Potential Candidates Start to Pick Up Nomination Papers to Run in April City Council Race

• Diverse Cross-Section of Citizenry Coming Forth

BY BILL KOENEKER

Malibu registered voters who are considering whether to toss their hats into the ring and run in the April 2010 city council election started to pick up nominating papers as soon as the Dec. 21 start date allowed.
Two seats are up for grabs in the April race. There are no incumbents, since Mayor Sharon Barovsky and Councilmember Andy Stern will be termed out under municipal law.
Nominating papers are the first step in the process leading up to the start of the campaign. Each candidate must obtain 15 to 20 signatures of qualified Malibu voters before the papers are filed with the city clerk to start the election process.
Potential candidates include Malibu’s very first mayor, two planning commission members, two view preservation study group members, a Malibu High School activist and two individuals with no prior public track record.
Elected a member of the first city council and selected by the council to serve as the first mayor, Walt Keller, who is one of the original pro-incorporation activists and founders of the city, pulled papers. Because he served his two terms before the limits law went into effect, he is eligible to seek office again. He was narrowly defeated in his third race for a council seat in 2004 by 69 votes.
Planning commission members Ed Gillespie and Reagan Schaar have pulled papers. The planning commission has been a springboard for municipal elected office, as well as a vehicle for termed-out council members to continue their political activities.
Education activist and public works commissioner Laura Rosenthal has pulled nominating papers. She had announced her candidacy several months ago.
Two individuals from the now retired View Preservation Task Force have also pulled nominating papers. Harold Greene and Lou La Monte, who sat on opposite sides of the dais during the task force meetings, could face off next at the ballot box.
Both men have served or serve on other city commissions. Greene has previously run for a council seat. La Monte announced that former city council member and current planning commissioner Joan House would manage his campaign.
Two candidates who have not held city posts have also pulled papers. Jan Swift, who tried to make a run several years ago but was disqualified for not having enough qualified signatures on his nominating papers, and Kofi, who goes by only one name, and has already been seen campaigning at the shopping centers.
No one had returned completed paperwork by Tuesday afternoon, according to the city clerk, who said the deadline is Jan. 15.

Malibu West HOA Appeals Trancas Country Market’s Expansion Plans

• Critics Say Permit Violates the City’s Local Coastal Plan

BY BILL KOENEKER

Malibu Planning Commission approval of the proposed Trancas Country Market expansion plans has been appealed by the Malibu West Homeowners Association.
The city council is scheduled to hear the appeal on Jan. 25.
The planning panel had approved a 25,728- square-foot addition to the existing commercial shopping center located at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Trancas Canyon Road.
The permit request was granted variances for grading and required yard setbacks. The proposed expansion also includes a joint use agreement for parking between parcels and a minor modification to reduce the required front yard setback.
From the get-go, the Malibu West HOA has argued the expansion plans require an Environmental Impact Report.
City planners had assessed the potential impacts based on what is called a Mitigated Negative Declaration. “The [MND] failed to analyze the evidence presented and the public has provided substantial evidence that supports a fair argument that the project may have an adverse impact on the environment. This appeal and information in the record clearly demonstrates that an EIR is required under the California Environmental Quality Act,” the appellants’ letter states.
The HOA letter indicates the project represents “just under 100 percent increase in commercial space and an almost 200 percent increase in site coverage. The scale of the project no longer fits the character of ‘a local neighborhood market.’ This expansion would not be possible, but for the disregard of public policy in the form of setback restrictions along Pacific Coast Highway. The project is clearly growth inducing, which was never examined in the MND or the technical traffic report. This is a major oversight. Clearly a growth-inducing analysis and a revised traffic report are required.”
The HOA also contends the project was improperly analyzed within what is allowable under the city’s Local Coastal Program.
The 11-pages of citations chart out the deficiencies of the analysis including air quality, hazards, land use, noise, water, biology, public services and transportation.
The appellants also insist the planning commission never actually voted to approve or deny the coastal permit. “To correct this deficiency the project must go back to the planning commission for the [coastal permit] to be voted upon,” the appeal letter states.

RWQCB to Air Discharge Prohibition for Proposal

• La Paz Attorney Critcizes Order

BY BILL KOENEKER

A showdown has been scheduled on Feb. 4 between the owners and consultants of La Paz, a proposed Civic Center retail and office complex, and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board about the status of a La Paz discharge permit for its proposed wastewater treatment plant.
The regional board is being asked by its staff to approve an order specifying waste discharge requirements that prohibit discharge from the proposed development by Malibu La Paz Ranch LLC.
Tamar Stein, an attorney for La Paz, said they will argue that since the septic prohibition in the Civic Center has not yet been approved by the state board, the regional board has no authority to cite the prohibition. “We have not had the final word on that,” she said. “The proposed order is just wrong.”
At the same time, La Paz has pending before the state board another issue arguing they are already permitted.
La Paz attorneys insist due to the state’s permit streamlining act, which applies to time limits for processing permits, the La Paz permit should be deemed approved as a matter of law because the RWQCB did not hear the matter within the time required by law.
Stein was asked if such arguments would be put into play at the regional board hearing.
“We are currently working on our strategy. It may be a two-pronged approach or three pronged,” she said.
The tentative order sought by the RWQCB staff insists the application is incomplete. The staff contends the applicant changed plans and submitted designs for a zero discharge wastewater system. But the staff contends the plans did not appear to show “such a system.”
“The applicant continually failed to provide the information needed for the application,” or what is called a Report of Waste Discharge or ROWD, according to the RWQB staff.
The staff contends it repeatedly informed La Paz officials the ROWD was incomplete and the staff needed more information.
Nearly at the same time, the regional board was moving forward with a septic ban in the Civic Center where La Paz would be located.
Then just weeks before the hearing, the zero discharge wastewater system was eliminated by the staff as an exemption to the septic prohibition.
La Paz officials have called foul and insist the RWQCB’s tactics and delays are calculated to force La Paz into the septic prohibition ban.

Jury Duty Scofflaws May Be in for Quite a Surprise from Sanctioning Process

• Three-Notices Ruling to Be Imposed

BY BILL KOENEKER

If people think that they are receiving jury duty notices more frequently than in the past, they’re right. If anyone thinks that it’s more difficult to get out of jury duty, they’re right. If they think they can totally ignore jury duty notices, they’re wrong.
As part of the Los Angeles Superior Court’s coordinated program to encourage voluntary participation in jury service, Judge Gerald Rosenberg will convene juror sanction hearings for West District citizens who did not respond to jury service notices mailed on three separate occasions to their last known address, according to county officials.
The sanction hearings begin in January on three separate dates. The jurors, who were mailed notices in the West District, are among thousands who face stiff fines, plus new jury service assignment, county officials noted.
“Sanctions are a last resort, but even at that late date, monetary sanctions may not be imposed if a person agrees to serve. The court’s priority is having the people cooperate with us to ensure that jury service is shared by all eligible citizens in the Los Angeles County, as mandated by the Legislature,” said Presiding Judge Charles W. McCoy Jr. “The court has no interest whatsoever in using these sanctions as a source of money.”
County officials noted because a 1999 court rule established one trial jury service, jurors now summoned for jury duty need only be present at a courthouse for a single day of jury selection. Although members of a jury panel may be asked to return the following day, all others in the jury assembly room will be excused at the end of the day with their jury duty obligation completed for a least 12 months.
If chosen for a jury however, according to county officials, a juror must serve until the case is completed.

Coastal Staff Proposes $750,000 for Mitigation of Malibu Bluffs Project

• Five-Home Subdivision Packages a Two-Acre Ball Field

BY BILL KOENEKER

The California Coastal Commission staff has recommended that a 24-acre bluff top parcel historically known as Crummer Field could be developed with a five-home subdivision and a public ball field, but only if the developer kicks in $750,000 as a mitigation fee. The matter is scheduled for the commission’s January meeting in Huntington Beach.
The land is currently zoned commercial visitor-serving and coastal planners believe such valuable zoning, if retired, should have offsets to compensate.
“The mitigation fee shall be for the protection, enhancement and provision of lower-cost visitor-serving uses elsewhere along the coast…to offset the loss of the priority land use in the city,” the staff report concludes, having already asserted that commercial visitor-serving zoning has a high priority with Coastal Commission policy.
The request is to be heard in the form of a Local Coastal Program Amendment, which seeks to modify the requirements of the planned development land use designation of the LCP to allow for a mix of residential and recreational use, instead of commercial visitor-serving use, the current designation on the vacant parcel adjacent to Bluffs Park.
The owner of the site, Richard Ackerman, approached the city several years ago about subdividing the parcel into eight new lots and developing the site with five new single-family residences with a private road in the eastern portion of the property and dedicate the westernmost two-acres of the site to the city, to expand the adjacent city-owned park with an additional baseball field and 35 parking spaces.
An Environmental Impact Report was completed and the city and developer have approached the commission with the LCPA.
There has been a back and forth between the developer and the commission staff about the mitigation fee.
“The commission staff has identified potential public projects in the area that are in need of funding to implement affordable visitor-serving accommodations, such as the former Topanga Ranch Motel owned by the state, which is considering rehabilitation,” the CCC staff report states.
“The property owner has submitted a study to commission lower cost overnight accommodations serving the City of Malibu and its vicinity. The study asserts that commercial offerings in Malibu generally cater to more affluent visitor/consumers rather than visitors seeking low cost overnight accommodations, due in part to the high cost of land in Malibu, which is a major obstacle to constructing new low cost overnight accommodations,” the commission report goes on.
The property owner insisted that there is ample inventory of low-cost overnight accommodations in the greater Malibu vicinity and also notes State Parks and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy are developing plans to bring more low-cost overnight opportunities to the coastal area, including at the nearby Bluffs Park.
However, the CCC staff counters the proposed LCPA would result in the loss of land currently designated for visitor-serving commercial recreational opportunities. “Specifically, the request is inconsistent with [coastal policies]. Therefore, the amendment must be denied as submitted. In order for the proposed land use conversion from commercial visitor-serving to residential/ recreational to be found consistent with the Coastal Act, it must be appropriately mitigated since the proposed land use change would allow for residential development on the subject property, which is not a priority use. Ideally, the loss of area designated for commercial visitor-serving use should be offset by re-designating some other equivalent area that would be designated for visitor serving use. As an alternative, the property owner has offered to pay an in-lieu mitigation fee of $750,000 to assist funding affordable overnight accommodations elsewhere in the coastal zone.”
The report notes the CCC staff modification would require the city to add a new land use plan policy to require payment of the $750,000 prior to issuance of permits and the fee would be used to fund new local public access by rehabilitating the Topanga Ranch Motel.

