken up with Mazza’s motions for additional conditions on approval. The panel agreed to require the offsite parking lot to be gated and for employees only. Mazza failed to get three votes banning outside service windows, but got a majority for a requirement for the number of loading docks to comply with city codes, and then failed to get a majority for prohibiting parking for outside events.
Mazza dissented during the vote to certify the mitigated negative declaration, but voted with the majority approving the permits and entitlements.

Another Carbon Beach Access Issue Is Brewing

BY BILL KOENEKER

Another battle between the California Coastal Commission and a Carbon Beach homeowner has broken out over vertical and lateral public access easements.
This one has quietly moved along, compared to the media attention that was stirred up when the coastal agency took on media mogul David Geffen, who fiercely fought the state agency over opening easements next to his Carbon Beach compound.
At its July meeting, the coastal panel approved a notice of violation issued to Lisette Ackerberg, declaring she violated the Coastal Act by allegedly allowing unpermitted development that obstructs vertical and lateral public access easements.
The commission found that Ackerberg allegedly installed riprap, a nine-foot high wall and placed a generator and associated concrete slab, fence and railing, planter, light posts and landscaping, which all allegedly violated the conditions of her permit, which requires vertical and lateral public access easements. The commission also issued a cease and desist order.
“The intermitted items completely obstruct public access within the vertical easement and partially obstruct access across the lateral easement, and the items are therefore inconsistent with the existing permits and the easements established to conditions of the existing permits,” a CCC staff report states.
Access for All accepted the offer to dedicate for the vertical easement in 2003 and now holds the legal easement, according to the commission staff. “AFA is ready to open and maintain the easement for public use. However, due to the presence of the unpermitted material and structures within the easement area, AFA cannot open the easement to the public, and thus the public is precluded from using the public easement to access the beach. The proposed cease and desist order would direct Mrs. Ackerberg to comply with the permits to remove the unpermitted items… thereby allowing AFA to open the easement to provide the valuable public access that the commission found was required when it authorized the construction of the current Ackerberg residence and seawall,” the commission staff report goes on to state.
Ackerberg indicated she was willing a assist in opening the Los Angeles County-owned easement located at 22548 Pacific Coast Highway but insisted she did not want to remove the development on her property.
According to a CCC staff report, negotiations went on for a couple of years and reached the executive director Peter Douglas, who along with the commission staff, continued to maintain they were unwilling to extinguish the existing public access easements on the Ackerberg property for assistance for opening the county-owned easement.
At this impasse, Douglas initiated enforcement proceedings too “finally resolve the violations and allow AFA to open and manage the easement.”
Ackerberg, through her attorney, continued to argue the targeted access on her property “has inherent limitations that seriously affect its utility to provide meaningful or viable public access,” and argued that the county-owned easement is a better solution for the public.
The coastal staff also noted county officials have repeatedly told them they do not intend to open any easement areas in the future beyond the 11 that are currently owned and operated by the county.
Consequently, the commission authorized both the notice of violation and the cease and desist order at its recent hearing.

Council Member’s Email Perceived as Threat

• ‘Intimidating’ Email Is Read at Monday Night Meeting

BY BILL KOENEKER

Activist Lynn Norton came to Malibu City Council chambers this week, she said, to not talk about Trancas Canyon Park, but to discuss political and administrative process.
Norton has repeatedly challenged Councilmember Sharon Barovsky’s statements about some of the outcomes of various meetings and workshops.
Norton has also challenged how decisions were made about the highly controversial park that has split the west Malibu neighborhood and left many wondering if the final version approved by the city council reflects the vast majority of residents who participated in the increasingly acrimonious debate.
At the same time, Barovsky has complained that Norton’s attitude has been to personally attack her.
Norton, who has been singled out by Barovsky at various meetings, said she wanted to read into the record an email she received from Barovsky.
“Lyn [sic], I’ve kept quiet about your statements until now. But your slander of my position had finally caused me to respond. I realize I’m a ‘public figure’ and you have some latitude in what making [sic] false statements. However, I have spoken to an attorney and am now putting you on notice that much of what you said is simply not true and unless you either prove your accusations, retract them, or defend them in court. Sharon Barovsky.”
“I object to that. You are trying to intimate people from speaking out,” said Norton from the podium.
Barovsky said Norton had come to her about setting up a meeting and out of that came another public workshop. “You got everything you wanted,” she said.
The council member said she has been on the council a long time and is accustomed to the “slings and arrows [but Norton] went over the line in [accusations] of abuse of power,” Barovsky insisted.
The council member went on to talk about how she is convinced the decisions arrived at by the council for Trancas Canyon Park were based on what people had weighed in on.

Publisher’s Notebook

• Snarky Shark Sniping •

ANNE SOBLE

Fortunately for the status of shark-human relations, close encounters in local waters usually go unnoticed or, even when they are noticed, are relatively benign. Ironically, when there is a shark sighting, it is the media that usually bite—hook, line and sinker. They not only bite, but swallow and disgorge shark sightings again, and again, and again.
This time, what started out as a randomly fortuitous shark sighting that could have been a timely reminder that the ocean is home to a diverse array of species was transmogrified into a virtual bloodbath between sharks and humans after it was filtered through the fingers of a couple dozen bloggers and translated into twice that many languages.
Last Thursday’s great white sighting also turned out to be a publicist’s dream of free publicity for an absolutely dreadful movie showing on cable two days later that started out as “Goblin Shark Attack” but was renamed “Malibu Shark Attack” for all the reasons anything is ever named after the community.
This latest blight on Malibu’s reputation was ostensibly produced Down Under and should have stayed there. The prehistoric goblin sharks looked like critters my son used to draw when he was four years old. The performers were rejects from central casting and subjected our fair town to enough stereotyping to make the local paparazzi palatable.
We were compelled to find out whether the recent white sighting was a stunt for the movie, but the local videographer who shot the footage said he bemoans the fact that the sighting became entangled with the movie premiere, as bloggers arbitrarily blurred the lines between fact and fiction.
When one watches the human reaction to great white sharks, either in movies or when a captured animal is subjected to public display, it’s clear why they need to be a protected species. The fear of these creatures is out of proportion to the danger. Being attacked by a great white is even less likely than being struck by lightning and far more preventable.
If the latest shark to-do has any redeeming social value, it’s a reminder that we share the ocean with beings much smaller and much larger than we are, and they all have a place. Instead of fear and caricature, there should be cautious respect and appreciation. The great white is a perfect work of design for its role in the balance of marine life.
The irrational fear of sharks that is stoked by the media and others should be seen for what it often is—an attempt to prey upon the human subconscious because doing so is a sure-fire moneymaker.

Local Activists Support Point Dume State Marine Reserve Designation

• Community Members Plan to Speak Out at MLPA Blue Ribbon Panel Meeting

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

As the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative gears up for the official South Coast Region blue ribbon panel meeting in Santa Monica later this week (after the Malibu Surfside News goes to press), a grassroots group of local environmental activists are working to gather local support and dispel what they say are misconceptions about the process.
A major misconception, MPLA supporters say, involves the fear that the highest level of marine protection will mean that access to the water could potentially be limited. Not so, supporters of the plan state emphatically.
The MLPA is a state law that was passed in 1999. It requires California’s marine protected area system to be redesigned to better protect marine life, habitats and ecosystems. The MLPA Initiative was established to achieve the goals of the MLPA through the use of “the best readily available science, as well as the advice and assistance of resource managers, policy experts and the public,” according to the MLPA Initiative website.
In Malibu, the coast between Paradise Cove and Westward Beach is one of several areas being considered for the highest level of protection as a State Marine Preserve.
According to the Department of Fish and Game’s official website, State Marine Reserve restrictions state: “It is unlawful to injure, damage, take or possess any living, geological or cultural marine resource, except under a permit or specific authorization from the managing agency for research, restoration or monitoring purposes. While, to the extent feasible, the area shall be open to the public for managed enjoyment and study, the area shall be maintained to the extent practicable in an undisturbed and unpolluted state. Therefore, access and use (such as walking, swimming, boating and diving) may be restricted to protect marine resources.”
However, according to MLPA stakeholder group member and Heal the Bay coastal resources director Sarah Sikich, no one in the South Coast Region stakeholders group is discussing limiting access to anything other than extractive—fishing—activities.
“A lot of people are confused,” Sikich told the News. “ In terms of access, we are just talking about [restricting] fishing.” Sikich explained that part of the confusion comes from the fact that some State Marine Reserve areas, primarily in the north or central coasts, could potentially be closed seasonally to accommodate certain highly protected species, but that such closures would be extremely unlikely in the highly urbanized South Coast Region, which extends from Point Conception to the Mexican border.
“Some people are calling [Heal the Bay] anti-fishing, but we’re not anti-fishing at all. Our marine ecosystem is damaged. We need to do what we can to protect it, keep it sustainable, so that there will continue to be fish. There are various levels of understanding, people have been scared, but I think this can be done in a thoughtful way.”
Members of a small but growing group of Point Dume grassroots advocates that have been gathering to discuss the MLPA in private homes agree.
“It’s important to find out facts,” Malibu resident Tamra Davis told The News. “What are the sources of facts? What are the options? We who live here on Point Dume really appreciate what we have. We moved here to be at this beach. We’re blessed. Anyone who becomes aware of the facts really supports the idea of a reserve.”
According to lifelong waterman and Malibuite Dusty Peak, the Point Dume area is the ideal SMR, with a deep canyon, shallow and deep rock habitats, kelp beds and sheltered waters.
“It’ll be like a state park on land,” Peak said. ‘You can hike in the parks, you just can’t shoot the animals. This will be the same way. We’re not being asked to give up surfing, swimming, diving or anything, it just means you can look, but not take.”
“That’s a good way of looking at it,” Sikich told The News. “It really is an underwater park. MPAs have worked all over the world, we’re behind on it. In New Zealand the fishers were completely opposed, now they are the biggest proponents. It’s worked really well.”
“Sometimes you have to give things up [to protect what you have]” Davis said, adding that her two young sons enjoy fishing in Little Dume cove, but that the family is willing to give that up.
“It’s important that we’re good stewards. We have a voice in this issue, as a community we have a chance to say what it is we want.”

