Malibu Surfside News

Three Forums within the Next 10 Days Introduce Council Candidates to Voters

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:56:00 +0000

• Groups Focus on Concerns that Affect Them Directly

BY BILL KOENEKER

As is the tradition in Malibu City Council elections, the pace of the public candidate forums and panels picks up in the month of March.
The forums kick off this week with the Malibu Chamber of Commerce and the Malibu Association of Realtors, who are holding a joint effort at Hughes Research Labs Auditorium on Thursday, March 4, from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
So far, eight of the 10 candidates in the race for two open seats have indicated that they are going to participate in the free public event.
The 10 candidates are Ed Gillespie, Harold Greene, Matthew Katz, Kofi, Lou La Monte, John Mazza, Laura Rosenthal, Steven Scheinkman, Michael Sidley and Jan Andrew Swift.
A panel composed of members of both organizations will ask questions that are viewed as “important to business and real estate interests.”
The chamber and the realty board have indicated that they are considering the endorsement of candidates based on the results of the forum.
The next forum will also be a Thursday night program. The Point Dume Community Association will host a public forum on March 11 from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. at the Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School located at 6955 Fernhill Drive.
The organizers’ press release indicates that all Malibu and Point Dume residents are invited to attend the event, which “is specifically tailored towards Point Dume and its over 2300 residents.”
As was the PDCA practice in the past, residents are asked to submit written questions in advance of the meeting for the candidates. “The purpose of the meeting is to have the candidates running for city council address the issues facing Point Dume and Malibu,” the press release goes on to state.
The Point Dume Community Association is a non-profit organization that addresses the interests of Point Dume residents. The March 11 meeting is also the annual meeting of the organization.
Next, the Malibu Township Council is holding its forum on Saturday, March 13, from 10 a.m. to noon. This year, the candidates forum is scheduled to be held at the Malibu Performing Arts Center, the home of the future city hall on Stuart Ranch Road.
A press release issued by the group says, “Traditionally, the event is taped and replayed on local TV during the last few weeks of the election.”
In addition, candidates who wish to do so, can set up booths outside the MTC forum room to distribute literature and meet with voters in one-on-one conversations.
Beginning March 15, registered voters in the City of Malibu may request absentee ballots. Many candidates are also providing the forms. March 29 is the last day to register to vote. The window for requesting absentee ballots closes on April 6.
The canvass of the April 13 election results and the formal council reorganization meeting takes place on April 26.

Las Paz-City Development Agreement Up Before Coastal Panel

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:53:00 +0000

• Neighbor’s Appeal of City-Approved Trancas Country Market Expansion Plans Is Postponed

BY BILL KOENEKER

The California Coastal Commission had two scheduled Malibu agenda items next week on its March calendar when the panel meets in Santa Cruz next week.
An appeal by Hans Laetz of Zuma Impact, LLC of a decision by the Malibu City Council approving permits and entitlements for the remodel and expansion of the existing Trancas Country Market shopping center at Pacific Coast Highway and Trancas Canyon Road has been postponed.
Laetz, a Malibu Park neighbor who overlooks the shopping center, said he had not requested the postponement and it was his understanding that only the applicant or CCC staff could make such a request.
Trancas Country Market co-owner Dan Bercu successfully sought permits from the Malibu City Council after an appeal to the planning commission for the remodel and expansion of the existing shopping center that includes the addition of 25,728 square feet of commercial space, a new parking lot, new alternative onsite wastewater treatment systems, landscaping with associated variances/site plan review and conditional use permits.
When Bercu was asked to comment on the postponement from the March CCC agenda, he replied, “No comment.”
An agenda item that will be heard next week is the City of Malibu’s attempt to get approval from the coastal panel for the proposed development agreement it seeks with the developers of the La Paz office/retail complex in central Malibu and other changes sought to comply with the Coastal Act.
The city is using a Local Coastal Program Amendment to accomplish its goals. The item is set for a public hearing and action by the commission on a request by the city to amend its certified LCP to change the land use and zoning designation of two parcels in Malibu Civic Center area from Community Commercial to a new proposed designation of Town Center Overlay or TCO.
The TCO designation would have specific development standards for the new zone and a development agreement to permit an increase in allowable floor area ratio from 0.15 to 0.20 in exchange for a public benefit.
However, the commission staff report recommends that the commissioners deny the language used by the city and deny the proposed LCPA, but approve the amendment itself, subject to three modifications.
The CCC staff report indicates for the first modification it wants the commission to delete the city’s request to remove the Community Commercial land use designation from the two parcels to use a the new land use designation of TCO.
“The change in the underlying land use designation to an overlay designation is not necessary and would create an inconsistency in the LCP’s existing format for overlay districts.” the commission staff report states.
Consequently, the coastal staff’s recommended modification that is required would be to delete the proposed land use plan map change from CC to TCO.
The commission staff report also notes that the actual public benefits in the development agreement in exchange for the FAR increase are not formally spelled out in the LCPA.
The staff wants the inclusions of such language in the document.
The proposed language reads “Pursuant to a development agreement between the property owner and the City of Malibu, the allowable Floor to Area Ratio is increased from 0.15 to 0.20 for the following public benefits:
1) 2.3 acres to be conveyed to the City of Malibu for the purpose of a city hall or [other] municipal use;
2) $500,000 contribution to the city hall or municipal use infrastructure construction fund associated with the development of the 2.3 acre parcel acquired by the city;
3) a pedestrian and bike path from city hall [or other city use building] throughout the project connecting to Civic Center Way;
4) an Offer-to-Dedicate a public trail easement fronting along Civic Center Way [this would become a segment of the planned Malibu Pacific Trail-Coastal Slope Trail]; and
5) conceptual architectural plans for the city hall [or other city use building].
The third suggested modification includes adding a map showing the boundaries of the TCO district.