Council Looks at Funding Landon Center Redo

• Makeover Could Top $1 Million and Lower City Reserves

BY BILL KOENEKER

The Malibu City Council at its next meeting on Jan. 11 is poised to appropriate $1 million for a planned makeover of the Michael Landon Center at Bluffs Park.
The money would come from what is called the city’s undesignated general fund reserve. If the council approves the expenditure, the general reserve fund will dip to $7.9, which is lower than the city council’s goal established almost 10 years ago of maintaining at least $8 million in the fund.
Last October, the council received a follow-up report on the expansion of the center. The report included three design options and an estimated project cost of $1.5 million.
The council indicated it wanted to move forward with some sort of expansion plan and discussed a million-dollar appropriation.
The existing building is comprised of two octagon-shaped structures that are 1472 square feet in size and connected by the entrance lobby of 352 square feet for a total of 3296 square feet.
The staff told council members plans were being considered for adding a second story for office space for staff, multiuse room for classes and conference room for public meetings. The expansion would directly benefit recreation programs by including additional classes for dance, fitness, art, music and teen activities, according to the staff.
In other business, the council will be told about the results of an annual independent audit report for fiscal year 2009.
The general fund reserve decreased at fiscal year end, according to a staff report by Assistant City Manager/Administrative services Director Reva Feldman.
The total fund balance of $21.7 million at June 30, 2009 is a decrease of $590,878 from the previous fiscal year, she wrote.
“The decrease is due to capital expenditures for the Legacy Park project. The general fund reserve totaled $18.4 million at fiscal year end. Of that amount, $1,184,644 was reserved for encumbrances and prepaid expenses, $2.5 million was designated as the deposit for City Hall acquisition, $1.7 million as designated for City Hall, $3.7 million was designated for capital improvement projects and $142,346 was reserved for vehicles and information technology,” Feldman wrote.
Feldman indicated the special revenue funds, which account for all restricted monies designated for specific uses, ended the last fiscal year with an aggregate fund balance of $3 million representing a decrease of $200,000 from the previous fiscal year.
The audit was conducted in accordance with generally accepted industry standards and the auditors issued a letter that contained no findings, meaning the standards have been adhered to by the city, according to Feldman.
The council is also expected to discuss the temporary use permit process and give the green light to making revisions to the temporary use permit process to make it easier.
In May, the Malibu Chamber of Commerce requested revisions to the TUP regulations “to allow more flexibility in the allotment and issuance of permits.”
There were recommended revisions, such as updating what constitutes a temporary event that requires a TUP, increasing the maximum number of permits allowed per year, revising TUP standards from applying to a single property to applying to individual businesses on a property, adding TUP standards for marathon and triathlon events and decreasing the required public noticing from 32 days to 10 days, according to a staff report.
The staff, if directed, will prepare a zone text amendment to change the municipal code and seek a Local Coastal Program Amendment regarding the processing of TUPs.
The planning commission will be scheduled to hear the matter regarding the ZTA and LCPA, according to city planners.

Account of Life in Malibu Paints Vivid Picture of the Past

• Author’s Discussion of Issues Ranging from Wildfire to Coastal Conservation Remains Relevant

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

Nineteenth century American explorer William Clark wrote the words “Ocian in view. O, the joy!” in his journal to commemorate his first sight of the Pacific Ocean. Malibu resident and author Lawrence Clark Powell chose that quote for a small volume of musings on life in Malibu, first published in 1958.
Powell reflected that Clark was “a better explorer than speller” but that he shared the same sense of elation at the sight of the sea. “Ocean in view as I write, our watery front-yard disturbed by the westerly which has been blowing since yesterday, when it swept away the overcast. Close in the water is sandy, then the calm kelp bed, and beyond lies the dark sea with windhorses running wild on its surface,” Powell wrote.
Lawrence Clark Powell, born in 1906, grew up in Southern California and was part of the vibrant Los Angeles literary scene in the 1930s. Powell was University Librarian at UCLA in 1955—where he is credited with increasing the university’s holdings from 280,000 volumes to nearly 3 million—when he and wife Kay Shoemaker moved to Malibu. “It was a kind of magnetic homecoming, our move to Malibu,” Powell wrote, adding that “long background of reading and seeing that motivated the move...plus something else, instinctive, mysterious and right.”
Powell had read descriptions of Malibu in Frederick Rindge’s “Happy Days in Southern California,” and in the poetry of Madeleine Ruthven, but he had also driven Pacific Coast Highway on the day in 1928 that it opened to the public for the first time.
“I drove over it in a topless Hupmobile roadster from Santa Monica to Oxnard...and even then the beaches were withheld by barbed wire fence. I can still recall the sense of discovery I had during that first day in Malibu.”
Ironically, it was the 1950s version of climate change that finally drove the Powells to migrate from West Los Angeles. “The weather seemed to worsen (all changes in weather are blamed on The Bomb, aren’t they?)” Powell wrote. “There was smog all day and its stagnant after-mist by night.”
The Powells exchanged the smog for a panoramic and unspoiled view of the ocean and mountains at the upper end of Broad Beach. “All the hours are lovely in their lights and colors, wind and calm; and if one isn’t gardening or gleaning wood on the beach, swimming or walking, he is content to sit and watch the passage of time over the earth.”
Powell described the abalone that were abundant in the Fifties—“Later at supper we went to the beach to get our supper off the rocks. Prying abalone from the reef is only half the labor required: the other end of the mollusk is almost as firmly fastened to the shell...Freshly caught and sauteed in butter they are delicious and their shells remain, beautiful forever.”
Powell also recounts pleasures like discovering hidden springs in the mountains and ancient oaks; gathering mussels, wild mushrooms, shells and driftwood, and watching the sky, sea and stars.
Not everything was idyllic. Fire and drought were problems then as well as now. “On the coast, seasons merge almost imperceptibly into each other,” Powell wrote. “When the rainy season is regular, then it is easier to know the time of year. When drought comes, how is one to know summer and fall from winter and spring?”
Powell provides a terrifying firsthand account of the 1956 Newton-Hume-Sherwood Fire. The fire, which started in Newton Canyon during 70-90 mph Santa Ana winds on Christmas Day, raged for nearly days, charring 40,000 acres.
The Powells and their neighbors, with the help of two Edison line crew workers, fought to save their homes from the firestorm, armed with shovels and garden hoses. They were fortunate, but many were not. More than 250 homes and structures were destroyed.
Powell’s home was destroyed 20 years later, in the 1978 Kanan Fire. He died in 2001 in Arizona and never returned to Malibu, but his Malibu writings remain a vivid portrait of a place that is both familiar and remote as a vanished Elysium.
“The Chumash were a gentle people, living on shellfish, roots, and acorn meal,” Powell wrote. “We who are carnivorous leave a different residue. Sometimes I wonder who will follow us here, and what they will make of our artifacts—books and discs and Scriptos, and less tangible, though perhaps more lasting, our love for this marine mountain-scape called Malibu.”
“Ocian in View” by Lawrence Clark Powell is currently out of print, but readily available second-hand.

Week 15: No Response Yet on Request that FBI Get Involved in Search for Mitrice Richardson Who Disappeared in Mid-September

• Petition to Have Federal Government Join Current Missing Person Investigation Team Nears 5000 Signatures

BY ANNE SOBLE

It’s not overstatement to describe Washington, DC as a ghost town between late December and the first week of the new year, so it is not too surprising that there is no formal reply yet to the request by Representative Maxine Waters that the FBI become involved in the case of the 24-year-old Cal State Fullerton honors graduate who reportedly departed from the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station before dawn on Sept. 17 and has been missing for 15 weeks.
Representative Waters has asked the FBI to initiate an investigation into the disappearance of the young black woman, Mitrice Richardson, and the circumstances of her Malibu arrest and subsequent booking and release from Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department custody.
In a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller two weeks ago, Waters said, “Based on reports I have read, there are questions as to whether the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station acted properly in releasing this young woman during the predawn hours without money or transportation, all while she was suffering from what the Los Angeles Police Department’s doctors have concluded to be bipolar disorder.” The LAPD is the lead agency in the search because Richardson is a Los Angeles resident.
Waters, a Democrat, represents the 35th Congressional District, which includes the South Los Angeles area where Richardson lives with her great-grandmother. Richardson, who was preparing to begin substitute teaching and planned to work on a doctorate in clinical psychology, mysteriously vanished after walking out of the Lost Hills Station, located 40 miles from her home, alone, inadequately attired for cold weather, and without money, cell phone or means of transportation at 12:25 a.m. on Sept. 17.
Richardson had been booked on two misdemeanor counts after being placed under citizen’s arrest several hours earlier by personnel at Geoffrey’s restaurant for not paying an $89.51 dinner tab. Her speech and behavior were described as strange by people in the restaurant, but when she was taken to Lost Hills, sheriff’s personnel there determined that she was lucid and there were no grounds to detain her.
However, last month, journal entries found in the woman’s car, which was impounded at time of her arrest—a questionable procedure in its own right—were interpreted by professionals as indicative of extreme fatigue (up to a week of possible sleep deprivation) and other signs of mental stress.
Waters, a member of the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives, which is responsible for oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, added extra clout to her message when she said she is “concerned about the failure of the FBI Los Angeles Regional Office to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mitrice’s disappearance.”
Waters added that “the FBI has the responsibility to pursue cases implicating federal criminal or civil rights statutes [and] I believe the circumstances and facts of this case warrant bureau involvement.”
She reiterates the request “that the FBI open an investigation into Mitrice’s disappearance and the circumstances surrounding her arrest, detention and release from the custody of the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.”
FEDERAL PETITION
Bolstering Waters’ request for FBI intervention are the efforts of an online activist group whose concerns include social, economic and criminal justice. Change.org has collected 4277 signatures toward a goal of 5000 signatures on a petition urging state and federal elected and appointed officials to initiate a federal investigation of the Richardson case.
In addition to the effort to “help find Richardson,” the group wants “to ensure that this does not happen to additional persons.” The petition is at the group’s website: www.change.org
JANUARY SEARCH
LAPD Detective Charles Knolls indicated that law enforcement agencies are “planning a search for additional clues in January” in the Malibu/Lost Hills area. He said, “We’re coordinating the search with the Lost Hills Search and Rescue teams and their volunteer resources. The exact date has not been set.”
Richardson is described on the LAPD blog as an “African-American with brown hair and hazel eyes. The 24-year-old is five-feet-five to five-feet-six inches tall and weighs about 135 pounds. She was last seen wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans.”
For more information about the case and search activities, check the website at www.findmitrice.info or contact Dr. Ronda Hampton at 951-660-8031, or LAPD Detectives Charles Knolls or Steven Eguchi at their new office telephone number 213-486-6900.