Multi-Agency Effort Eradicates Pot Caches in Local Mountains

• Largest of Three Marijuana Plantations Was Located in the Trancas-Zuma Area

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

Malibu was the scene of a multi-agency drug bust last week, when a team of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials, federal agents, National and State park rangers and Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority personnel descended on a trio of illegal marijuana plantations hidden on state and national parkland in the Santa Monica Mountains. The LASD was the lead agency and is reported to have initially uncovered the illegal operations.
The largest of the three plantations was located on National Park Service land in Trancas-Zuma Canyon in an area that officials are describing as a wildlife corridor. Law enforcement agents discovered and eradicated 1421 plants at the site, according to a press release.
National Park Service Public Affairs Specialist Lauren Newman told the Malibu Surfside News that cleanup at the site is still underway, and that the exact location is not being released for security and safety reasons.
Although rumors are circulating that the pot growers may have been accessing the location from the Edison service road, the participating law enforcement agencies were observed using helicopters to airlift the bundled contraband out of the rugged and remote area.
Newman confirmed that fertilizer and pesticides, including rodenticide, were discovered at the site. Irrigation piping, camping equipment, propane tanks, car batteries and quantities of garbage and human waste were also reportedly removed from Zuma Canyon site.
Two additional plantations were located and eradicated at Malibu Creek State Park during the same sting operation. A press release states that officials estimate that the cost to clean up one cultivated acre is between $10,000-$12,000.
An NPS representative confirmed that the harm caused in the Zuma Canyon location by vegetation clearing, soil disturbance, pesticides, synthetic fertilizer, human waste contamination and the potential impact of rodenticide on predators, ranging from mountain lions and bobcats to hawks and owls, is “incalculable.” There are unconfirmed reports that there was also evidence of a campfire at the site.
No arrests were reportedly made during the sting. Authorities say that operations of this type are generally operated by organized drug cartels.
“It’s a good idea to stay on the trail when you’re hiking,” Newman told The News. “If you see something suspicious, call 911 or tell a ranger. Don’t investigate on your own.” Authorities say those suspicious things may include irrigation pipes in remote areas, dams placed in creeks or streams, or even an absence of wildlife.
In 2007, approximately 3900 marijuana plants were found on National Park Service land in Trancas Canyon. In 2005, 28,000 plants were destroyed in Malibu Creek State Park. In 2008, 3,641,328 marijuana plants were seized on state and federal public lands in California.
Park officials have called the illegal farming activity a serious threat to the environment and to the safety of wildlife and park visitors.
Additional air and land surveillance is expected to remain ongoing throughout those areas of the Malibu mountains that would be suitable locations for harvesting one of the state’s largest cash crops, irrespective of its legal status.

Rehab Neighbors Begin Efforts to Change State Law on the Centers

• Critics Contend Exisiting Legislation Is Being Misused and Impacts Communities Where Facilities Have Proliferated

BY ANNE SOBLE

Whether it’s due to the huge number of postings on the Internet, or the duplicative punch lines in the monologues of talk show hosts, Malibu has become synonymous with substance abuse rehabilitation. Local accomplishments run a distant second to the public fascination and put-down of the addictions of people often dubbed celebrities, many of whom are famous solely because their penchant for self-driven publicity.
A growing number of Malibu residents—especially those in the Trancas area—say their neighborhoods have been overrun by rehab houses. They say that their numerous requests to the City of Malibu to do something about these concerns have led nowhere. According to the rehab critics, the city of 13,000 residents currently has about 50 rehab houses.
Rehab critics contend that even existing state law states that facilities should serve the local community in which they are located, but Malibu rehab houses advertise for a worldwide clientele.
Critics raise the issue of whether this international component and the facilities’ five-and-six-figure check-in rates violate the spirit, if not the letter, of laws originally designed to prevent local governments from overtly discriminating against addiction programs being located in residential areas. In addition, some owners of rehab facilities are generous political campaign contributors and have high-powered lobbyists to represent their cause in Sacramento.
City of Malibu officials have not been outspoken about the issue, demurring for the most part and stating that municipal hands are tied because these state laws exempt rehab facilities from local zoning codes and other restrictions that would curtail similar use of private residential dwellings located next door to them.
In testimony before the city council, residents have claimed that rehab center patients have set fires, robbed pharmacies and harassed neighbors.
The residents also complain that staff parking near rehab homes is creating a safety hazard. They are also concerned about the impact of 20 or more employees using wastewater facilities designed for single-family use.
This loose coalition of residents said they decided that remaining low-key about their concerns was no longer an option, and they have produced and posted a YouTube video that has attracted widespread media attention from coast to coast.
As one of the residents, Cindy Vandor, said in a message accompanying a link of the video sent to the Malibu Surfside News, “[To the rest of the world] they’re the rich and famous like Michael Jackson, Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears. To us, they’re the drug addicts, sex addicts, and alcoholics whose rehab houses are ruining our neighborhoods.”
Noting that Malibuites are joining ranks with other communities with similar disproportionate numbers of rehab centers, Vandor states: “We are the residents of Malibu, Marin County, Newport Beach, Napa, and other California communities whose neighborhoods are being overrun by rehab houses.”
Vandor, an activist concerned with limiting development of Trancas Canyon Park, said “The City of Malibu is building a playground across the street from five rehab houses. Frightened local parents and residents want the City of Malibu to stop this nightmare of a park.”
Members of the group said they worked with Alchemy Studios to produce this video “to call attention to the life-threatening problems caused by rehab houses.” The link to the video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFbQU8gewOQ
The critics say, “Our goal is to get legislation enacted and enforced to restrict the proliferation and clustering of rehab houses.”

City Hall Funding Process Proceeds

• Resolution Authorizing COPs Is Slated for Approval

BY BILL KOENEKER

The Malibu City Council, at its meeting next week, is poised to adopt a resolution authorizing the reimbursement from certificates of participation for the acquisition of its new 35,000-square-foot city hall.
Certificates of participation, or COPs, are a form of financing commonly used by cities because they do not require voter approval.
Last month, the city was the successful bidder at $15 million in the auction of the building known as the Malibu Performing Arts Center, which had gone into foreclosure and was subsequently sold by the lender at the auction.
The building is accessed off Stuart Ranch Road and located directly behind the current city hall.
The city is in the process of issuing the COPs to fund the acquisition. The funds will be paid back over a 30-year period from the savings in rent payments, according to municipal officials, who indicate there will be no additional cost to the taxpayers.
The city is currently paying about $800,000 in rent annually for the 15,647 square feet it now occupies at the current city hall.
According to the city’s administrative services director and assistant city manager, Reva Feldman, the municipality wants to expedite the process of issuing the COPs, anticipating that the bond-like funds will be issued in August and money available to the city in September.
The escrow closing date, accordion to Feldman, is expected in July. “In order to close escrow as stipulated by the court overseeing the auction sale, the city will need to pay for the acquisition using funds on hand. Upon issuance of the COPs, the city will be reimbursed for the acquisition and all related expenses,” she wrote in a memo to council members.
Also on tap, the council is expected to renew the contract of grants consultant Barbara Cameron at next week’s meeting.
Cameron was tapped by the city in 2000 to become the city’s grants consultant and subsequent councils have repeatedly extended her two-year contract.
The current agreement calls for a compensation package that includes $7327 per month plus up to $4000 in pre-approved expenses for fiscal year 2009-2010, which reflects no increase from the previous year, according to a municipal staff report. The position is to research and take advantage of the many available funding opportunities for which the city may qualify.
“This position has become increasingly critical to the city and more time demanding for the consultant. With the purchase and implementation of Legacy Park, it is vital that sufficient time is spent to research and prepare for the city’s grant applications,” the staff report goes on to state.
Cameron is expected to attend workshops, seminars and meetings and an increased amount of time “will be required to perform outreach to the granting agencies, boards, commissions and environmental organizations to ensure that the project is well-documented and received.”
The passage of Prop 84 has been a gold mine of grant funding opportunities for clean water projects and the city is expected to take advantage of that. The staff report estimates that during the upcoming year, an average of 120 to 150 hours per month will be necessary to fully perform the scope of work.

Council to Act on Placing of Retail Formula Ban on Ballot

BY BILL KOENEKER

Should the voters get to decide whether the Malibu City Council should draft an ordinance regulating retail formula stores?
That is what the council is scheduled to discuss at its meeting next week. Whether to place on the April 2010 ballot a measure to let the voters decide if the council should pass a ban or not.
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich has pushed for such regulation for over three years, going so far as to prepare an ordinance herself.
The proposal was heard by the council in 2007, which initially sent it to committee and subsequently called for the proposal to be included on a priority list for future zone text amendments.
Subsequent to that, the measure, while still in committee, was recommended for voter consideration before it made its way to the planning commission and council.
Proponents of the ordinance, including Conley Ulich, suggest something is needed to allow Malibu to keep its small town atmosphere and cite the city’s General Plan mission statement as authority for keeping Malibu’s “special natural and rural setting.”
When the measure was initially proposed, it met with a firestorm of criticism from shopping center owners and other real estate interests. who attributed many other factors to the demise of mom and pop stores rather than chain stores.
One of the arguments by opponents was that it was that low floor area ratio restrictions on commercial development resulted in increased price per square feet for commercial space that chased away mom and pop stores.
Malibu already has a restrictive process for commercial development and additional regulations on the free market enterprise should be avoided, according to critics of a ban.
What should also be considered, these critics said, is the negative effect on franchises that are owned by Malibu residents should be considered if the ban is intended to promote local businesses.
Opponents say that the needs and wants of the shopper should be considered. Chains may be able to survive the economic climate and at the same time offer a diversity of products and services.
Committee members heard over and over again that shoppers and the community should decide and the issue should be placed on the ballot for the voters.

School District to Set Up Committee to Prep Plans for Emergency Parcel Tax

• Malibuites Invited to Participate in Measure’s Preparation

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District board of education on July 16 approved the establishment of a citizens committee to determine whether district voters would be receptive to what is being described as an “emergency and temporary parcel tax” to offset some or all of the district’s $12 million budget deficit.
The committee’s responsibilities will include reporting to the board “with a recommendation regarding the feasibility of an emergency and temporary parcel tax,” working with a polling firm “to craft questions for community input,” and working with the district’s chief financial officer on the steps necessary to place a tax on a future ballot. The committee’s report will be made no later than the Dec. 10 board meeting.
At the urging of several public speakers, the board also discussed the potential for the committee to assess the feasibility of a bond measure to fund major improvements at Santa Monica High School, as part of the district’s joint use agreement with the City of Santa Monica, which aspires to transform the campus into a community center for arts and recreation.
“I urge you to broaden scope,” Santa Monica resident and education advocate Debbie Mulvaney told the board, asking that the new committee consider a bond measure for capital improvements at Samohi as well as the emergency parcel tax to fund operating district expenses.
“The city has recently allocated $57 million for the joint use project, which is located on the Santa Monica campus,” another Samohi advocate said. “I think its beginning to look like there could be more that they could allocate. We have to do as a district anything that helps the [Santa Monica] city council members that have been advocates for more money coming to the district. We have to show the district’s good faith by attempting to look at the possibility of raising money in the district to go towards the joint use district. We do understand that the operation expenses of the district need to be addressed first, but we think that both capital and operating needs should be addressed with the operating expense coming first.”
Not everyone agreed. “The focus should be the parcel tax,” Chris Harding, who has served on the financial oversight committee, said. “That should be the top priority. I don’t think you should look at the bond issue. That can be delayed. It’s important that the board show the City of Santa Monica that they are looking at options for funding Samohi, [but the] bond measure can be looked at after. Can you ask [the pollsters] both? I take polling advice seriously.”
“My recommendation is have the committee look at the parcel tax and potential future bond issue,” District Superintendent Tim Cuneo said. “This is a considerable amount of work if they look at this in two phases,” he said.
“I don’t think we can kill two birds with one stone,” Boardmember Jose Escarce said. “We need to make sure that the focus on parcel tax is very clear, that it isn’t in any way diffusion. The truth is that going to the community for operating expenses is the only choice. I understand however completely the need to send the signal that we as a district are committed to Samohi in particular. There’s a lot of confusion between operating and capital expenses.”
Escarce was also insistent that the emphasis should be placed on the emergency nature of the parcel tax. “One of the problems with a parcel tax is that you incorporate it, you become dependent on it,” Escarce said. “I think we want to ensure as best we can that the voters get the message and that we internalize the message that it’s a temporary and emergency measure. That it doesn’t become incorporated in our cost structure. That’s a message we need to send to that committee. Add the words ‘emergency and temporary.’ It’s a minor change but really does send the message that we aren’t planning to incorporate the tax forever.”
The board agreed to establish the committee with the caveat that the district will come back with language establishing the “criteria and depth” of charges of the committee—whether both the parcel tax and the proposed bond can be addressed by the one committee, or if the focus should remain on the parcel tax.
Members of the public who are interesting in serving on the committee can download an application from the district’s website, www.smmusd.org. Applications are due by Aug. 11, and will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the board of education.

Malibu’s Property Tax Roll Jumps Six Percent

BY BILL KOENEKER

Contrasting sharply with most of the rest of Los Angeles County, the City of Malibu saw an increase in the property tax rolls, according to the county’s office of assessor.
The annual report for 2009 was just issued and shows that the municipality experienced a 5.9 percent increase, according to Los Angeles County Assessor Rick Auerbach.
The assessor’s office indicated that residential sales accounted for over 60 percent of the city’s growth and continuing new construction and renovation of existing homes also contributed in the marked increase in assessed values this year.
However, the entire county’s tax roll is down and declined by slightly less than $1 billion in value from last year.
Malibu had a total assessed valuation of $10.79 billion in 2009 based on total assessments of 7386 real property parcels and business property assessments, according to the report.
Malibu city officials attribute a portion of the increase to some of the local businesses having been sold, such as the sale of shopping center complexes that are coming online and helping to boost the tax rolls.
By way of comparison, Palmdale and Lancaster decreased by nearly 15 percent while Beverly Hills experienced the same percentage increase as Malibu on 14,173 parcels with a total assessed value of $21.635 billion.

Publisher’s Notebook

• So Much for Sacto •

ANNE SOBLE

You’ve got to hand it to the governor and the legislature in Sacramento. They would endanger much of what is special and irreplaceable in California in order to keep from asking their friends—and possibly their own financial portfolios—to pay their fair share of what they extract from natural resources to help address the state’s economic woes.
The governor and the so-called leadership of the state legislature have agreed to use an odious proposal to sell the Tranquillion Ridge oil lease to the Plains Exploration & Production Company, or PXP, for $100 million to help close a small portion of the budget gap. This action bypasses the California State Lands Commission, which held its ground earlier this year against the first new oil drilling lease in the state since the Santa Barbara oil spill 41 years ago. Malibuites were adamant at the CSLC hearings that the California coastline should not be for sale.
If the governor was willing to consider an oil severance tax, it could generate ten times the revenue to be gained from the PXP pittance that could eventually open the door to even more offshore drilling and oil exploration off the California coast. This drilling proposal has the potential to undercut efforts to reintroduce the federal moratorium on offshore oil drilling lifted by the Bush Administration. But the governor didn’t accomplish this misstep alone. Legislative leaders beholden to short-sighted special interests did their part to make it happen.
We’re loath to think that one of these leaders was so preoccupied with the paparazzi parable that she had trouble focusing on budget negotiations. The assembly speaker is the latest politico to think that celebrities will flock to her bandwagon if she takes on the issue that already caused city council members from Los Angeles and Malibu to back down.
AB 524, an anti-paparazzi bill drafted by the speaker, is directed at keeping paparazzi from trespassing onto celebrity estates, as if celebs don’t have their own security forces to do this, and from violating existing traffic laws, which appear to be ably addressed by local local enforcement agencies.
The measure proposes civil fines for the camera wielders, but ignores the insatiable lust of the public for celebrity blather. The American Civil Liberties Union, the California Newspaper Publishers Association and all of us concerned with increasingly persistent assaults on the First Amendment oppose AB 524’s violation of free speech rights.
However, free speech, along with the environment, is hardly a priority in Sacramento right now.

Malibu ‘Ferrari Guy’ Sentenced to 18-Month Prison Term in Sweden

• Man Who Totaled Rare Enzo on PCH in 2006 Runs Afoul of the Law Again

BY ANNE SOBLE

Bo Stefan Eriksson, a former member of the Uppsala Mafia in the 1990s who served jail time in Sweden a decade ago before being hit with an American prison sentence in 2007 for embezzlement and other charges, is in legal hot water again, after being sentenced last week by the Uppsala District Court to 18 months in prison for forms of extortion, attempted blackmail and robbery.
He and a half-dozen other men who had been under surveillance for some time were arrested in Stockholm last March and, in keeping with the Swedish judicial system, allegations were kept under wraps until the prosecution was ready to proceed with charges.
Eriksson, 47, also faced more serious allegations, but the court dismissed the majority of the counts brought against the former executive of a London-based handheld electronic gaming company that dissolved in bankruptcy under questionable circumstances.
Eriksson’s reported Swedish mob moniker was “Tjock Steffe,” which literally translates into “Stocky Stevie,” or “Big Stevie” in Mafioso parlance. The high living, racing car enthusiast made news headlines around the world when he totaled a $1.5-million-plus Enzo Ferrari (one of only 400 made) on Pacific Coast Highway just past Trancas Canyon Road one morning in February 2006.
Eriksson somehow managed to convince sheriff’s deputies to allow him to leave the scene of the crash, but subsequent tests proved he was under the influence and at the wheel, after which he faced charges of drunken driving, felony weapons possession, auto theft and embezzlement of the Enzo and other vehicles.
After fulfilling his obligations in a California state prison, Eriksson, who had entered the United States without stating that he was a convicted felon in Sweden, was deported to his native country.
Although Swedish officials at the time of his return stressed that Eriksson, who was reportedly a model prisoner, was accorded all rights of citizenship, sources in Uppsala indicated that he began attracting the suspicions of law enforcement soon after his return.

Trancas Country Market Plans to Go Before Planning Commission

• National Park Service Adds Its Voice to Growing Ranks Seeking Environmental Impact Report for the Project

BY BILL KOENEKER

A National Park Service official indicates an Environmental Impact Report may be necessary for the planned expansion at the Trancas Country Market. The Malibu Planning Commission is scheduled to consider permits and entitlements for the proposal at its meeting on Tuesday, July 21.
However, Acting Planning Manager Stefanie Edmondson said this week that the planning panel would take no action on the agenda item, but would make recommendations to the city council, which could take action at another public hearing.
A letter from the Park Service spelled out the agency’s stance on why an EIR is required.
“Overall, we find the Initial Study needs to disclose more information and include more analysis with respect to the subject property’s suitability for environmental restoration. We find the Mitigated Negative Declaration insufficiently presents the project’s setting in the context of the Malibu Local Coastal Program’s goals and objectives. An Environmental Impact Report may be necessary to adequately evaluate a range of alternatives for utilizing the site,” wrote Woody Smeck, the superintendent of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, who noted NPS officials cannot support or oppose land development.
The application is for the remodel and expansion of the existing shopping center, including a 37,372-square-foot addition to the existing commercial center located on the corner of Trancas Canyon Road and Pacific Coast Highway.
Besides coastal and conditional use permits, the current plans need a site plan review for construction in excess of 18 feet, a variance for grading in excess of 3000 cubic yards, a variance for the reduction of a required side yard setback and a minor modification to reduce the required front yard setback by 50 percent.
Smeck, who acknowledges the NPS is attempting to acquire Trancas Lagoon and restore it, notes that the city’s current review does not take into account the restoration potential of the lagoon. The federal agency has applied for grant money to acquire and restore the property in the Trancas Creek stream channel and the portion of the parcel east of the creek.
Though Dan Bercu, who heads up ownership of the shopping center property, has become a willing seller, the application nevertheless includes a free-standing building on or near the lagoon property.
“The Initial Study does not mention possible restoration of the former lagoon and the tremendous opportunity for public access and environmental education,” the NPS letter states. However, the city in 2008 provided a letter of support for grant-funded acquisition efforts.
Smeck notes the environmental review process should acknowledge the value of restoring Trancas Lagoon and the best format for such a review is an EIR. “An EIR would explore a range of development alternatives that address the applicant’s project goals along the city’s and the greater community’s goals, including the restoration opportunity,” he added.
The SMMNRA superintendent spelled out restoration plans, if the property is acquired by the feds, including removal of the artificial fill terrace on the eastern bank to recreate the original lagoon, stabilizing stream erosion on both sides of the creek, removal of non-native invasive plant species and refurbishing the existing trail system.
Surfside Way residents, whose homes are on a bluff directly above the planned stand-alone center of proposed stores and offices on the former Riders and Ropers site have taken issue with that portion of the property being developed, complaining the buildout of the eastside of the currently zoned residential property would result in noise, offer an eyesore, produce more trash, result in more night lights and further congest traffic in the intersection.
They too are suggesting in numerous personal correspondences to the city that an EIR is required for a “commercial center of this size.”