Court Says Baykeeper Lawsuits over City EIRs Don’t Hold Water

• Superior Court Judge Says Documents Pass Muster

BY BILL KOENEKER

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has dismissed two lawsuits filed by the activist environmental group Santa Monica Baykeeper challenging the City of Malibu’s approval of Legacy Park and La Paz, a retail office complex.
“Both lawsuits were denied and the judge ruled in favor of the city,” said Malibu City Manager Jim Thorsen.
The Malibu Surfside News obtained copies of the rulings. In both suits, the Baykeeper unsuccessfully argued the Environmental Impact Reports were flawed and did not follow the procedures required by the California Environmental Quality Act.
On the Baykeeper challenge of the Legacy Park EIR, the court ruled that Baykeeper attorneys were not really challenging procedure and the city’s failure to follow procedure, “but rather it attacks the EIR as lacking required information.”
Legacy Park, currently under construction is a 15-acre park that will contain an eight-acre detention basin for a stormwater cleansing project, and also consists of habitat restoration and environmental education.
The ruling cited several specific instances where the Baykeeper failed to convince the court.
The court indicated the EIR focuses on mitigation, including during construction phases, of any potential impacts and noted “it does not forego analysis completely as petitioner suggests.”
The court noted the grading has been completed and Baykeeper did not seek a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction to prevent “any perceived threats or adverse impact from grading activities.”
The court also found that the net effect of the park project “will be to reduce the amount of discharge to groundwater [and] the project will not discharge anything to the groundwater. Therefore there is no requirement or reason to analyze cumulative effects.”
The court also spoke to what was described as Baykeeper’s failure to demonstrate its allegations that there were errors and omissions of such magnitude as to preclude informed decision-making and informed public participation, thereby thwarting the statutory goals of the EIR process.
“Petitioner has not established that there was any prejudicial abuse of discretion. Accordingly, the respondent’s decision should be upheld. The petition is denied,” the court ruling states.
In the matter of the La Paz ruling, the court said that the Baykeeper bears the burden of presenting credible evidence that an agency’s findings and conclusions are not supported by substantial evidence. “As discussed below, petitioners have not met that burden,” the court stated.
Baykeeper argued the city committed error when it did not recirculate the EIR after the wastewater treatment element changed.
“While materially different than the septic system previously proposed, it does not represent a significant change that would necessitate recirculation. If petitioner’s interpretation of recirculation requirements were the law, every improvement to a project in response to comments would require another round of environmental review subjecting a project to endless review. The city’s decision not to recirculate is presumed to be correct and petitioners has failed to meet its burden on this issue,” the court stated.
The court also talked about what was seen as Baykeeper’s failure to prove its claim that there was inadequate environmental analysis.
Specifically on groundwater flow, the court said the matter was not brought up at the hearings and therefore could not be raised now.
“Petitioner has not shown that the issue of flooding impacts on people was raised at the administrative level. Nevertheless the court finds that this human impact analysis is implicit in the analysis of the impacts of flooding on structures,” the court opined.
The court cited other allegations that Baykeeper made about the EIR specifically on cumulative impacts, deferred mitigation and other deficiencies, but said the Baykeeper had failed to prove such assertions.

Court Dates Reset for 2007 Corral Fire Four

• Two Suspects Seek Dismissals

Four of the 2007 Corral Fire defendants met in court for a pretrial conference on Dec. 10, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.
“William Thomas Coppock and Brian Alan Anderson are scheduled to appear again in court on Jan. 14 for a motion to dismiss,” said Sandi Gibbons, a spokesperson for the DA.
Eric Matthew Ullman and Dean Allen Lavorante. as well as Coppock and Anderson, are scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 25 for a pretrial conference, according to Gibbons, who said no trial date has been set yet.
The four men are accused of setting the fire in Corral Canyon that raced through the mountains claiming 53 homes and acres of brushland during the early morning hours of Nov. 24, 2007.
A fifth defendant, Brian David Franks, has already been convicted of starting the blaze as part of a plea bargain package that calls for testimony against the other defendents.

Musician Says Media Isn’t Playing His Song

• Criticism of Project Acknowledged

BY BILL KOENEKER

After years of skirting the specifics of his ownership of a five-home subdivision planned for the hills high above Sweetwater Mesa, David Evans, known professionally as The Edge in the rock group U2, has claimed his interest in the project that has been soundly criticized.
Due to a worldwide media blitz of mostly bad press about an “issues-oriented” rock star turning into a land developer, Evans says he is responding with his take on the project on a website called www.leavesinthewind.com where the musician, using his stage name, attempts to persuade the visitor that the proposal is a fair and considerate use of the land.
The rock guitarist, who says that he and his wife Morleigh Steinberg have maintained a home in Malibu for the last 10 years, said he felt compelled to comment on the years-long effort to build a dream home after seeing the criticism that he alleges to be misinformation in the media.
“I never thought I would have to resort to this form of communication, but because of recent inaccurate media coverage, I felt compelled to set the record straight,” he wrote. “Why did we go to so much effort? Because my family and I love Malibu. We’ve maintained a residence here for more than a decade, and once our new home is finished, we expect to spend much of our time here.”
Evans said he and his wife were first looking for land back in the summer of 2004. At first, the five lots that were purchased seemed like too much money and were disregarded, according to the website. After a change of heart, he and a number of friends, as partners, bought the lots and entitlements. He did not say if the partners include any of his band-mates.
Evans indicates that he understands and acknowledges the concerns of the “immediate neighbors” about the disruption that would be created during construction and says he wants to minimize the disruption.
“I hope the facts and background we’ve included on this site will reassure anyone who may have concerns about our project. I know how quickly rumors can spread and misinformation can multiply,” he notes.
Some of the aspects of the project have changed, according to the website. He says homes are no longer the “McMansion size of 10,000 square feet,” but have been reduced to around 8000 square feet. All of the pools and guesthouses originally planned for the project have been eliminated, he adds, and all of the homes have been awarded LEED gold certification.
The next step in the approval process is the seeking of development permits from the California Coastal Commission.

School Board Acts on More Funds for Emergency Tax Promo/Assessment Efforts

• Voters Are Expressing Reservations

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District Board of Education unanimously approved an additional $11,500 requested by the committee tasked with determining if an emergency school funding parcel tax is feasible.
The district initially allocated $50,000 for the committee. The new funding will be used for “additional research,” according to a staff report.
The move came after a districtwide telephone survey conducted in early December reportedly yielded inconclusive, or in the words of one committee member, “lukewarm,” results.
The committee is scheduled to present the results of its research at the board’s Jan. 14 meeting. Committee chair Neil Carrey, however, cautioned the board that there is no guarantee that the committee will find the proposed tax feasible.
The district is facing a $10 million deficit this year and that number is expected to continue to rise for the next three years.
District property owners currently pay an annual parcel tax of $346. In 2008 voters approved a measure removing an expiration clause from the existing tax, making it permanent. The proposed new tax would add an additional $225-$425 to the tax bill of each property owner.
At the same meeting, the board unanimously voted to elect vice president Barry Snell its president and board member Kelly Pye its vice president. Both board members have served since 2006. Snell replaces board member Ralph Mechur as president.
In other news, the district has received a supply of 22,000 surgical masks from the California Emergency Management Agency, along with a supply of latex gloves and a number of “respirator masks,” as a flu prevention measure.
Flu season in area schools has been relatively mild, according to Jane Jeffries, the district’s coordinating nurse, but supplies not utilized for flu season can be added to the district’s stockpile of disaster preparedness supplies.
The district is reporting that, although flu cases were higher than usual during October, the numbers appear to have declined in December.
District schools have requested that students with flu-like symptoms stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever. Printed flu season precaution guidelines have been sent home with students at all district schools, and are posted on the district’s website at smmusd.org

Local Cannabis Dispensary Will Not Make Its Wares Available to Minors

• Controvery about High School Sports Calendar Is Aired

BY BILL KOENEKER

The operators of PCH Collective, a medical marijuana dispensary, recently announced a policy of not selling to anyone under 21 years of age. The state law that was brought about by a state proposition approved by the voters allows the collectives to sell to anyone over 18.
“The policy is no sale to anyone under 21,” said PCH Collective spokesperson Dustin Zahn who said the policy has been in effect for three months.
The blanket policy, according to Zahn, is to work with the community in ensuring that no high school students or young people can obtain marijuana at the collective.
“We were asked in August by the Chabad about an approach that [medical marijuana] would not get in the hands of minors. They thought it was the most effective way to cut it off at the user level,” Zahn added. “In an attempt to support that effort we raised the age limit.”
Zahn said an 18-year-old can get a recommendation from a physician. The medical marijuana is dispensed via a physician recommendation rather than an actual prescription.
Sometimes even younger individuals may obtain a recommendation, depending upon the physician, according to Zahn. “It is based on the physician’s recommendation,” he added.
Zahn also talked about an incident he called “unfortunate” when the name of PCH Collective was added to the high school football calendar.
“We were not trying to target high schoolers. We did not include a phone number or address. We were told it was a way to support the football team which we wanted to do,” he said.
The spokesperson said they had been reassured by Media All Stars, the company that sold the ads and put the calendar together that they had cleared the inclusion of PCH Collective’s logo in the calendar with the faculty advisor.
“We were told the money went for uniforms. That was the reason for our support. We were told from the beginning it was OK by the high school. We were not targeting the high school or an age group. We thought we were giving to a good cause. We want to support the community,” said Zahn, who added they considered the request no more differently than if any other community group had approached them for a donation.

Wildfire Protection Plan Meetings to Resume

• Neighborhood Approach Tailors Preparedness to Needs

BY BILL KOENEKER

Local meetings of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan are scheduled to resume in January, according to a recent press release.
The series of meetings targeted for many of the local neighborhoods was started in October and will resume next month.
The sessions are an effort to offer the public a greater opportunity to provide input by identifying what residents consider priority projects that would help prepare their homes, neighborhoods and communities for wildfire according to organizers.
The public’s contribution is described by organizers as useful in the development of a wildfire plan for the approximately 100,000 acres within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
The wildfire protection plans are also considered useful by federal officials, who want to earmark the many options to identify community needs with regard to prevention, preparedness, prevention, and wildfire response.
Organizers insist the focus of the meetings and “one of the main objectives,” is to engage in discussion with locals to determine priorities and strategies to address the threats of wildfire to each of the local neighborhoods.
Residents are encouraged to attend the next set of meetings scheduled for specific communities and neighborhoods.
“If they are not able to attend their own local meeting, residents may attend a different meeting to learn about fire safety and the protection plan. Community priorities will only be discussed for specific areas at the meeting noticed in that area,” a press release stated.
Upcoming meetings can be found in the Malibu Surfside News calendar section and may be located on the municipal website www.ci.malibu.ca.us/calendar/index.cfm/fuseaction/group/groupid/3/

RWQCB Set to Air Proposed Discharge Prohibition for La Paz

• Developer’s Attorney Says Order is Wrong

BY BILL KOENEKER

A showdown has been scheduled on Feb. 4 between the owners and consultants of La Paz, a proposed Civic Center retail and office complex, and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board about the status of a La Paz discharge permit for its wastewater treatment plant.
The regional board is being asked by the staff to approve an order specifying waste discharge requirements that prohibit discharge from the proposed development by Malibu La Paz Ranch LLC.
Tamar Stein, an attorney for La Paz, said they will argue that since the septic prohibition in the Civic Center has not yet been approved by the state board, the regional board has no authority to cite the prohibition. “We have not had the final word on that,” she added. “The proposed order is just wrong.”
At the same time, La Paz has pending before the state board another issue arguing they are already permitted.
La Paz attorneys insist due to the state’s permit streamlining act, which applies to time limits for processing permits, the La Paz permit should be deemed approved as a matter of law because the RWQCB did not hear the matter within the time required by law.
Stein was asked if such arguments would be put into play at the regional board hearing.
“We are currently working on our strategy. It may be a two-pronged approach or three pronged,” she said.
The tentative order sought by the RWQCB staff insists the application is incomplete. The staff contends the applicant changed plans and submitted designs for a zero discharge wastewater system. But the staff contends the plans did not appear to show “such a system.”
“The applicant continually failed to provide the information needed for the application,” or what is called a Report of Waste Discharge, or ROWD, according to the RWQB staff. .
The staff contends it repeatedly informed La Paz officials that the ROWD is incomplete and the staff needed more information.
Nearly at the same time, the regional board was moving forward with a septic ban in the Civic Center where La Paz would be located.
Then just weeks before the hearing, the zero discharge wastewater system was eliminated by the staff as an exemption to the septic prohibition.
La Paz officials have called foul and insist the RWQCB’s tactics and delays are calculated to force La Paz into the septic prohibition ban.