City Council Wants to ‘Kill’ Bill

• AB 226 Would Give the Coastal Commission Power to Impose Civil Penalties for Violations

BY BILL KOENEKER

Although it was not on the agenda, the Malibu City Council this week discussed proposed legislation, Assembly Bill 226, that would allow the California Coastal Commission to impose civil penalties for violations of the Coastal Act.
The council had been prodded to do something after Norm Haynie brought the matter up. “The Coastal Commission can impose penalties from $5000 to $50,000 for violations,” Haynie said, adding that the bill would allow the coastal agency to impose such fines without the matter going through court.
A synopsis of AB 226 indicates that it would give the Coastal Commission the same authority that various other state environmental protection agencies now possess to impose administrative penalties on individuals found to be violating the Coastal Act, after the matter was the subject of a public hearing before the commission.
“Surprisingly, right now the Coastal Commission is quite unique among many regulatory agencies in its inability to utilize administrative penalties to improve enforcement efforts,” the synopsis states.
“We are aware of AB 226,” said City Manager Jim Thorsen. “We have talked to our lobbyist to try to slow it down or about stopping it. It is generally supported along party lines.”
The bill, which passed the Assembly and is in committee in the Senate, is also opposed by businesses, construction and real estate companies.
The author, Assemblymember Ira Ruskin. who represents the 21st Assembly District, contends the administrative enforcement authority will reduce litigation costs and enhance environmental resource protection within the coastal zone.
Councilmember Sharon Barovsky suggested that residents call their assembly and senate representatives and “tell them how you feel. It is pretty onerous.”
“It is pretty scary,” said Mayor Andy Stern. “My neighbors are alerting legislators and the governor.”

Council Majority OKs Funding for Municipa Version of Trancas Park

• Shuts Doors on Improvements

BY BILL KOENEKER

Despite a plea from a park activist to reconsider the so-called Goldman plan for Trancas Canyon Park, the Malibu City Council this week on a 3-2 vote, with Councilmembers Pamela Conley Ulich and Jefferson Wagner dissenting, approved nearly an additional $100,000 for a consulting firm to provide engineering and design plans for the council-approved redesign.
Malibu West resident Lynn Norton told the council she had a petition signed by 600 individuals throughout Malibu, who preferred a redesign drawn up by local architect Ron Goldman.
She said that topped the petition calling for a dog park that was the previously cited impetus for including a dog park at the Trancas facility. Discounting the out-of area addresses and names on the dog park petition, Norton said her petition had more bona fide signatures. “Either petitions count, or they don’t count,” she said.
Norton, who provided the council with more information about the Goldman plan, asked the council to consider the new information before they approved spending $98,890 on another plan. She said no retaining wall was needed in the plan and provided a copy of a preliminary budget.
Whereupon Councilmember Sharon Barovsky launched into a critique of government by petition and declared that it is not the way to lead. “I would have signed your petition. You are absolutely right, we should not govern by petition. It is a bad way to lead,” she said.
When Barovsky asked City Manager Jim Thorsen to elucidate “what is fact and not fact,” the city manager said there were cost estimates done on the original plan, and revised cost estimates done on the city-chosen plan, the costs of the Goldman plan were not done in engineering. “I can’t give you an engineering decision,” he said.
Thorsen talked about the different designs in the plans and said he felt the city’s design is a safer one.
Barovsky said the deciding factor for her was that the practice field in the Goldman plan would be reduced and it would not be a “regulation practice field.”
Conley Ulich agreed with Barovsky about the practice field. “The size of the field is wrong. We discussed it in closed session,” she said, referring to the council’s decision being challenged in court by the Malibu Township Council.
Wagner said he thought the petitions were a good litmus and would be considered by him. However, he said his first concern was the lawsuit and protecting the city. “That is my first priority to protect the city,” he added.
Councilmember John Sibert prefaced his remarks by saying he is not a big fan of adult supervised sports, but was convinced by his colleagues that it is important. “That is why I think we need a regulation field,” he added.
Sibert reminded his colleagues the actual decision about what plan to choose had already been made. “I don’t like to use a vote for funding to stop a project,” he said. “There may be reasons to revisit this because of the lawsuit. I look at petitions too, but I was elected to use my judgment,” he added.

Surprise—Traffic in Malibu Is Now Worse

• Intersections Are More Congested

BY BILL KOENEKER

If traffic and congestion seem worse to most motorists in Malibu, that sentiment has been verified by the latest traffic counts included in the city’s congestion management program that the Malibu City Council briefly discussed this week.
The CMP, according to city officials, addresses the impact of local growth on the regional transportation system.
“But does anybody do anything about it?” asked Councilmember John Sibert. “Are there any agencies that monitor this?”
City Manager Jim Thorsen said the report’s numbers are used to allocate funds for transportation. The MTA oversees the process and awards many of the grants.
In the report, various major intersections in Malibu are scored according to the transportation level of service or what traffic experts call LOS, using the letters A through F, with A being the best and F, the worst.
“Between 2007 and 2009, there were changes to the LOS reported, except at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway/Decker Road, which still has an A rating. Between 2007 and 2009, LOS changed at a number of locations,” the municipal staff report stated.
The PCH/Malibu Canyon Road morning commute counts increased, resulting in the LOS dropping from a C to a D. The rating of D is described as the level of service encountered in a busy shopping corridor in the middle of the weekday or a functional urban highway during commuting hours. Speeds are somewhat reduced, motorists are hemmed in by other cars and trucks, according to the CMP.
The morning counts at the intersection at PCH and Las Flores Canyon have decreased, if that is possible, resulting in an improvement from a C to a B.
LOS B is described as slightly more congested than A with some impingement of maneuverability to motorists. LOS C has more congestion than B, where the ability to pass or change lanes is not always assured. C is the target for many urban highways in many places.
The intersection at PCH/Kanan Dume Road where the am counts increased from A to B. A is described as conditions where traffic flows at or above the posted speed limit and all motorists have complete mobility between lanes.
Mayor Andy Stern said he thought somebody should be put on some of those worst intersections.
The mayor indicated that he has been a personal witness to the heavy traffic congestion that can accumulate at the Kanan Dume and PCH intersection.
Other council members were surprisingly mum about the report and had nothing to say about the traffic that everyone else in Malibu is outspoken about.

School Board Forms Citizens Group to Prep a 2010 Emergency Tax Measure

• District Expects to Face $12 Million or Greater Shortfall

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

With no end in sight for the state of California’s financial crisis, and a growing district deficit that is already leading to community concern and criticism, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District hopes to convince property owners to help cover the cost of the district’s $12 million shortfall.
At it’s July 16 meeting, the board of education is expected to authorize the formation of a citizens committee to examine the feasibility of an “emergency” parcel tax to “offset all or a portion of the budget deficit due to the state budget crisis,” the meeting agenda states.
According to district staff, the committee, comprised of no more than 25 members, would work with a polling firm to develop “questions for community input,” as well as meet with the district’s chief financial officer Jan Maez to outline the necessary steps “to place a parcel tax on a future ballot or special election and retain the necessary counsel for each step of the process.” The committee is also expected to determine the size and duration of the proposed tax.
The feasibility report would be made by December 10, 2009, in anticipation of placing the measure on the ballot in 2010, for either the state primary ballot in June or a local special election. The staff report indicates that the committee would be authorized to expend up to $50,000 “to poll the electorate regarding parcel tax feasibility.”
District officials are expressing confidence that the new measure will pass, despite warnings from observers who are already predicting a tough sell for the proposed measure which would require a two-thirds vote to pass.
District voters have a history of endorsing school funding. In February 2008, Santa Monica and Malibu voters overwhelmingly approved Measure R, which removed a sundown clause from an existing annual parcel tax of $346, allowing the tax to become permanent. The only district school funding measure to fail in recent years was in 1993, during another period of economic hardship.
The economic crisis has already forced the board of education to make some unpopular and difficult decisions, including cutting $700,000 in funding from special education; eliminating one of Santa Monica High School’s six houses; and increase class size at schools throughout the district.
Maez warned at a recent board of education meeting that there were no longer any “sacred cows,” and that the district is facing deeper cuts if the financial situation continues to deteriorate. Santa Monica parents have been calling for Malibu’s schools to shoulder more of the cutback burdens, with some demanding the closure of one of Malibu’s three elementary schools.
A small but vocal number of critics are also increasingly questioning district spending policies. Some are looking at Measure BB-funded building plans and calling for rethinking and scaling back the massive building and reconstruction juggernaut in light of shrinking attendance and the growing deficit.
Measure BB, passed by a 56.5 percent majority in 2006, approved $268 million in general obligation bonds that can only be used for repairs, safety improvements and construction, not for teachers, salaries or supplies.
Others want assurances that the families of permit students—the district has a policy of accepting the children of alumni as well as students whose parents work in the cities of Malibu or Santa Monica—will also contribute to the proposed parcel tax, and demand that the district reveal exactly what it is willing to cut before imposing additional property taxes on cash-strapped residents.
Provided the board votes to proceed with the committee formation, a press release is expected to be distributed on July 17, announcing that the application forms for the committee are available.
Completed applications are due to the superintendent’s office no later than Aug. 7. A subcommittee of the board of education will review the applications and recommend a list of committee members for board approval at the Aug. 20 meeting, according to district staff.

Malibu ‘Ferrari Guy’ Sentenced to 18-Month Prison Term in Sweden

• Man Who Totaled Rare Enzo on PCH in 2006 Runs Afoul of the Law Again

BY ANNE SOBLE

Bo Stefan Eriksson, a former member of the Uppsala Mafia in the 1990s who served jail time in Sweden a decade ago before being hit with an American prison sentence in 2007 for embezzlement and other charges, is in legal hot water again, after being sentenced last week by the Uppsala District Court to 18 months in prison for forms of extortion, attempted blackmail and robbery.
He and a half-dozen other men who had been under surveillance for some time were arrested in Stockholm last March and, in keeping with the Swedish judicial system, allegations were kept under wraps until the prosecution was ready to proceed with charges.
Eriksson, 47, also faced more serious allegations, but the court dismissed the majority of the counts brought against the former executive of a London-based handheld electronic gaming company that dissolved in bankruptcy under questionable circumstances.
Eriksson’s reported Swedish mob moniker was “Tjock Steffe,” which literally translates into “Stocky Stevie,” or “Big Stevie” in Mafioso parlance. The high living, racing car enthusiast made news headlines around the world when he totaled a $1.5-million-plus Enzo Ferrari (one of only 400 made) on Pacific Coast Highway just past Trancas Canyon Road one morning in February 2006.
Eriksson somehow managed to convince sheriff’s deputies to allow him to leave the scene of the crash, but subsequent tests proved he was under the influence and at the wheel, after which he faced charges of drunken driving, felony weapons possession, auto theft and embezzlement of the Enzo and other vehicles.
After fulfilling his obligations in a California state prison, Eriksson, who had entered the United States without stating that he was a convicted felon in Sweden, was deported to his native country.
Although Swedish officials at the time of his return stressed that Eriksson, who was reportedly a model prisoner, was accorded all rights of citizenship, sources in Uppsala indicated that he began attracting the suspicions of law enforcement soon after his return.

Publisher’s Notebook

• Sending Mixed Signals: Malibu Traffic •

ANNE SOBLE

It’s a Sunday in July. The temperatures in areas within driving distance of Malibu flirt with the triple-digit mark, and people spell relief B-E-A-C-H. Add the beachgoers to the Malibuites who refuse to be held hostage in their own homes on summer weekends, and you have a lot in people in vehicles that would move slowly under the best of conditions.
Then, lo and behold, just before noon, the traffic signal at the corner of Kanan Dume and PCH undergoes meltdown and this becomes a four-way intersection, which means that every vehicle has to come to a complete stop and check out cross traffic before proceeding. Even devotees of the the state Department of Motor Vehicles manual begin muttering three-, four-, five- and more-letter words.
To say that the traffic jam snaked as far north as the 101 Freeway and as far east as the Malibu Pier was only a slight exaggeration. To say that the problem was resolved quickly would be outright fabrication. Calls and emails to public agencies brought torpid responses to queries about what had gone wrong.
A state Department of Transportation, aka Caltrans, crew claims it was at the scene within an hour but “could find no malfunction.” Let’s try that again. The lights weren’t working, but there was nothing wrong? Another questionable assertion proffered was that law enforcement personnel might have adjusted the timing, then left the area.
But why would law enforcement create a jam when its goal supposedly is to keep traffic flowing? And, if someone had altered the timing, couldn’t that have been corrected on the spot by the Caltrans crew? No, instead hapless traffic news reporters kept announcing that the Kanan area was gridlocked.
Instead of training crews capable of responding to traffic snafus and quickly correcting them, transportation agencies conduct more studies and prepare more reports to tell us what we already knew.
It isn’t that we begrudge hardworking public servants their Sundays off, but when this many people are not only inconvenienced, but also put in possible harm’s way—as no ambulance or fire equipment could get around some of the delay pockets except by becoming airborne—the gloves come off.
We become prisoners of our own technology, if equipment is allowed to grind things to a halt when it malfunctions for whatever reason. When traffic lights fail, human power has to be out in the intersection as soon as possible to try to approximate normal vehicle flow by hand. Any other response sends the wrong signal about transportation safety.

MLPA Initiative Wrestles with Complex Conservation Plan

• Stakeholders Are Encouraged to Give Input Before the Next Phase Begins

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

Malibuites who were willing to make the trek to either Marina Del Rey or Oxnard last week had the opportunity to learn more about the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative, a partnership of public and private interests that has been tasked with re-evaluating California’s existing Marine Protected Areas and creating a new system of MPAs.
The MLPA is a state law that was passed in 1999. It requires California’s marine protected area system to be redesigned to better protect marine life, habitats and ecosystems.
The MLPA Initiative was established to achieve the goals of the MLPA through the use of “the best readily available science, as well as the advice and assistance of resource managers, policy experts and the public,” according to the MLPA Initiative website. The California Department of Fish and Game is the lead agency and will have final say in determining MPA boundaries and the level of protection each area will receive.
The California Coast has been divided into five regions. The Central Coast has already completed the process. The North Coast Region is just starting, and the South Coast is nearing the halfway mark.
This round of open houses offered participants an opportunity to ask questions and provide input on the South Coast Study Region, which extends from Point Conception to the Mexican border, and includes Malibu. The region is the third to undergo the regional Marine Protected Area planning and design process, which started last summer and is scheduled to continue through the end of 2009. The process for the entire California coast is anticipated to be fully completed by 2011.
According to the DFG, there are already some 42 existing MPAs and three special closures, constituting approximately eight percent of the total South Coast study region, but proponents of the plan say that the existing areas were developed piecemeal and need to be reconfigured.
In Malibu, the discussion has so far centered on the waters off of Point Dume, the stretch of coast between Mugu Lagoon and Sycamore Canyon in Leo Carrillo State Park, and the estuary at Malibu Lagoon.
Stakeholders, defined in this case as “anyone with an interest in the ocean environment,” are viewed as a key element of the plan, according to DFG officials, and there is an official stakeholder’s group comprised of 64 individuals ranging from conservation biologists to recreational kayakers, and from fishing industry executives to concerned coastal residents like Malibu’s former mayor Ken Kearsley.
However, the process is extremely complicated— there are currently six draft MPA proposals for the south coast study region, each prepared by a subset of the stakeholders group, mapping out different MPA strategies and proposed areas. Once the stakeholder group completes its recommendations, they will be reviewed by a science advisory team and the project’s blue ribbon panel before the DFG makes its final determinations.
There are four different levels of protection, not including military closures. The highest levels, State Marine Recreational Management Areas and State Marine Reserves, prohibit all fishing activities and could potentially restrict walking, swimming, boating and diving “to protect marine resources.” The lowest level, State Marine Conservation Areas, is flexible and could permit spear fishing and commercial fishing for certain species, like squid, or sea urchin, but limit other fishing activities, including recreational hook and line fishing.
The amount of information generated by the program is daunting, despite extensive Internet archives available at the DFG website. What was abundantly clear at the Oxnard open house is that some of those stakeholders are apparently far from happy about the way the program is progressing.
Some, like Gregory Helm, a member of the stakeholder group who is also the Southern California program manager for the Ocean Conservancy is concerned that the plan won’t do enough to protect vital ecosystems. “You’ve got to make an investment in the future,” Helm told the Malibu Surfside News, describing the ideal MPA system as a network of submarine wildlife corridors. “There are areas that need to be protected. It’s the right thing to do,” Helm said.
It’s the capricious acts of a dictatorship,” a disgruntled visitor replied. He told The News that he was a kayaker and dismayed that commercial fishing boats and spear fishers may be allowed into certain areas that are currently open to all, but hook and line fishers will be prohibited. Spear fishers may also be shut out from some top diving areas if the highest level of protection is approved.
“Only 3.5 percent of state waters are protected,” Helm argued. “The only real reserves were established in 2005. It isn’t enough that fishing is good now, you want it good forever. People who have been to the reserve at the Channel Islands, people who dive there understand. It’s amazing to see the diversity, the size of certain species.” Helm explained that the hope is that the protected areas will generate fish that “spill over” into the open areas. “Fish get more productive as they get larger. It’s an exponential gain.”
“I wish I would live long enough to see that,” the kayaker said.
The fishing lobby is a powerful force, and fishing interests are a major issue, but there are other concerns. Local surfing advocates are worried that, if areas that contain surf breaks, like the coast between Paradise Cove and Westward Beach, receive the highest level of protection, that access to the water for “non-extractive” activities like surfing and swimming may be prohibited if they are found to have a negative impact on reefs and tide pools.
Asked about the access issue, Kelly Sayce, the director of public outreach for the initiative, told the Malibu Surfside News that “People love the ocean, obviously. The MPLA’s intent is not to limit public access, that’s an important message.”
“The DFG has always had the authority to limit those types of activities,” Project Manager Melissa Miller-Henson added. “It never has. Does that mean it never will? I don’t know, but it never has.”
“There’s a push to share the pain,” said Merit McCrea, a member of the official stakeholder group who runs charter boats to the Channel Islands for anglers and whale watchers.
Stakeholder group member R. Kevin Ketchem, a yacht marina manager, amplified McCrea’s statement. “How would you feel if surfing is shut down? It’s the same passion as fishing. That’s the problem.”
“I don’t fish. I don’t even eat fish,” a surfer replied. “I’m all for saving the fish. I’d love to see abalone and stuff like that out there again, but I don’t see how giving up surfing would help with that.”
“Now is the time to get involved, “ Miller-Henson advised. Stakeholders, she explained, can have an impact, but only if they are willing to communicate.
The deadline for public comments is July 19. Information can we found at the DFG website at http:// www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/