Member of Congress Asks FBI Director for Help in Search for Mitrice Richardson Who Disappeared after Release from Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station in Sept

• Representative Maxine Waters Questions LASD Procedures Regarding 24-Year-Old College Honors Graduate

BY ANNE SOBLE

Responding to what she describes as an inundation of constituent communications asking for her support, Congressmember Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) has asked the FBI to look into the disappearance of Mitrice Richardson and the circumstances of her Malibu arrest and subsequent booking and release from Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.
Waters represents the South Los Angeles area where Richardson lives with her great-grandmother, Mildred Hughes, 92, the matriarch of a strong, close-knit family that has been devastated by not having heard from the 24-year-old Cal State Fullerton honors graduate for the last 14 weeks.
Richardson, who was preparing to begin substitute teaching and planned to work on a doctorate in clinical psychology, mysteriously vanished after reportedly walking out of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, located 40 miles from her home, alone, without a jacket, money, her cell phone or a means of transportation at 12:25 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17.
Richardson had been booked on two misdemeanor counts after being placed under citizen’s arrest by staffers at Geoffrey’s restaurant for not paying her $89.51 dinner tab several hours earlier. Her speech and behavior were described as strange by people in the restaurant who expressed concern for her safety, but when she was taken to Lost Hills, sheriff’s personnel pronounced her lucid and competent to be released.
Journals and other writings found in the woman’s vehicle, which was impounded at time of her arrest, indicate troubling mental issues.
In a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller last week, Representative Waters said, “Based on reports I have read, there are questions as to whether the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station acted properly in releasing this young woman during the predawn hours without money or transportation, all while she was suffering from what the Los Angeles Police Department’s doctors have concluded to be bipolar disorder.”
Waters represents the 35th Congressional District, and serves on the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives, which is responsible for oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Adding in that context, “I am also concerned about the failure of the FBI Los Angeles Regional Office to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mitrice’s disappearance.”
Waters noted that “the FBI has the responsibility to pursue cases implicating federal criminal or civil rights statutes [and] I believe the circumstances and facts of this case warrant bureau involvement.
“Therefore, it is with great urgency that I respectfully request that the FBI open an investigation into Mitrice’s disappearance and the circumstances surrounding her arrest, detention and release from the custody of the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.”
JANUARY SEARCH
When Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca upgraded the Richardson investigation to a homicide case to increase resources last week, it raised concerns—even among her family—that it could mean that the woman is now believed to be dead.
LASD protestations that there is no evidence to indicate this have not allayed concerns. That the Los Angeles Police Department is planning another major search in the Malibu/Lost Hills area is also fueling somber thoughts.
Some family members ask whether the LAPD, the lead agency on the case because Richardson is a Los Angeles resident, is conducting—in emergency parlance—a recovery exercise versus a rescue one.
However, LAPD Detective Charles Knolls said, “We’re planning a search for additional clues in January.” He said, “We’re coordinating the search with the Lost Hills Search and Rescue teams and their volunteer resources. The exact date has not been set.”
Richardson is described on the LAPD blog as an “African-American with brown hair and hazel eyes. The 24-year-old is five-feet-five to five-feet-six inches tall and weighs about 135 pounds. She was last seen wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans.”
For more information about the case and search activities, check the website at www.findmitrice.info or contact Dr. Ronda Hampton at 951-660-8031, or LAPD Detectives Charles Knolls or Steven Eguchi at their new office telephone number 213-486-6900.

It’s Beginning to Look (and Feel) a Lot Like Winter

• Storm Troika Soaks Community with Minimal Amount of Flooding and Related Damage

BY ANNE SOBLE

The meteorologists were right on with their forecasting of three storms lined up in a row and bent on bringing Malibu its first real soaking of the season. The experts are still debating how many and how strong future storms are going to be, but for now the local Smokey the Bear wildfire danger signs are comfortably settled into the “low” notch.
Malibu rain gauges registered from three to seven inches of cold downpour along the coast from east to west. At their peak, the storms sent small rockfalls down canyon walls and catapulted tree limbs atop shifting mounds of wind-strewn debris.
Several traffic accidents may have been exacerbated by slick roads, but the storms were not designated as the primary cause for any serious mishaps or injuries.
When the sun appeared between downpours, locals dug out their ice skates (or leased them) and partook of a city-sponsored outdoor activity usually not found within Malibu’s boundaries.
Skates weren’t the only items pulled out of storage. Malibuites unpacked sweaters, scarves, gloves and other cold weather gear so they could thumb their noses at the falling thermometer.

City Council to Consider Policy for Marathons and Relays Using PCH

• Growing Number of Events Want a Malibu Segment

BY BILL KOENEKER

Organizers of the Regnar Relay Series want to hold a relay race from Santa Barbara to Dana Point that would wind through Malibu on Pacific Coast Highway. Several organizers spoke at this week’s Malibu City Council meeting, saying the event would not impede traffic since it would be held on sidewalks or shoulders and would not require the closure of any roads.
“There is no room at the east end [for a race],” said Councilmember Andy Stern.
Before the council started to talk about it, City Manager Jim Thorsen informed the council that the staff gets one to two requests per month and that it would be advisable to establish some kind of policy. The council recently approved another race that goes through the west end of Malibu called the Malibu Marathon.
After some discussion, the council agreed to direct staff to bring back an agenda item regarding relay/marathon policies in the city.
They also wanted to have the staff look at the Regnar relay and analyze the segment in Malibu and other aspects of the race.
“I got calls and e-mails about this,” said Councilmember John Sibert, who reminded his colleagues the matter was not actually on the agenda.
Mayor Sharon Barovsky wanted to know where the relay money goes.
Stern repeated his concerns about the east end. “That is our biggest concern,” he said.
The mayor agreed. “We have never voted for any event in the east end of Malibu. I cannot imagine I would support an event in the east end. There are no shoulders nor sidewalks in [portions of the east end of Malibu]. You are taking your life in your hands,” Barovsky said.
“Keep your fingers crossed what Caltrans might say,” said Councilmember Jefferson Wagner. “I still would like to see it come back,” said Sibert.
OTHER ACTION
The council approved a $376,866 contract for a Malibu Canyon Road improvement project.
Funding for the construction of the improvements was included in the adopted budget for 2009-2010, according to city officials. The total estimated cost for the project is $500,000. Actual costs will be reimbursed by the state Department of Transportation through a federal money grant. The project consists of resurfacing Malibu Canyon Road from Pacific Coast Highway to the city limits with an asphalt-rubber overlay.
Construction is scheduled to begin in Feb. 2010 and is expected to be completed by April 2010, according to municipal officials.
The council also approved an agreement with Los Angeles County to landscape and maintain parcels located on the east and west side of Webb Way and Pacific Coast Highway.
After some negotiations with the county about acquiring the parcels, city officials were told it might be easier, more efficient and less costly for the city to enter into a use agreement with the county to landscape and maintain both parcels.
“The city intends to install a monument sign on the east corner and landscape the other areas with drought tolerant plants,” Feldman added.

Coastal Commission OKs Malibu Items on Agenda

• Once-Contentious TDCs May Change

BY BILL KOENEKER

The California Coastal Commission approved several Malibu agenda items when it met last week in Northern California.
The commission approved an extension of the deadline for action on the City of Malibu’s Local Coastal Program Amendment involving the Transfer Development Credit program. The city submitted the LCPA in September.
Malibu wants to change the TDC program to allow ownership of TDC donor parcels to be transferred to a public entity willing to accept title and allow TDC donor parcels to be merged with adjacent buildable lots rather than adjacent already developed lots.
Ordinarily, an LCPA must be scheduled for a public hearing and the commission is required to take action within 90 days of a complete submittal.
However, there are provisions in the law that allow the commission to extend for “good cause” the 90-day time limit for a period of up to one year.
Also on tap was a request by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works for an application to repair a section of Tuna Canyon Road.
The commission approved the permit for the repairs with seven special conditions attached regarding project responsibilities and timing.
“[Those include] assumption of risk, riparian habitat mitigation and restoration, removal of excavated material, nesting bird protection measures, required approvals and wall material/design specifications,” the CCC staff report states.

Pedestrian Fatality in Corral Canyon Is under Investigation

• CHP Says No Evidence of Speeding

BY BILL KOENEKER

The death of a longtime local resident hit by a vehicle on Corral Canyon Road last Tuesday night while he was on foot is still under investigation, according to authorities.
Ted Beason, who was walking southbound along the mountain road with his dog Ace, was struck by Kathy Leigh Willis. Willis also was traveling southbound when she hit the 44-year-old man, said California Highway Patrol officer Leland Tang. The dog was not hit.
Tang said Willis told CHP investigators that Beason “for reasons unknown” stepped into the path of her vehicle.
“[Beason’s] story [will have to come from] the evidence,” said Tang, who indicated investigators are trying to piece together the details of the incident to determine what may have happened.
“We don’t know. We are trying to figure out what happened. We don’t know if she swerved. We know she was not speeding. We don’t know if she was distracted,” Tang said.
The CHP spokesperson confirmed that Willis has not been charged. “We have to prove there is gross negligence. There is no [apparent] violation of law,” the public information officer said.
Tang explained investigators are still attempting to figure out where Beason was walking from and to. “We are still trying to figure out where he was going,” he noted.
Investigators are expected to in terview residents in the area of the accident scene who claim they spoke to the driver right after she hit Beason and say they were present when paramedics arrived.
Investigators are also still gathering physical evidence. “We are going to try to recreate it. But we can’t be 100 percent certain,” Tang said.
Tang said Beason was walking with traffic. “We always tell people to walk against traffic,” he said.
Willis is the executive director of the Malibu Beach Recovery Center, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility, which has a recovery house located on Corral Canyon Road.