Controversies Surrounding Trancas Canyon Park Continue Unabatedly

• Consultant Wants $100,000 More for Less Popular Plan

BY BILL KOENEKER

Despite the Malibu City Council approving weeks ago what they consider the final design for Trancas Canyon Park, the controversy about the proposed neighborhood park has not died down.
Last week, activists positioned themselves outside of the Point Dume Village market to compare the council’s approved plan to a version designed by local architect Ron Goldman, and generally referred to as the Goldman plan, that is favored by many of the activists.
Some of those same activists have also started a website to keep the issue alive.
A group calling itself the Centrist Homeowners of Malibu are posting information on a website called TrancasPark.org, which is a five-page site showing the different plans, the Goldman plan and the proposal approved by the city council. There is also a fact sheet on one of the pages, which is characterized as “misstatements” by the proponents of the official city-sactioned park project, and a contact page. There is also the option for readers to contact the site owners by email. Next week, the council is poised to approve more money for the consulting firm for design work.
The planning consultant firm undertaking the designs and engineering of Trancas Canyon Park is seeking another nearly $100,000 to complete the design modifications sought and approved by the city council in May for the controversial neighborhood park.
During that meeting, the council approved design modifications based on what they perceived as wanted or sought by the majority of individuals at a community workshop held the previous month.
The staff was directed to incorporate the recommendations, including reductions in the number and or size of the tot lot, playground, dog park, group picnic areas, shade structures, picnic table benches, on-site parking stalls, graded areas and the elimination of the basketball half-court.
“To re-design the park additional tasks were added to the scope of work in order to complete the revised plan. Amendment No. 2 provides funding for additional work for revised construction documents, retaining wall design, grading plan review and restoration planning,” wrote Parks and Recreation Director Bob Stallings, in a memo to the council.
The planning firm, RBF Consulting, was initially paid $235,000 in 2007 to develop site concept plans, prepare development plans, final construction drawings and specifications, acquire permits, meet with staff and stakeholders, perform topographic work, geology, hydrology and utility investigation, according to a city staff report.
In 2008, the council amended the scope of work by approving an additional $72,500 for further investigations, including percolation testing for the proposed restroom, additional surveying and legal description work for a recently acquired property, and expanded geotechnical investigation for Environmental Impact Report requirements, according to the municipal report.
In April 2009, following the completion of additional tasks, RBF submitted final design plans for the city to review, according to Stallings.

What’s It Like to Lose the Internet for Six-Plus Hours?

• Some 310 and 805 Areas Knocked Out

BY ANNE SOBLE

Many Malibu customers of Verizon of California for whom FiOS service is not yet available for technical reasons—this includes local businesses in multi-unit complexes, such as the Malibu Surfside News—found themselves without high-speed Internet and some cellular access from 10:30 a.m. to about 4:45 p.m. on Monday.
Land lines for these same customers largely remained operable during the six-plus hour outage.
Verizon spokespersons indicated that damaged fiber optic cable caused the major service interruption, which encompassed sizable sections of Port Hueneme, Oxnard and Camarillo in Ventura County, in addition to the large swath of western Malibu and points east in Los Angeles County.
The company reportedly found the problem after an hour of sleuthing. A critical segment of cable was apparently damaged during construction work at a project site in Camarillo. Verizon customer service was telling callers who were able to get past the non-stop busy signal that service was expected to be restored by 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Repair crews bested that timetable by about 20 minutes.
The outage was so widespread in parts of Ventura County that residents with police or fire emergencies were unable to get through on 911 and were being urged to go directly to the nearest police or fire station to report an emergency.
The cities of Oxnard and Santa Paula were able to temporarily established emergency cellular telephone lines for police, fire and ambulance calls in what was described as an exemplary example of how to respond to a major emergency situation.
Also reacting as if the situation occurred during a red flag wildfire alert, the Ventura County fire department spread crews out in the field. Winds remained negligible throughout the incident.

Alleged Driver Not Yet Charged in PCH Hit-and-Run Cyclist Fatality

• City of Malibu Staffer Remains Out on Bail in Incident

BY BILL KOENEKER

Malibu city employee Robert S. Sanchez, the man accused in a fatal hit and run last week has not yet been charged, according to authorities.
“It is still at Lost Hills. They are still investigating it,” said a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s spokesperson in Malibu. “We will get it in the next couple of weeks.”
Sanchez has been released on $100,000 bail, according to a spokesperson for the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.
Sanchez is accused of hitting two bicyclists who were riding on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu while participating in an annual organized ride.
Both were injured, one fatally, after Sanchez, who was allegedly driving under the influence, struck the pair. He allegedly fled the scene of the accident and was later picked up and taken into custody, according to authorities.
Sanchez, 30, of Oxnard, who is employed by the City of Malibu as a records clerk, was reportedly driving along the 34000 block of Pacific Coast Highway near Nicholas Canyon at 1:27 a.m. on Sunday when he allegedly crossed over the fog line and struck Rodrigo “Rod” Armas, 45, of Tehachapi, a Los Angeles County deputy probation officer, who died at the scene.
The second person hit was Armas’ son Christian, 14, who suffered leg injuries. The injured boy was transported to UCLA Medical Center where he had been listed in stable condition with numerous broken bones before being released.
Armas is survived by his wife Shelly, his son and his two daughters, ages 9 and 12, according to a sheriff’s department press release.
The two cyclists were participants in an annual event sponsored by a Los Angeles bicycling club and were completing the ride when the incident happened, according to a sheriff’s department report. The pair were reportedly equipped with regulation lighting and adhered to the rules for night cycling.
Authorities allege Sanchez left the scene of the accident and continued along PCH for a short distance, before he abandoned his vehicle and hid in the brush. Sanchez was found about two hours later by deputies, who arrested him and took him into custody. The driver could be charged with vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence, and felony hit and run.
City Manager Jim Thorsen verified that Sanchez works at Malibu City Hall and described his position as administrative assistant. When asked about Sanchez’s employment status given the recent circumstances, Thorsen replied, “He is still employed by the city.”

Fourth of July Was Relatively Quiet Which Was Just Fine with the Locals

• Tragic Drowning at Zuma Beach Preceded the Holiday

BY BILL KOENEKER

While authorities are calling the Fourth of July three-day weekend largely “uneventful” with regard to crowds, traffic or incidents, on Thursday a drowning took place at Zuma Beach that contrasted sharply with the holiday that followed.
It was reportedly a typical Thursday summer afternoon when five swimmers ventured out into the water and were subsequently called in by lifeguards on the shore. The scene is repeated often at Zuma, where rip currents are seen by lifeguards on shore, who then convey the warning to swimmers in the water that they should move closer to shore.
“This time it was disastrous,” said a lifeguard captain, who indicated that the drowning of an 18-year-old male took place at Zuma Tower 3 at about 2 p.m.
According to the guard, “There were five swimmers that got pulled out in the rip current. There were lifeguards that were on the sand that called them in and then the lifeguards went out. One individual flailed his hands and went under the water. The other four were brought back to shore. It was too late by the time a lifeguard got to the fifth swimmer.”
The large holiday crowds that were anticipated never showed up by comparison to other Fourths. “There was about a half-million people total for all three days,” said another lifeguard, who indicated that Friday seemed busier than Saturday, which was a colder day with strong onshore winds that created whitecaps and kept temperatures down.
Sunday was described as a “normal Sunday” by lifeguards. There were 26 rescues over the three days, which was described as “not even noteworthy.”

Council Set to Consider Bids for City Building

• Several Prospective Tenants Interested

BY BILL KOENEKER

The Malibu City Council, in closed session last week, discussed bids by nearly a half dozen individuals or companies which have offered plans to become the tenants of the city-owned building on the corner of Webb Way and Pacific Coast Highway.
The council will take up the matter again, behind closed doors, when it meets next week. Currently, Richard Weintraub, of Weintraub Financial Services; Tony Dorn, of Beitler Commercial Real Estate; David Anawalt, Anawalt Lumber; Mike Tuchman and Marty Olejarczyk for Ace Hardware; and Elizabeth Lamont, of Room at the Beach, have all thrown their hats into the ring.
The building has been vacant since a realty firm left the commercial stand-alone structure at the beginning of this year.
Municipal officials previously turned down a bid by Anawalt to open up a lumber and hardware store in the 4848-square-foot building.
The realty firm was leasing the building for $5.83 square foot which is about $337,000 per year. The city has requested a minimum rental amount of $428,000, which is $7.37 a square foot. Municipal officials indicate they are seeking a 15-20 year partnership.
After Anawalt, the one and only bid at the time, was turned down, and city extended the bid deadline.
Also on the agenda, the council is poised to approve spending nearly a half-million dollars for outside contract planners.
“Sufficient budget authority has been proposed in fiscal year 2009-2010 budget for these agreements in the professional services [account] in the amount of $100,000 and the coastal development services account in the amount of $350,000,” wrote the planning department’s senior administrative analyst Patricia Salazar. “These expenditures will occur during this fiscal year and will not exceed these budgeted amounts.”
The planning department has traditionally retained outside planning consultants to assist with various projects whether processing planning development permits, preparation of California Environmental Quality Act studies or for other environmental assessment reviews.
In the past, Malibu has hired consultants such as VuE Consultants; Kathleen Mallory; Lilley Planning Group; and Cotton, Shires and Associates.
“The consultants are selected based on areas of expertise, availability and qualifications on an as-needed basis. Staff is requesting that the city council authorize the city manager to enter into agreements for planning related services provided that sufficient funds are available in the accounts,” wrote Salazar.
Planning department officials want the city manager’s authorization now to allow “flexibility and efficiency in handling these routine planning contracts.”
The request, if approved by the council, will allow the city manager to disperse budgeted resources in excess of $25,000 to qualified and available planners or firms without having to have city council approval on each contract amount or without having to obtain council’s approval on each modification, according to Salazar.