Strong Local Opposition to Outdoor Lighting Changes Voices Its Stance at Meeting

• Distrust of School Board Is an Issue

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

At its Dec. 8 meeting, the City of Malibu’s Zoning Ordinance Revisions and Code Enforcement Subcommittee continued to grapple with the challenge of drafting a Local Coastal Program zoning text amendment to permit temporary athletic field lighting at Malibu High School for the campus’s football program.
The subcommittee reviewed changes to the previous draft of the lighting proposal and added recommendations based on their observations and input from the public.
Changes included limiting the proposed ZTA to the Malibu High School campus only, rather than having it apply to all institutionally zoned parcels in the city, and removing a condition that would have required 80 percent of school neighbors to approve future changes.
Associate City Planner Joseph Smith revised a statement in the meeting agenda that indicated that “approximately 20 members of the public attended the meeting and it appeared the majority supported temporary lights at MHS so long as they were operated in a very limited fashion.” Smith clarified that the majority of public speakers at the previous meeting had outnumbered supporters of the proposal. Smith also stated that all of the letters received by the city were now included in the report. Staff had been criticized for omissions.
ZORACES meetings are frequently informal and lightly attended, but there were so many public speakers on Dec. 8 that speaker slips were required and a two minute limit was placed on each person.
Most speakers continued to vehemently oppose any lighting plan. Many also expressed distrust of the school district. “It doesn’t matter what you put in the language,” longtime Malibu Park resident Jay Griffith said. “The school board will ignore it.”
“Even considering lighting is a violation of the Mission Statement [for the City of Malibu],” said longtime Malibu resident Walt Keller, who served as Malibu’s first mayor. Keller suggested that the most democratic way of determining if the change should be made would be to put it on the ballot for a community-wide vote.
“This proposal is softer than the one that the Coastal Commission rejected,” Malibu Park resident Steve Scheinkman told the subcommittee. “I want to call attention to the fact that the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District calls the field a classroom, exempt [from municipal code].”
“I generally support the new draft, but I see some modifications that can be made,” Malibu High School associated student body president Hap Henry told the subcommittee. Henry, who is a member of the football team, suggested that 10:30 p.m., rather than midnight, would be a more logical end time for lighting, since games rarely run past 9:30 p.m. He also said that 10-12 nights is a more realistic number than the 16 nights proposed.
“I was always hoping the LCP would be changed and made more flexible over time for the Condition Use Permit,” lighting proponent Colleen Baum said. “The community and school may need more or less. It seems that’s impossible.”
ZORACES committee member John Mazza reminded the audience that ZORACES was not charged with determining if the lights were consistent with the Local Coastal Program and the General Plan. “We can’t say no to lights. It’s not our job.”
“The school board passed a resolution saying it’s exempt from municipal law,” Mazza pointed out. “We have to concentrate on the LCP. The school district can ignore anything in municipal code, but not in the LCP,” he said.
“I think it makes sense to have temporary lighting, but we need to find a way to hold the school’s feet to the fire,” City Council and subcommittee member John Sibert said.
“I hope the school district will do self enforcement,” ZORACES chair Ed Gillespe said. “It’s a very big issue.”
Gillespie suggested that the clause requiring approval from school neighbors be restored, and recommended that the radius be increased from 500 to 1000 feet, to include more of the residences that would potentially be impacted by the lighting plan.
The subcommittee discussed including the limit on nights to 12 and time to 10:30 p.m. and incorporating the restrictions in the LCP amendment. They recommended stipulating a specific timeline for the temporary lights to be set up and removed at the start and end of the season. They also proposed that the language of the proposal specify the football field, to close any potential use loopholes and directed staff to determine which parts of the Malibu park neighborhood would be most directly impacted by the proposed lighting. However, the subcommittee declined to take on the issue of Title IX, the law that requires equal athletic opportunity for both sexes.
“Title IX might be the foot in the door to get around the LCP,” Mayor Pro Tem Jefferson Wagner cautioned.
“It’ll be a lawsuit,” Mazza replied. “We don’t want to be involved when we have no control.”
After the latest round of revisions, the draft amendment will be heard by the planning commission at a public meeting, before being sent to the city council. The final amendment will require approval from the California Coastal Commission.

South Coast Marine Protection Plan Formulation Is A Drawn-Out Process

• Final Decision Is Not Expected Now until the Fall of 2010

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

The process of choosing an implementation plan for the south coast region of the California Marine Life Protection Act Initiative is going to be complicated and time consuming. That was the official warning at the start of the Dec. 9 joint meeting between the MLPA South Coast study region’s Blue Ribbon Task Force and the California Fish and Game Commission, the state panel charged with making the final decision on establishing a statewide network of Marine Protected Areas.
Over 160 public speakers addressed the commission. At one point the meeting was halted, while security was dispatched to deal with unruly audience members, but generally, the tone of the event was cordial.
“It’s very important that everyone understand that the Fish and Game Commission is not going to make any decisions about adopting a project or any one of these packages today,” commission vice president Richard Rogers, who chaired the meeting in the absence of president Jim Kellogg, told the audience. “Our process is we go through three public meetings. These three public meetings will probably stretch all the way into October, so there’s going to be a lot of time for people to see what’s happening and to bring us more information.
Rogers added that the final decision would probably not be made until late fall of 2010. “We have a long way to go past today. The deliberative process is very important. We want to understand the packages thoroughly. Today is the Blue Ribbon task Force reporting to us their findings.”
For the past 18 months, the BRTF has worked with the official Regional Stakeholder Group, Science Advisory Team, and the public to develop proposals for creating Marine Protected Areas in the region that extends from Point Conception to the Mexican border and includes a hotly contested area of reefs off of Point Dume in Malibu.
Four proposals, or packages, have come out of that process. The RSG developed three final revised proposals: P3R, favored by conservation interests; P2R, preferred by fishing interests; and P1R, a compromise between 3 and 2. The BRTF developed its Integrated Preferred Alternative, or IPA, based primarily on P1R and P2R.
According to the Science Advisory Team, the Point Dume area is significant because it contains a large and unique submarine canyon, the Big Kelp Reef and vital areas of kelp forest. It would receive protection in three of the five plans.
The Point Dume portion of the IPA, drawn directly from Proposal 1, incorporates a State Marine Reserve, which would prohibit all fishing from the west end of Paradise Cove to the outflow of Zuma Creek at Westward Beach. It also includes a State Marine Conservation Area from Zuma Creek to El Matador Beach at Lechusa that would permit fishing for a limited number of species. According to the SAT, “the IPA [for Point Dume] was developed in a way to capture the submarine canyon as much as possible and keep half of the BKR open.”
Tribal co-management for the proposed MPAs in Malibu was also discussed at the meeting. “Co-management is a strong theme running through the South Coast region” BRTF member Meg Caldwell told the commission. “Very capable groups are reaching out to participate in co-management.”
During public comment, Chumash representative Luhui Isha, the cultural resource director for the Wishtoyo Foundation in Malibu, requested that the commission consider a Memo of Understanding with the Chumash for the proposed MPAs at Point Dume and Lechusa in Malibu.
“We can and will assist with outreach, education, restoration. We have a village [at Nicholas Beach] set up and ready to help,” Isha told the commission. The Chumash proposal includes what Wishtoyo representatives described as “eyes on the water,” to help DFG patrol the proposed MPAs.
Wishtoyo founder and executive director Mati Waiya reminded the commission that the names Malibu and Zuma come from the Chumash language, and that the Chumash have a place in the history, tradition and heritage of the coast.
The South Coast Region is the third of five California coastal regions to go through the MLPA process. The commission opted to adopt task force recommendations with few changes in both the North Central and Central Coast regions, however, the South Coast Region is more complex bcause it includes the most heavily urbanized part of the coast and the areas that receive the highest level of recreational use in the state.
The commission had tough questions for the SAT and task force and stakeholder representatives.
“What I’ve seen time and time again is political expediency trumping biological bottom line,” Michael Sutton, the commissioner from Monterey told the SAT. “[The proposals are] at best, a lean compromise. Are you satisfied that each meets guidelines? Is it going to work from a biological perspective?
“The larger an MPA is, the more likely you are to achieve the desired goal,” replied SAT spokesperson Eric Bjorkstedt. “That’s not to say that the IPA would fail, we cannot say that definitively. What we can say is that...the packages that have been submitted are on the small size across the board.”
Asked if “it is fair to say that Proposal 3 is ranked best in each category—size, spacing and habitat,” the science team responded “The answer is clearly yes.”
Commissioner Donald Benninghoven of Santa Barbara moved to accept the report as presented.
“I suspect many of us would differ on what is the preferred alternative,” Rogers said, at the end of the daylong meeting. “The BRTF has done an extraordinary job, and as you know in the past we’ve gone forward with the BRTF recommendations. In this case, with Jim Kellogg missing and not our full compliment of commissioners, I think it is appropriate to go forward listing the IPA as the preferred project and then all of the other proposals.” He reminded the commission that this was not a regulatory vote. The commission voted to pass the motion with only Commissioner Daniel Richards, of Upland, casting a no vote.
The lengthy process of developing California Environmental Quality Act and regulatory documents will now begin. The commission directed staff to prepare a draft and initial statement for the commission’s public March 2010 meeting in Upland. Additional information on the MPLA process is available at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/

Sheriff Upgrades Mitrice Richardson Case to Homicide Investigation as Agency Spokesperson Stresses that the Move Doesn’t Mean Missing Woman Is Dead

• Mother Criticizes Not Being Told of Sheriff’s Action in Advance and Interprets It to Mean that Her Daughter Is No Longer Alive

BY ANNE SOBLE

On Monday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca ordered the sheriff’s department to upgrade its efforts in the investigation into the disappearance of Mitrice Richardson to a homicide case, at the same time that department spokespersons stress that they do not believe that the young woman who has been missing for 13 weeks is dead.
Steve Whitmore, the chief media representative for the LASD, told the Malibu Surfside News that “it cannot be emphasized enough that this move is all about expanding resources, not any supposition that Richardson is dead.”
He said Baca’s action authorizes a three-member sheriff’s homicide team to concurrently work with the Los Angeles Police Department’s own homicide division team in the search for the 24-year-old Cal State Fullerton honors graduate who mysteriously vanished after reportedly walking out of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, located 40 miles from her home, without a jacket, money, cell phone or means of transportation at 12:25 a.m. on Sept. 17.
Richardson had been booked on two field citable misdemeanor counts after being placed under citizen’s arrest by staffers at Geoffrey’s restaurant for allegedly not paying her $89.51 dinner tab. Sheriff’s deputies who searched her car added a second allegation of possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. Bizarre speech and behavior was attributed to her by people in the restaurant, but in subsequent contact with LASD personnel, Richardson was described as lucid and personable.
Whitmore said Baca took the action on Monday after having met last week with the woman’s father Michael Richardson. Mitrice Richardson’s mother, Latice Sutton, who raised her daughter and with whose grandmother the missing woman resided while working full-time and preparing to go to graduate school, was not invited to the meeting. The missing woman’s parents, who were not married and who separated when she was a child, have been directing parallel search efforts, with the mother focusing more intently on field searches.
In a prepared statement received by the Malibu Surfside News just before press time Tuesday night, Sutton said, “I find it most unfortunate that I had to learn that the sheriff’s department was opening up a homicide investigation from a newspaper report.”
Sutton asked that her written comments be used in entirety because she says she is “deeply perplexed about the handling of my daughter’s investigation, with the most perplexing issue being that all of the investigators involved are now turning their attention to the fact that there was a mental crisis. I told them that from day one.”
It was the mother and the woman’s college academic mentor, psychologist Ronda Hampton, who stressed the possibility of sudden mental illness from the beginning, even as other family members downplayed it and the sheriff department’s assessment of her coherence when she was being booked at Lost Hills was accepted as prima facie evidence of lack of mental distress.
Mitrice Richardson’s journals and other writings that were subsequently found in her impounded vehicle have since been examined by mental health professionals, and officials now think it is possible that she might have been living in her car for up to a week before the Geoffrey’s incident and lapsing in and out of bipolar illness.
Learning of the change in official attitude about Richardson’s mental state, Sutton said, “I can’t help but question the fact that if the authorities were not so dismissive of my pleas to do a foot search to find her because she’s in a mental crisis, that would have made the difference between life and death.
“Further, I am absolutely appalled that neither the LASD, nor the LAPD, would not contact me to tell me the new scope of their investigation, especially considering the fact that I filed the missing person case, not to mention that’s my baby. One would think ‘I’ would be privy to such information before releasing it to anyone, let alone the general public. In addition, how insulting to me, and the public that Sheriff Lee Baca and the LASD serve, to make such a flip statement that ‘he has declared it a homicide investigation, but that does not mean the sheriff believes Ms. Richardson is dead.’ Of course they believe she’s dead. Surely the LASD does not have such excess funds to spend on an investigation that has no merit or evidence just for the ‘heck-of-it?’”
Sutton noted that she met with the lead Los Angeles Police Department detectives on the case last Monday and they did not mention any pending LASD action.
At that time, Sutton said she provided a DNA sample for possible identification use as requested by the LAPD. The father has also been asked to provide a DNA sample. His only public comment on the request is located on his separate website where he has written, “Haven’t we learned anything from Mark Fuhrman?”
Meanwhile, Sutton continues to ask why “the FBI hasn’t been invited to assist in the search for my baby, like in the case of the Virginia woman who went missing after a concert?”
Sutton said, “I cannot express how devastated I am, and the magnitude of the loss I feel. As I reflect upon all the love, joy, and brightness my baby exuded, the milestones my baby reached, and what she was on track to accomplish, to know that because of the absence of ‘prudence, and safety,’ I am left to grieve for my baby in the most unimaginable, unsettling way. I am left with a hole in my heart, spirit, and soul that cannot be repaired, or healed.”
When asked why the mother was not included in the meeting with Sheriff Baca, Whitmore said the father was the person who had asked for the meeting and no other family members took part. He said the new LASD investigators will be contacting Sutton.
For more information about the case and ongoing field searches, contact the family website at www.findmitrice.info, Dr. Ronda Hampton at 951-660-8031, or LAPD Detectives Steven Eguchi or Chuck Knolls at their new office telephone number 213-486-6900.