School District Pushes Malibu High Sports Lights Plans Forward

• Officials Say They Expect Approval of Limited Temporary Program by Coastal Commission

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

At a special meeting on July 1, the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously to pass two critical and controversial components of the school district’s attempt to obtain a permit for temporary athletic field lighting at Malibu High School.
The board voted unanimously to endorse a resolution to override the City of Malibu’s authority and go directly to the California Coastal Commission with a request for a Local Coastal Plan amendment to permit temporary athletic field lighting at Malibu High School for the 2009-10 football season.
The board also voted to approve a Mitigated Negative Declaration developed by staff and consultants for the project. Both issues were originally scheduled to be heard at the regular June 25 board of education meeting.
For the past six years, the school’s football program has rented lights, initially for homecoming night, and subsequently for the fall and winter football season. Plans for Measure BB-funded permanent field lighting unveiled in August 2008 led to the revelation that permanent or temporary athletic field lighting violates both the Malibu’s Local Coastal Program and a special condition imposed on the MHS property by the California Coastal Commission as part of the campus’s 2000 Coastal Development Permit.
The MND approved on July 1 was developed by district staff and consultants as part of the process to apply for a LDP amendment to permit temporary lighting for the 2009-10-football season.
A letter from the City of Malibu’s planning department dated June 10 has raised numerous questions and concerns about the Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared by the district for the project, but the resolution passed by the board of education on July 1 is attempting to sidestep the City of Malibu’s Local Coastal Program requirements and take the issue directly to the Coastal Commission, rather than apply first for a local variance.
The move comes on the heels of the recent successful Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy override of the Malibu LCP, which is being challenged legally by the city.
District staff have informed the Malibu Surfside News that the district is confident that the CCC will grant the amendment, which requests permission to use portable lights for a total of eight football practices and eight games. The district has stated that it will contract with a third party vendor to monitor the athletic field and ensure that the program is compliant.
Project supporters are anxious that the Coastal Commission hears the request before the start of the fall football season. Night games are already on the athletic program agenda. Others are concerned that funding will run out before the process is complete.
The temporary lighting project, which is not eligible for Measure BB-funding, is being bankrolled out of rapidly diminishing general funds while the district grapples with a $12 million deficit.
However, some city observers are already saying that the district’s resolution to circumvent the City of Malibu’s authority may force the municipality to take legal action to prevent its local control from being further eroded.

Publisher’s Notebook

• Malibu’s Cross Creek Name Calling •

ANNE SOBLE

Words have tremendous power and will continue to wield that power until humans decide to bypass them by communicating solely in code and symbols. That’s why the fact that a new verb and a new adjective have become part of Malibuspeak is so intriguing. While we’re not passing judgement on the merits of the lexiconal additions yet, they illustrate the concept that popular protest can take many forms.
The name of Cross Creek Road is now being used as a verb and an adjective, as in “to Cross Creek [something]” or “[that’s being] Cross-Creeked.” I’ve seen this imprinted on T-shirts and bumper stickers, and a group of developers with millions of dollars at stake has used it in a meeting announcement. It may be too strong to say that “Cross Creek” is being used as a pejorative, but slogans like “Don’t Cross Creek Trancas,” “Cross Creek is Not Malibu” and “Stop Cross Creeking Malibu,” are not compliments.
People appear to be angry and want a shorthand way to express their discontent, and the road name may be it. There seems to be a growing resentment among a number of residents who say they feel like they are in an episode of the old “Twilight Zone” TV series, where the residents of a community wake up one morning and find themselves in a place that they don’t recognize. Some of these locals say they see edifices that look as if they belong in West Los Angeles or downtown, and they shun events viewed as photo ops for the Internet, rather than gatherings designed to develop neighborhood solidarity.
Its merits notwithstanding, this broad-brush slam by critics of the changes at Cross Creek is unfair to longtime pillars of that area, such as the Malibu Country Mart, whose low profile and friendly beachiness have served the community well for decades. The Mart’s comfortable atmosphere holds fast, even as its businesses change to reflect the times.
Ultimately, the best indication of whether a business meets local needs is how residents vote with their feet and their pocketbooks. If the goods and services being provided are what Malibuites want, the businesses will thrive. If they are not, those companies will depend on visitors and outside area public relations firms. How they fare when an El Niño weather pattern brings weeks of downpour, or a wildfire is raging, will be even more telling.
It appears unlikely that the growing local discontent is transitory. If the number of bumper stickers and T-shirts increases, something is clearly going on. How far it goes, and what direction it takes, has the potential to have an impact on the Malibu-to-be.

Private Fireworks Shows for the Fourth of July in Malibu

BY ANNE SOBLE

Every year, starting around June 30 through July 3, the telephone calls and emails come to the Malibu Surfside News offices inquiring, “Where are the offshore fireworks shows going to take place?”
Privately sponsored pyrotechnic displays are an integral part of the way the Fourth of July is celebrated in Malibu.
The city has announced that firework detonation permits have been issued for two private displays on Saturday, July 4.
Both of the 9 p.m. displays will be launched from offshore barges that are usually towed into place earlier in the day. One is set for the Malibu Colony area, the other for the 27900 block of Pacific Coast Highway.
Municipal officials also remind residents and visitors that fireworks are illegal everywhere within city borders. They are also outlawed by Los Angeles County in all of unincorporated Malibu.
Even the so-called “safe and sane” fireworks, which most fire department and law enforcement officials say are neither safe, nor sane, are outlawed in both jurisdictions.
Given the lack of recent rainfall and the current high fire danger everywhere in the Malibu area, illegal fireworks will be confiscated and those possessing them will face legal consequences.
Happy Fourth of July to all.

Malibu Officials Are Closer to Taking Possession of New Municipal Center

• Estimated Time Frame for Move-In Is Nine Months

BY BILL KOENEKER

Malibu officials moved one more step closer to acquiring a new City Hall, when the 10-day appeal period for bankruptcy court came and went and there were no new bidders on the property.
“We still have to close escrow,” said City Manager Jim Thorsen. The city this week published a Request for Proposal for architectural services for the new City Hall.
The city held the winning bid for the purchase of the 35,000-square-foot building located directly behind the current City Hall when they offered $15 million for the building that was the former home of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship and currently houses the Malibu Performing Arts Center.
Thorsen said the city is expected to close escrow at the end of July, when all of the money turns over for the acquisition.
Current plans call for the city to take the money out of the general fund to meet the end of July deadline. Those general funds would be replaced by the certificates of participation that will be used to cover the financing.
The city manager said he hoped that the move into the new quarters could be made in about nine months.
City officials are still discussing the specifics of moving out of their current building before the lease ends in three years. They have said that they will not make double payments.
“We are still looking at subleasing,” Thorsen said.
The city is currently paying $800,000 rent annually for the 15,647 square feet it now occupies at the current City Hall.
There is still three years on the lease, or about $2 million owed in rent to the landlord who has said that the city will not be let out of its lease.
City officials say the COPs will be paid back over a 30-year period from the savings in rent payments.

City Employee Is Suspected in Fatal Hit-and-Run of Man Cycling on PCH

• Father and Son Bicyclists May Have Been DUI Victims

BY BILL KOENEKER

Two bicyclists en route to Malibu while participating in a major annual cycling event were hit by a motorist on Pacific Coast Highway who was allegedly driving under the influence. The man’s vehicle struck the pair, killing one and seriously injuring the other, then the driver reportedly fled the scene of the accident.
The alleged driver, Robert Sanchez, 30, of Oxnard, was subsequently apprehended and taken into custody, according to law enforcement authorities.
Sanchez, 30, who is employed by the City of Malibu as a records clerk, was reportedly driving along the 34000 block of Pacific Coast Highway near Nicholas Canyon at 1:27 a.m. on Sunday when he allegedly crossed over the fog line and struck Rodrigo “Rod” Armas, 45, of Tehachapi, a Los Angeles County deputy probation officer.
Armas died at the scene and his son Christian, 14, suffered leg injuries. The injured boy was transported to UCLA Medical Center where he is listed in stable condition with numerous broken bones.
Armas is survived by his wife Shelly, his son Christian and two daughters, ages 9 and 12, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department press release.
The father and son were competing in an annual 200-mile “Grand Tour” event sponsored by the Los Angeles Wheelman Ride and were on the last leg of the race when the incident happened, according to an LASD report.
Authorities allege that Sanchez left the scene of the accident and continued along PCH for a short distance, before he abandoned his vehicle and hid out in the brush.
The City of Malibu staffer was found about two hours later by deputies, who arrested him and took him into custody. Pending the investigation, the case could involved charges of vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence and felony hit and run.
Sanchez was released on $100,000 bail, according to a spokesperson for the Malibu/ Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said on Tuesday morning that charges had not yet been presented, but that would probably take place on Wednesday after the Malibu Surfside News goes to press.
City Manager Jim Thorsen verified that Sanchez is an em[ployee of the City of Malibu, Thorsen described his position as an administrative assistant.
When asked whether the current allegations might have any effect on Sanchez’s employment status, Thorsen replied, “He is still employed by the city.”