Council Members Get Behind an Earth Day Oriented toward Youth

BY BILL KOENEKER

The Malibu City Council this week unanimously approved allocating up to $10,000 to put on a special event celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day next year.
The municipal Earth Day project is a collaboration with local youth organizations who are putting together a special presentation on April 22 featuring young local artists from the Young Actors Project, the Malibu Youth Symphony, the Malibu Ballet Society and Eco-Heroes.
The event will be held in the performing arts theater in the new city hall. The opportunity to take part in the performance will be open to all young local artists and talent, according to city officials.
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich, who introduced the measure along with Mayor Sharon Barovsky, called on the council to support the endeavor.
Conley Ulich said she was hopeful the event could be broadcast worldwide in an effort to demonstrate the extent of the community of Malibu’s commitment to the environment.
Prospective council candidate Lou La Monte came to the meeting to support the event, but told council members that he would like to see some commercial sponsors. “Is it possible for the event to be revenue neutral?” he asked, while maintaining his support.
Barovsky agreed. “I would like to see if we can get some sponsors,” she said.
Councilmember John Sibert said he was involved in the first Earth day 40 years ago in New Haven and thought the event was a good idea. “I think we could help find sponsors,” he said.

Man Found Prostrate on the Ground at Trancas

• Authorities Still Have No Information on Unusual Incident

BY BILL KONEKER

Questions about why a man was found lying on the ground on Monday morning near the intersection of Trancas Canyon Road and Pacific Coast Highway remain unanswered, according to authorities.
“They took him to the hospital,” said a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, who indicated that they did not know what happened to the man. “There did not appear to be any evidence of violence,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department could shed little further light on the incident. “They do not know the circumstances,” said Maria Grycan, a spokesperson for the county agency. “The firefighters suspect he fell down.”
Many motorists traveling near the west Malibu intersection saw the man lying on the north side of PCH as several paramedics, a sheriff’s vehicle and an ambulance converged on the incident site at about 8:30 a.m.
Because it is a medical call, authorities could not reveal the name of the man, his condition or any other information.

City Council Candidacy Filing Period to Start Next Monday

BY BILL KOENEKER

The City Clerk’s office announced this week that the nomination period for the April Malibu City Council election begins on Monday, Dec. 21.
The nomination period for the council candidates for the April 13, 2010 municipal election continues through to Friday, Jan. 15.
Interested individuals can pull the nominating papers from the city clerk’s office during regularbusiness hours.
Laura Rosenthal, Lou La Monte and Ed Gillespie have formally announced their intentions to run for the two seats being vacated by Mayor Sharon Barovsky and Councilmember Andy Stern, both of whom are being termed out of office.

Malibu’s Centers Are All Aglow with Holiday Color and Bustle

• Changing Local Commercial Fare Shines Brightly during the Gift-Giving Time of the Year

The temperature is dropping and the winter rainy season may have begun, but the holiday mood is lively at local shopping centers from the Civic Center area to Point Dume.
At the Malibu Lumber Yard, the final touches are being completed for this Saturday’s special tree lighting event and celebration of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s 85th anniversary, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Geared to the entire family, there will be ornament decorating, music, film memorabilia, and a Spark of Love toy drive to add to the MLY festivities.
At the Malibu Country Mart, shoppers welcomed Santa and listened to period-attired carolers when the center’s Christmas tree was lit last weekend.
More Santa, carolers and fun events are coming up this weekend. It’s “date night” at John Varvatos on Thursday until 8 pm. On Sunday from noon until 6 p.m., MCM’s newest addition, Rock and Revolution, will host a “do-it-yourself” T-shirt and jeans decorating event. Participants can bring their own items and, for $25, create a custom design with beading, crystals, airbrushing and more.
A “Doggie Costume Contest,” where pooches in outrageous get-up can vie for a prize and a photo op with Santa, is set for noon on Sunday at the MCM Christmas tree.
Santa photos with children and families continue Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. Carolers stroll Saturday between 3 and 5 p.m., and there’s wine tasting while adults pose with Santa from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Saturday.

New City Hall Will Serve Government

• Council Is Less Interested in Any Performing Arts Use

BY BILL KOENEKER

Stating that the new City Hall was primarily intended for government use, the Malibu City Council, at a special meeting this week, decided to downplay the importance of fostering the business of a performing arts center, but rather community productions, and directed the consultants and staff to focus on a civic building instead.
The council had previously heard a presentation from consultants LPA, Inc. on the conceptual plans and preliminary construction designs and was asked to decide from several options given.
At the same time, the council approved a budget amendment of $528,000 for the new City Hall.
Several individuals, including people who had been involved with the Malibu Performing Arts Center, had urged the council to not undo what was created.
However, a specialist brought in by the consultant, who helps design performing art centers and small and large theaters, said the MPAC was not designed for theater and dramatic performances, but rather as a concert venue and recording studio. He said it could cost up to $400,000 to turn the current space into an all-purpose hall for different kinds of productions.
Tony Berg, who said he served as the director of MPAC, urged the council to leave the space intact. “Performers told me it was the finest space they had recorded in. It is rather an unorthodox space,” he said.
Mayor Sharon Barovsky indicated she finally understood how the space was “totally designed for concerts and recording and really is not designed for children’s theater,” or other kinds of productions.
“Do we want to make money or open it up for the community? One thing is for sure. We bought it for a City Hall,” the mayor said.
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich said she thought the council had not had enough time to decide how to define the new City Hall. “It is a defining moment and we have had only five hours to define it,” she said.
However, Councilmember Andy Stern chastised Conley Ulich for her absence at the last special meeting and said he was ready to decide and cast his vote. “I have no desire to have another meeting. We bought it as a City Hall. This is a civic building,” Stern added.
“It is time for decision making,” agreed Councilmember Jefferson Wagner. “It did fail as a performing arts center. The city bought it as a government building.”
Councilmember John Sibert agreed, “It was clearly not a financial success in the past. It has to be a City Hall first,” he said.
The council settled on an option presented by the consultant that would allow for a variety of seating and stage configurations, while at the same time acting as council chambers. The different formats would call for from 230 seats up to 320 seats, depending on what the theater is used for.

City Council to Consider Other Civic Center Area Improvement Projects

• Roadwork and Landscaping on Tap

BY BILL KOENEKER

The Malibu City Council is poised to approve a $376,866 contract for a Malibu Canyon Road improvement project at its meeting next week.
Funding for the construction of the improvements was included in the adopted budget for 2009-2010, according to city officials. The total estimated cost for the project is $500,000. Actual costs will be reimbursed by the state Department of Transportation through a federal money grant. By comparison, the annual street overlay budget for the current fiscal year is $570,000.
The project consists of resurfacing Malibu Canyon Road from Pacific Coast Highway to the city limits with an asphalt-rubber overlay. “This project will improve the quality of the roadway and reduce road maintenance,” wrote Senior Civil Engineer, Robert Duboux, in a staff report.
The Federal Highway Administration and Caltrans allocated $500,000 to the city.
Construction is scheduled to begin in Feb. 2010 and is expected to be completed by April 2010, according to municipal officials.
Also on tap, the council is being asked to consider having the city manager execute an agreement with Los Angeles County to landscape and maintain parcels located on the east and west side of Webb Way and Pacific Coast Highway.
“The parcel on the east side is adjacent to Legacy Park and the city-owned commercial property. The parcel on the east side is adjacent to other vacant land. The parcels are vacant and have never been landscaped or maintained,” wrote Administrative Services Director/Assistant City Manager Reva Feldman, in a memo to council members.
After some negotiations with the county about acquiring the parcels, city officials were told it might be easier and might be more efficient and less costly for the city to enter into a use agreement with the county to landscape and maintain both parcels.
“The city intends to install a monument sign on the east corner and landscape the other areas with drought tolerant plants,” Feldman said.

Week 12: Mitrice Richardson’s Family Turns to Member of Congress for Assistance

• LAPD Reports No Progress in Its Search for Missing 24-Year-Old Woman

BY ANNE SOBLE

According to this week’s update from the Los Angeles Police Department detectives in charge of the missing person investigation of the young woman arrested in Malibu on Sept. 16 who has not been seen or heard from for 12 weeks, “She is still missing and her whereabouts are still unknown.”
Detective Steven Eguchi told the Malibu Surfside News, the increasingly high profile case “is still actively being investigated where we follow up on every clue or sighting we receive.”
Among current actions by the LAPD are requests that both parents of Mitrice Richardson provide DNA sampling to the Department of Justice. Eguchi said, “This is standard operating procedure. It is not out of the ordinary” in cases involving missing progeny.
The LAPD still indicates it does not think the Richardson case specifics warrant bringing in the Federal Bureau of Investigation to assist with the search.
Because the $10,000 reward posted by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will expire on Dec. 28, Eguchi said, “I just requested that the reward be renewed and continue until there is a final outcome on this case.”
He asked The News to “please keep this in print as much as possible, in hopes of generating information that could assist us in locating Mitrice Richardson.”
The LAPD’s Robbery and Homicide Division is the lead investigative agency on the case because the employed Cal State Fullerton honors graduate lived in Los Angeles with her 92-year-old great-grandmother.
Meanwhile, the missing woman’s family is focusing its attention on Richardson’s Congressional representative, Congressmember Maxine Waters, and asking that Waters help initiate federal involvement in the case.
Emails sent to Waters’ communications director are still pending, but office staff indicate that the representative has received requests for assistance with the case that began with Richardson’s arrest in Malibu and her pre-dawn release from the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station on foot, without money or a cell phone, 40 miles from her home.
The family continues to try to keep Richardson’s name before the public, telling the now familiar story of her booking on two misdemeanor charges by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and its questionable release procedures on cable TV shows and in magazines and newspapers.
Richardson is described on the LAPD blog as “African-American with brown hair and hazel eyes. The 24-year-old is five-feet-five to five-feet-six inches tall and weighs about 135 pounds. She was last seen wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans.”
Information related to the case can be communicated to the family website at www.findmitrice. info, Dr. Ronda Hampton at 951-660-8031, or LAPD Detectives Steven Eguchi or Chuck Knolls at 213-485-2531.

Trancas Park Settlement Agreement Negotiated by City Council and MTC

• Terms Tighten Restrictions over Youth Sports League Play

BY BILL KOENEKER

City Attorney Christi Hogin announced at a special Malibu City Council meeting this week that the council has voted to enter into a settlement agreement with a civic group, the Malibu Township Council, concluding their legal battle over Trancas Canyon Park.
The decision was made behind closed doors, but Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich wanted to air her differences with it, after Hogin made the public announcement. Mayor Sharon Barovsky afterward revealed the vote was 4-1 with Conley Ulich dissenting.
“It is my understanding the agreement gives self-determination [for the park] to the MTC. Am I incorrect?” asked Conley Ulich.
Hogin replied, “It does not give over to the MTC the right of what the city council can do. It only deals with league play.”
MTC attorney Frank Angel agreed with that assessment. “It does not turn over to MTC the keys to the park,” he said.
The settlement language states, “The city agrees, represents and warrants that it shall refrain from eliminating or otherwise changing in any way the condition of approval prohibiting league play on the multi-use sports field, and that league play shall be prohibited in Trancas Canyon Park. The field may be used for practice.”
The document states, “Within five days of execution of this agreement, the city shall cause the condition of approval prohibiting league play to be recorded against title to the property. This subparagraph 3.B expresses the parties’ intent that the city create an enforceable restriction against the title to the property which runs with the land, preventing the use of Trancas Canyon Park for league play.”
Barovsky quickly cut off Conley Ulich’s questioning of the city attorney and insisted the council turn to the agenda item at hand.
Angel said his client agreed to drop the lawsuit, if the city agreed to those terms. Angel said beside the usual legal means that allow the MTC to challenge the future actions of the city, another means is now established. “The MTC could [now] sue for breach of contract,” he said. “A settlement agreement is a contract.”
The lawsuit was never about stopping league play, but rested on complicated grounds that the city had violated the law by declaring it had the right to bulldoze and build a dog park in a Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area.
The city’s defense initially rested on a coastal permit that turned out to be for another parcel of land owned by another property owner and not owned by the city.
Hogin had publicly told the council at its last regular meeting the city might lose the dog park if MTC prevailed in the litigation.
However, the focus shifted when the Malibu West Homeowners Association entered into the picture and agreed to put up the funding for the MTC lawsuit. The HOA was never a litigant.
The Malibu West HOA was determined to thwart the city in any effort to establish league play in the future and to insist no league play become the basis for any settlement of the MTC lawsuit.
From the get-go, years ago, when the park was first discussed, the HOA and many other west Malibu residents had talked about the difference between practice fields and league play, insisting league play was a deal breaker.

Judge Voids Coastal Permit Given Malibu Colony House

BY BILL KOENEKER

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has tentatively voided a coastal permit for a Malibu Colony house granted by the state Coastal Commission after a neighbor challenged the approval.
The legal battle pitted Colony residents William and Steve Littlejohn against Rick Margolis, who is attempting to build a single-family home that the Littlejohns say is too close to the Malibu Lagoon wetlands in a mapped environmentally sensitive habitat area.
The tentative order was announced this week by Malibu attorney Frank Angel in a press release on the writ of mandate issued by the judge on Nov. 30. The writ needs to be signed by the judge, who issued a 25-page decision.
“Angel Law is pleased to announce a court victory on two important statewide coastal issues. Judge James Chalfant decided two issues. First, the judge ruled that the California Environmental Quality Act requires the Coastal Commission to circulate its permit staff reports, which are deemed the functional equivalent of environmental impact report at least 30 days in advance of commission hearings.
“Second, Judge Calfant enforced the Coastal Commission’s duty to consult with other state agencies at the commission’s de novo Coastal Development Permit review level. “The judge insisted the CCC can not satisfy it duty to consult with the Department of Fish and Game by relying on the product of previous DFG consultation undertaken by the local government. Instead, the coastal agency itself must independently consult with the DFG. The court also agreed with the Littlejohns’ that the CCC’s conclusions that no feasible alternatives to Margolis’ project design was unsupported by the evidence. The court ruled the coastal staff should have considered design alternatives.

Publisher’s Notebook

• Malibu Giving As Good As It Gets •

ANNE SOBLE

OK Malibuites, let’s show all of the loudmouthed critics who love to broadly paint the people of our community as narcissistic, greedy hypocrites who are ravaging the coastal waterways and engaging in terrorist activity to keep visitors away from local beaches how wrong they are about most of us by helping all of the Malibu holiday food and toy drives to exceed all expectations.
Whether these efforts are part of individual or group projects at Malibu High School or other school campuses, congregation membership drives at local churches, or corporate undertakings in bank offices, supermarkets, or shopping center malls, we all should make a concerted effort to help fill the containers that have been set out many times over.
On the one hand, it’s easy to deprecate a sense of social need that is seasonal in nature. and say that doing good and sharing only during the holidays downplays the need to do this year-round and make it part of each of our daily lives. On the other, seasonal giving could be the first step that leads to wider contagion of generosity.
Those of us who are fortunate should do all that we can for those who are less fortunate, while striving to build a society where fortunate is the norm. This is a tenet in every concept of social order, whether embedded in philosophy, or religion, or both, even those orders that senselessly wage war against each other.
While a Christmas toy is no substitute for year-round shelter and nutrition, as well as a sense of personal safety and an opportunity for education, it hopefully expands the awareness of the giver that there is so much more that each of us can do. It serves as a reminder that shelter, nutrition and well-being are hallmarks of an advanced society where whims of DNA are not predeterminants of survival.
Each time we enjoy the bright lights and holiday colors at the Malibu Country Mart, the Malibu Lumber Yard, Point Dume Village and other favorite local venues, we can bring a donation that might turn out to be the only gift some child receives. In the process of sharing something material, we share ourselves and show the naysayers that there’s much more to the people of Malibu than trite stereotypes.

Marine Protection Option for South Coast Finally Goes to DFG

• Task Force Recommendations Are Usually Followed But Contentiousness Is Anticipated

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

After months of discussion and debate and an unexpected extra session in November, the Marine Life Protection Act South Coast Region Blue Ribbon Task Force will present its final proposal next week for a series of Marine Protected Areas planned for the Southern California Coast to the California Department of Fish and Game, the agency overseeing the state-mandated MPA process. Time for public input has been scheduled for the Dec. 8 meeting.
On Nov. 10, the BRTF unanimously approved a motion to forward the MLPA South Coast Integrated Preferred Alternative marine protected area proposal as the selection for the study region. The preferred alternative includes both a State Marine Reserve and a State Conservation Area in west Malibu. The SMR, an area with the highest level of protection that would prohibit all fishing activities, would extend from the western end of Paradise Cove to the outflow of Zuma Creek.
“This stretch of coast encompasses some of the most diverse habitats in Los Angeles County, including an upwelling zone, submarine canyon habitat, unique spur and groove reef structures, extensive kelp, and diverse understory algal habitat,” states the Marine Protected Area description. “This is also an area of high species diversity. There is long-term monitoring and research opportunities in this area.”
The proposed SMCA would extend from Zuma Creek to the western end of El Matador Beach. This area would allow the recreational take of pelagic finfish, Pacific bonito and white sea bass, as well as commercial take of coastal pelagic finfish, market squid and swordfish. All other fishing would be prohibited.
A Chumash co-managed SMCA proposed for Nicholas Beach, where the Wishtoyo Foundation’s Chumash Demonstration Village is located, was tabled earlier in the process, but the preferred alternative leaves the door open for Chumash participation at the Point Dume MPA.
“This is also an area that plays a significant role in Chumash maritime culture, it is ideally suited for tribal co-management to promote education and outreach, marine stewardship, and Chumash maritime cultural preservation and revitalization,” the report states.
The preferred alternative includes a recommendation made by the stakeholders group that “DFG explore establishing Chumash co- management for this SMCA/SMR complex. Chumash government and non- government entities will seek to formulate [memos of understanding] with appropriate State departments, e.g., Fish and Game and Parks and Recreation for education and outreach, marine stewardship, and Chumash cultural preservation.”
The preferred alternative also includes a recommendation encouraging “a formal naming process, which both the parks commission and the fish and game commission have for exploring the use of Native American names…” although it concludes that “it is beyond the mission of the BRTF to engage in that naming process.”
According to Chumash representative and Wishtoyo Foundation founder and executive director Mati Waiya, Point Dume was once an important shrine site for the Chumash. Although the Chumash name is lost, the area still yields archeological evidence of thousands of years of Chumash presence.
The BRTF is also recommending that MOUs be used “among the various enforcement and managerial agencies, both those that are already exist in this entire region, with the departments of Fish and Game and State Parks; there is incredible potential there. It has been shown to work in the Channel Islands and there is good will and experience here in this region.”
In addition to the preferred alternative, the final three stakeholder proposals will also be submitted to the DFG, although in the two previous regions to undergo the MPLA process, the DFG accepted the BRTF recommendations with few changes.
The meeting will take place on Dec. 8, at the Radisson Hotel at Los Angeles Airport 6225 West Century Blvd. Public comment will commence at 10 a.m. More information is available at www.dfg.ca.gov

Ask the Folks Who Really Know What’s Being Caught Off the Malibu Coast

• Fish Survey Gets a Few Tall Tales Mixed in with Realistic Picture of Average Catches

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

It’s called the California Recreational Fisheries Survey, CRFS for short, and it’s one of the tools used by the California Department of Fish and Game and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission to manage marine resources.
Instituted in 2004, CRFS collects data on California’s marine recreational fisheries, and estimates the catch and effort of anglers fishing for marine finfish.
That can be a daunting task. According to last year’s CRFS results, the geographic region from the Los Angeles County line to the Mexican border includes nearly two thirds of the states recreational fishing locations.
These include: 1,144,114 man made structures like piers and breakwaters, 611,388 beaches and banks, 201,947 commercial passenger fishing vessels and 215,826 private and rental boats. The survey is currently focusing on approximately 400 locations, according to the DFG website.
“We have 30 to 40 samplers out in the field [statewide] every day,” DFG senior biologist Connie Ryan told the Malibu Surfside News. “They interview anglers, check the size and type of fish caught, they also do telephone surveys, but it’s a lot of field work.”
In Malibu, CRFS field researchers are a frequent sight at the Malibu Pier, where they gather information with the help of the pier anglers and the passengers on the sportfishing half-day boat.
“The anglers are very cooperative, on the whole,” Ryan said. “The survey is voluntary, but about 99 pecent who are approached will respond. They’re very helpful.”
CRFS samplers interview anglers who have completed fishing trips on piers, jetties, beaches, public launch ramps, and commercial passenger fishing vessels, asking them questions about their fishing activities, examine their catch to determine the number and kinds of fish kept or discarded. They also weigh and measure the catch.
Field researchers are sometimes treated to fabulous fish stories, including Captain Ahab-like battles with six-foot sharks, or vast bat rays.
However, the Malibu Pier’s weekly online fish count gives a good idea of the types of species CRFS researchers most frequently catch in local waters. The most recent reports include sheepshead, calico bass, sand dabs, mackerel, bonito, white seabass, sculpin, and a variety of rockfish.
“There are hundreds of finfish, especially in Southern California,” Ryan said, explaining that the anglers’ input is vital to the program. “The goal of the CRFS is to provide the marine recreational fisheries data needed to manage California’s marine resources in a sustainable manner.”