School District Delays Action on MHS Lights

• Outlines Restrictions and Impacts

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board of education opted at its June 25 meeting to postpone voting on two critical and controversial components of the school district’s attempt to obtain a permit for temporary athletic field lighting at Malibu High School. An attempt to install permanent field lighting at the campus as part of Measure BB funded improvements revealed the fact that the school has been operating temporary lighting without a permit.
Temporary and permanent athletic field lighting violates both Malibu’s Local Coastal Program and a special condition imposed on the MHS property by the California Coastal Commission. The June 25 agenda contained a resolution to attempt an override of the City of Malibu’s Local Coastal Program. That item has now been moved to a special meeting on July 1 at the district offices in Santa Monica. The board will also be voting on July 1 to adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration developed by staff and consultants for the temporary lighting project.
An errata section has been added to the MND, clarifying several items. The errata acknowledges that lights have been in use for six instead of seven years. It also acknowledges that complains about the lights were received. The district had maintained that no complaints were ever received from residents. That statement has now been modified to no “formal” complaints, after a barrage of letters from residents describing numerous and multiple complaints made to school authorities.
Other changes include an increase in the number of generators from one 50 kW generator to two, which are now estimated to produce 62.17 decibels instead of the 42.50 decibels originally stated. The district has also accepted evidence for the City of Malibu that the nearest residence is 550 feet from the field, not 1000 feet as stated in the MND.
An operating plan with a number of restrictions has also been added. The revised plan restricts lighting to football games and practices; requires the posting of signs describing the permitted lighting use; and limits the use of the portable lights to “eight football practices until 7:30 p.m. and eight football games until 10:30 p.m.” for a maximum total of 62 hours per year.
The new restrictions also stipulate that “the temporary lights shall only remain on the athletic field during the football season and shall be removed thereafter; and that the district will contract with a third party vendor to monitor the athletic field and ensure that the program is “compliant,” and offers the assurance that “if the portable lights are used in excess of the 16 nights, the next football season shall be prohibited from using lights on the athletic field.”
According to district staff, once the resolution and MND are in place, the next step will be presenting the appeal to the Coastal Commission. Project supporters are hoping this can be accomplished before the start of the fall football season. Night games are already on the athletic program agenda.
The MHS field lighting issues were postponed, but the board voted to proceed with another controversial issue: a district plan to take two private homes in Santa Monica through eminent domain to make way for a measure BB funded expansion of Edison Language Academy Charter School, a bilingual magnet elementary school located in the Pico neighborhood in Santa Monica that serves both district and out-of-district children. The two families have repeatedly refused to sell their homes.
Shinobu Maruyama, who has lived in her home since 1952, was offered $1.89 million for her property, which is next door to the school. Maruyama’s next-door neighbor Mary Hernandez has lived in her home since 1966, raising four children there. After renting the house for years, the Hernandez family was able to purchase the property in 1999. They have received an offer of $1.99 million from the district. Both women have stated that they do not wish to sell and that they would not be able to afford to continue to live in the area if the district forces them out.
“As of this date, in spite of the district’s good faith efforts at negotiated acquisition, no agreements have been reached with Maruyama and Hernandez,” the staff report for the June 25 meeting stated. The report also stated that it has always been the district’s preference to purchase the homes through negotiations, not eminent domain.
“I don’t even want to think about not living there,” Hernandez said. “It’s going to be hard.”
Oscar de la Torre was the only member of the board who opposed the resolution. “The acquisition of the land is a benefit for the future of public education in the community and I respect everyone’s vote, but for me personally it was something that I just couldn’t do,” de la Torre said, pointing out the irony that the new dual-language academy will be displacing residents who represent the ethnic and economic diversity the school is intended to serve.
The resolution adopted by the board will authorize the district to seek court-granted authority as a government entity to take the private land for public use. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has six months to file the necessary paperwork in court. According to the staff report, the district will be required to make several findings, including showing that the parcels are needed for the project. The district will also have to prove that the project “is planned or located in a manner that will be most compatible with the greatest public good and least private injury.” The district will also be required to pay “fair market value” for the properties. The owners are expected to challenge the district’s legal right to eminent domain.
The board’s decision to approve the resolution is being criticized by district observers who have been calling for a rethink of the Edison expansion plan in light of rapidly declining attendance and the district’s current $12 million deficit.
Santa Monica resident and education activist Jim Jaffe, in an open letter to the school board dated June 13, called for the district to “revisit the need for building a new Edison school and other BB projects in light of pessimistic enrollment projections and economic conditions.”
“Malibu parents need to know what the district is doing in town and not just at home,” one parent told the Malibu Surfside News. “[The district has] money to pay to tear down houses and build new buildings but they don’t have enough money to keep the buildings they already have open, staffed and maintained. They just shut down one of Samohi’s six houses. We keep hearing that they’re going to close Point Dume [Elementary School], but they have the money to do this [at Edison]. It’s crazy”

Water Improvements Planned for Trancas Said to Be Independent of Plans for Shopping Center Growth

• Site Owner Says He Doesn’t Need Upgrades to Develop

BY BILL KOENEKER

Both the shopping center owner and water district officials have indicated that water improvements currently planned for Malibu West and the Trancas area are not tied to the planned expansion of Trancas Country Market.
“It has nothing to do with the TCM remodel/expansion and is not a requirement for our project,” said Dan Bercu, who heads the ownership of the Trancas shopping center. “The water upgrade for western Malibu is an infrastructure improvement by Water District 29 at their choosing.”
Some Malibu West residents have questioned whether the replacement of small pipes with larger ones and the addition of a new regulation station will only benefit the remodeling project for Trancas Country Market and may have been designed primarily for that purpose.
But Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29 officials say the work, which already have been approved and funded, is a long-term planned expansion of the water delivery system in western Malibu and predates Bercu’s ownership of what is now called the Trancas Country Market center.
The existing distribution system conveys domestic water through a 30-inch steel pipe located beneath Pacific Coast Highway. The distribution main has a maximum size of 30 inches and reduces to 16 inches as the line passes in front of the Trancas and PCH supermarket and shops complex.
There is an existing 12-inch water pipe that branches from the 16-inch pipe at the intersection of Trancas Canyon Road and PCH and fills the Trancas Canyon water tank, which holds 500,000 gallons.
There is also a pair of one-million-gallon water tanks near Nicholas Beach that are filled by the current 14-inch water main.
“The proposed regulating station planned at the south-east corner of the market parking lot will not decrease water pressure. The proposed regulation station and cross-country pipe replacement upgrade will introduce redundancy and reliability to the existing water distribution system, wrote Quang Tran, an engineer for Burdge and Associates, the architects of the planned shopping center expansion, who explained the developer’s assessment of the county’s project and its impact on the area of the development.
“The existing static water pressure around the Trancas market area is about 130 psi,” Tran continued. “Once the planned improvements are completed the static water pressure for the area is expected to continue to be 130 psi or greater.”
Tran said he was told by a Waterworks District 29 engineer the pipe replacement upgrades will increase water capacity for the existing water supply system. He added that a significant portion of the water infrastructure improvements will be installed on the Trancas market property and will benefit those residents around the Trancas market area.
The Waterworks District 29 Web site describes the cross-country replacement as a project that consists of installing 540 feet of new 10-inch-diameter steel water main between Morning View Drive and Paseo Canyon Road to replace an existing aging water main in the same area.
“This project will also include the replacement of 500 feet of a four-inch-diameter water main located on Pacific Coast Highway and relocation of a pressure regulating station to improve fire protection flow in the area,” the Website states.
“The water district has continued to make improvements in western Malibu where households have multiplied faster than the district has been able to keep pace.”
Last year, the district replaced approximately 7200 linear feet of 12-inch-diameter steel water main to replace an existing six-inch-diameter water main along Broad Beach Road. The project also included replacement of a two-inch-diameter pipeline on Bunnie Lane and a four-inch-diameter pipeline serving Cottontail Lane with an eight-inch-diameter pipeline and connects both to the new 12-inch-diameter water main on Broad Beach.

United States Geological Survey to Do Critical Water Study of Malibu Lagoon

• Research Will Occur Simultaneously with EPI Analysis

BY BILL KOENEKER

Malibu city officials are cheering what they are claiming is another benefit derived from the water quality symposium last April—a proposed water quality study by the United States Geological Survey to address “recurring water quality issues related to nutrients and fecal indicator bacteria in Malibu Lagoon and Surfrider Beach.”
“It was determined that the work could be done concurrently with ongoing epidemiological studies of fecal indicator bacteria exposure and human health effects along Malibu beaches that is being done by the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project,” wrote City Manager Jim Thorsen, in a memo to council members.
The city council agreed last week, without comment, to authorize Thorsen to execute a joint funding agreement between the city and the USGS for the $223,325 program with the municipality covering $183,325 of the cost and the USGS providing the remaining $40,000.
The acting director of the USGS California Water Science Center indicated that the study would include collection of chemical and isotopic data from special test wells.
Ten existing wells will be sampled for major ions, such as calcium, magnesium and sodium, selected trace elements, nutrients and the stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen. Salinity will be determined.
Water from selected wells in areas believed to be impacted by septic discharges also will be analyzed for nitrogen contaminants, and oxygen isotopic composition of the nitrate molecule.
“These data will be used to evaluate the source of nitrate contamination (human and animal sources versus chemical fertilizers). Water from selected wells also will be analyzed for selected tracers of fecal indicator bacteria contamination,” a USGS document states.
Direct-current resistivity surveys, will also be done. Results will be used to determine the thickness and lithology of alluvial deposits in the area.
Review of the existing data of fecal indicator bacteria collected by local agencies from streams, lagoon and near shore water in Malibu will be used for a data base. Also planned for study is the, groundwater exchange with near-shore ocean water. Measurements of groundwater discharge to Malibu Lagoon and collection of bacterial “source tracking” data will be gathered
“Data collected from this study will be analyzed to determine the suitably of techniques utilized in this study for determining the source of nutrients and FIB to Malibu Lagoon and near shore ocean water. Results will be presented in letter format to the City of Malibu at the end of the project,” wrote Eric Reichard, the acting director of USGS CSC.

Publisher’s Notebook

• ‘A Grand Old Flag’ •

ANNE SOBLE

“She’s a grand old flag. She’s a high flying flag. And forever in peace may she wave.” Even when paraphrased as done here, George M. Cohan ever so gloriously celebrates America’s paramount symbol of all that the nation stands for in the eyes of the world. That standing, for the most part, has been for freedom, but rare instances of oppression have been woven into the rubric of a philosophy steeped in morphing definitions of independence and democracy.
The Stars and Stripes may be one of the most readily recognizable symbols of any kind anywhere. The flag is flown at nearly every public location imaginable—not just post offices, government buildings and schools, but all of the other places where Americans gather. It is the visual manifestation of the collective identity of a population that is more diverse than most of the other nationalities in the world.
The American flag is also one of the most successful marketing icons in history. It graces back pockets of blue jeans, front pockets of T-shirts, tennis shoes, scarves, hats, swimwear and other attire; as well as jewelry, watches, dinnerware, throw pillows, linens and an unlimited list of home decor items.
Most Americans have the colors red, white and blue so ingrained in their subconsciousness that they don’t think of them as a design element. Although some sources attribute moral values to the colors, the consensus is they were not perceived that way when the flag was designed. The committee in charge of designing the first flag in 1777 was likely adhering to British tradition in the use of color and striping.
Despite the look of the flag changing more than two dozen times, using different colors has never been considered. From a graphics perspective, the tri-color combination is an attention-getter. It is not surprising that Old Glory is a preferred backdrop in so much advertising, from automotive ads (back when auto companies still had budgets that included advertising) to real estate open house promotions.
Technically, all uses of the flag are regulated by Congressional Acts and Presidential Decrees in the U.S. Flag Code. The Code outlines the requirements for the display and use of the Stars and Stripes. Setting aside the issue of the use of the flag in political statements, which for the most part involves First Amendment rights, what some people might consider disrespectful use of the flag design, such as for nude body art, toilet seat covers, underwear and other uses best left out of a family newspaper, is not generally restricted.
On the Fourth of July, unfurl Old Glory proudly. Plan an impromptu salute, not just to the symbol that was created by sewing together pieces of fabric, but to the fabric of the nation for which it stands.