SMMC Says Sweetwater Mesa Plans Worst in Area’s History

• Five-Home Subdivision Challenged

BY BILL KOENEKER

Describing itself as the “principle state planning agency for the Santa Monica Mountains,” the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy weighed in on a proposed subdivision on acreage high in the hills above Sweetwater Mesa.
At its meeting last week, the SMMC board authorized a comment letter to the California Coastal Commission about the proposed five-home subdivision, which is still wending its way through the approval process.
“Unfortunately it is impossible to construct the five homes strung over a mile of ridgeline and 7800 feet of water main without resulting in unavoidable significant adverse visual and ecological impacts.
The only combination of homes that could be constructed without such unavoidable significant adverse impacts is application 4-07-067 (Lunch) as proposed and application 4-07-068 (Vera) if the house is removed from the ridgeline. These homes would need to be on [water] wells,” the letter states.
The Conservancy indicated the issue is important, given “the involved parcels are an integral part of a public viewshed with statewide significance that is within reach of over 10 million Los Angeles metropolitan area residents and thousands of tourists.”
SMMC planners note that part of the road for at least three of the homes is “wholly inconsistent with many key sections of the Coastal Act.”
The state agency is asking the coastal panel into require an independent investigation on the construction feasibility of the entire one-mile-long section of road proposed to connect the five subject houses from the Malibu city line.
“The commission staff has not received adequate information on the feasibility of the access road proposed to reach the [three lots] as it is depicted,” the letter goes on to state.
Project proponents, during many different hearings at the city level repeatedly argued they were constrained by where and how the access road is built because of the legal easement that was worked out in court during litigation.
Conservancy planners, who said they consulted with a grading expert, indicate they have reason to believe that the grading impacts from the road “are far more extensive than represented.”
“For example, the excavation behind the retaining walls for the proposed 500-foot-long and 50-foot high cut slopes does not appear to be represented in the earthwork calculations,” the letter notes.
The Conservancy cites other examples suggesting the true grading footprint is still actually unknown and that some places on the road calling for fill should really be excavated and re-compacted.
“We believe that even a brief consultation with Los Angeles County geologists would confirm this suspicion,” the letter states.
The letter goes on to cite problems, such as how all five projects would impact Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas, would cause major alterations to natural landforms and would result in a significant diminution of public viewsheds.
“All five projects are located deep into a wildland fire zone and do not minimize risk to life and property in an area of high fire hazard.” the letter states.
The SMMC missive urges the commission to consider the linkages of the projects even if for legal reasons they cannot be considered as one project.
“Nobody is fooled by the separation of the projects. Only archaic protections of LLLPs prevent this project from being addressed under the California Environmental Quality Act as a single project. The applicant derives numerous advantages from this CEQA immunity and suffers no pitfalls. That is something to consider when weighing the most damaging five-unit proposal in the history of the Santa Monica Mountains. Beautiful LEED certified homes do not balance out a continuous chain of average 1800-foot-long driveways into a core habitat of the Coastal Zone portion of the Santa Monica Mountains,” the letter concludes.

Water Efficient Landscape Law Approved by Malibu City Council

• Ordinances Have to Be in Place by the Beginning of 2010

BY BILL KOENEKER

The Malibu City Council recently adopted a new ordinance to create water conservation standards that generally follow or, as city officials put it, “are as effective” as the updated state water efficient landscape law.
Assembly Bill 1881 required the Department of Water Resources to revise the state model ordinance and requires all cities and counties to adopt ordinances by the beginning of next year that are comparable to the updated state law.
For local agencies that do not adopt their own equivalent local ordinance by the deadline, the state ordinance becomes effective by rule of law, according to city officials.
Known as the state model water efficient landscape ordinance, the measure was created as a result of the last major drought in the early 1990s. The state at that time adopted a model ordinance in 1992 and in 1993. The city council adopted an equivalent to the state model at that time.
“This original state model ordinance primarily affected larger, developer-installed, nonresidential projects and consequently the locally adopted standards based on that ordinance have not been implemented,” states a city staff report.
That prompted the Statewide Landscape Task Force to recommend changes to the original state law resulting in the passage of AB 1881.
“The DWR was required to revise the state model and requires all cities and counties to adopt ordinances by Jan. 1, 2010,” a municipal staff report states.
What came out of that was the city’s Ordinance 343. Municipal staffers indicated, based on the state’s updated version, they were able to create an ordinance that will increase water use efficiency by establishing water budgets, promoting installation and maintenance of efficient irrigation systems and encouraging the use of plants that use water efficiently based on climate, soil type and site features, while at the same time reducing water waste that occurs from irrigation runoff and overspray.
The ordinance, according to municipal officials, includes land and irrigation design standards that provide for water conservation by the appropriate use and groupings of plants that are well adapted to local conditions.
The ordinance will also put limitations on the amount and locations that turf can be used and requirements that water wise plants native to the Santa Monica Mountains be used outside irrigated fuel modification zones.
Water budget calculations were devised to establish the maximum amount of water to be applied through the irrigation systems. Automatic irrigation systems and irrigation schedules should be based on climatic conditions, terrains and soil types and other environmental conditions and onsite soil assessment and soil management plans should be put in place to promote healthy plant growth and prevent excessive erosion and runoff.
The ordinance will apply to new or altered landscape areas proposed as part of projects that require a city permit, according to municipal planners.
“For single-family residences, square footage thresholds determine when the ordinance would apply. For a new residence, the ordinance applies to projects with landscape areas of 2500 square feet or more, while for an existing residence, it applies when the new or altered landscape area is 5000 square feet or more. However, exceptions to the ordinance are allowed upon a finding that an alternative design will promote equivalent or greater water conservation,” the staff report goes on to state.
The new law requires the landscape architect to certify that the plans comply with the ordinance requirements. Planners will require applicants to obtain approval of the landscape documentation prior to construction. Guidelines will be developed that include sample calculations.

Week 11: Still No Word on Whereabouts of Mitrice Richardson

• Family Seeks Federal Investigation into 24-Year-Old’s Disappearance

BY ANNE SOBLE

The days are solemnly noted by her family as another page on the calendar has turned since Mitrice Richardson disappeared following her pre-dawn release from the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station on Sept. 17, the day after the 24-year-old was booked on two misdemeanor counts—an unpaid dinner tab of $89.51 and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
Richardson was not dressed for cold nighttime temperatures. She had no money; the sheriff’s department kept her cell phone; and her car had been impounded. She reportedly was traveling on foot in the dark and desolate industrial area bordering on wilderness parklands.
That an honors college graduate from a close-knit family has not been heard from in 77 days, has not accessed her substantial bank account funds or used her credit cards, does not presume foul play, according to both the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Police Department, the lead agency in the search because Richardson resided in Los Angeles with her great-grandmother.
The family wants the FBI called in, but the LAPD says there is insufficient cause for federal involvement. The online activist group—www. change.org—is gathering signatures on a petition urging state and federal officials to initiate a federal investigation.
The mounting cost of the family conducting its own field searches and private information dissemination campaign has prompted the setup of the Mitrice L. Richardson fund at the family’s original website (www.findmitrice.info).
The website says “contributions will be used to cover various costs such as printing and production of materials, search initiatives and advertisements associated in the search for Mitrice.”
Donations can be made to the Mitrice L. Richardson Fund (253455337191) at any U.S. bank, or checks sent to: Mitrice L. Richardson Fund; 23441 Golden Springs Dr. #115; Diamond Bar, Ca 917666. Credit card instructions are on the website.
Information related to the case should be relayed to www.findmitrice.info, Ronda Hampton at 951-660-8031, or LAPD Detectives Steve Eguchi or Chuck Knolls at 213-485-2531.

Dog Killing Devastates Visiting Family

• Incident Draws Attention to Loose Canines on Beaches

BY ROBBY MAZZA

Last Sunday, on the beach just south of Paradise Cove Pier, a 10-month-old, approximately 35-pound, puppy was attacked and killed by four adult dogs.
The puppy, “Charlie,” was being walked on a leash, according to its owner, Amanda Benzaken. Benzaken, her husband David Morrison, son Finley, age seven, and daughter Keely, age 12, were visiting friends in Malibu for the weekend.
Benzaken said that she and her son Finley decided to take Charlie for a walk about 9:30 a.m., but Finley soon returned to the house.
Benzaken said she continued walking with Charlie, when four large dogs—two mastiffs, a German shepherd and an unidentifiable breed, circled them.
Frightened, Benzaken said she dropped the leash and began running, thinking the dogs were coming after her.
According to Benzaken, Charlie, cowered immediately when the first three dogs approached, at which point one of them pinned the puppy down and, when the leader of the pack, the second mastiff arrived, they began mauling the puppy, an attack that lasted about 10 minutes.
The 35-pound puppy was no match for the pack. “The mastiffs were anywhere between 120 and 150 pounds,” Benzaken said. “They were bigger than me.”
An animal lover and someone who has had dogs since she was two years old, Bezaken said “The dogs were wild, crazy killers.” She continued, “It was the most violent, horrific thing I have ever seen.”
She said she continued running, and about a quarter of a mile down the beach, ran into a dog walker, with four leashes in her hand, who claimed that the animals had escaped from the owners’ home on Point Dume.
Benzaken said she and her husband immediately took the puppy a local animal hospital where she said, it died about 10 minutes later.
Charlie’s death has hit the family hard, they said. A border collie mix, Charlie was adopted from a rescue group at eight weeks of age, when the family was facing a daunting challenge. “My husband had cancer last year, and we thought the puppy would heal the family,” she said, noting that Morrison is in remission now.
Benzaken called the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station and was referred to County Animal Control. When the Malibu Surfside News contacted Lost Hills to inquire if any charges could be filed, Lt. Scott Chew stated that law enforcement can become involved “if a person or animal is in danger,” saying that if the dogs had been released on purpose in order to kill the puppy, it would be animal cruelty. “We don’t have the equipment or the training for these cases. All we carry is pepper spray and our weapons.” Chew said that the Los Feliz family’s best recourse might be a civil action.
Benzaken said that when she called Animal Control, she was told by the officer that the most that could happen to the owners of the dogs would be that they could be fined for having more than the allowed number of dogs—Los Angeles County allows three dogs per home—and that they could be fined for having an unsecured fence.
Evelina Villa, the outreach assistant for the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control said she could not comment further on the incident because it is an ongoing investigation.
Benzaken says her children are broken-hearted and that Keely was unable to attend school on Monday. She also expressed fear that the dog pack would wreak further havoc in the future. “I’m worried about small children and other dogs,” she said. “I’m very concerned that this does not happen again.”