Planning Commission Wrestles with Limits on Athletic Field Lighting

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:49:00 +0000

• One Panelist Says Some CCC Members May Have to ‘Die’ Before City Can Get Its Way

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

The City of Malibu’s Planning Commission appeared to indicate that the city has little intention of honoring a Local Coastal Program amendment that would permit limited nighttime athletic lighting at Malibu High School.
That seemed to be the message from three of the four planning commissioners present at the Feb. 16 meeting, when the resolution to amend the LCP to permit 16 nights of lighting to accommodate the school’s football program, that was approved 3-1 by the planning panel in January, was brought back for what should have been the simple formality of sending the resolution to the city council, but instead erupted into a furious debate.
At one point, it appeared that the resolution would fail entirely—the vote was tied 2-2, with Commissioners John Mazza and Joan House in favor of approving the resolution and Regan Schaar and Ed Gillespie opposed. Commissioner Jeff Jennings resides near the school and had recused himself on the issue.
“This whole thing is too restrictive,” Schaar said, reiterating her position from the January discussion, when she was the dissenting vote. “It gives all the power to the Coastal Commission. I don’t agree with it.”
Gillespie, who is running for city council, and had voted to pass the resolution in January, said that he had an epiphany while volunteering at a father-daughter dance. “As I watched these kids with their dads I thought about Commissioner Schaar, that our city is not kid-friendly. It’s clear that the Coastal Commission will not allow more than 16 nights, I think they made that clear. It’s also clear to me that we must do everything in our power to make certain that our city is kid-friendly. Whatever is in our power to make Malibu more kid-friendly, I’m for 100 percent.”
“I agree with everybody here, but I’m also being a realist,” Commissioner House said. “I think that to deny this is not in good stead. “We’re probably going to have to wait for some of the Coastal Commissioners to die off, the superintendent of schools to move away and things, just life, to move on.”
“Kids are the most important product of this city,” House continued. “ I’d much rather see football games there. Let some of the Coastal Commission die and the change will happen.” House described how she had created the city’s Parks and Recreation Department when she was on the City Council. “I wanted a Parks and Rec director and no one supported it. We’ve changed a lot.”
“I think the important thing here is that there was a lot of compromise made by the audience [at the January meeting],” Commissioner Mazza, who is also running for the city council, said. “There were two basic factions, but the one thing that what I will call the school faction wanted was to move the process along, and that if they didn’t hurry, there would be no season next year. What happens if we pass this resolution is it goes to the city council and they can make those same arguments again. If we don’t pass it tonight, I’m assuming it’s either dead or it gets put back on the schedule.”
The meeting briefly deteriorated into complete disorder at that point, with Chair Gillespie repeatedly calling for order and Schaar, who apparently had not watched the Coastal Commission meeting where approval of the lights was unanimously denied, continuing to demand that the 16-day limit be removed from the LCP. “I don’t know where the number 16 came from. We need more flexibility if we want to change it,” Schaar indicated.
“I understand what you are saying,” Mazza said. “But the only thing we can do is memorialize the resolution.”
The city planner confirmed that changing or eliminating the 16-day restriction would require a new publicly noticed meeting.
“It should be 365 days of lights a year,” Schaar said, continuing to object. “I think it should be every day of the year.”
“It would be devastating not to move this on,” House said to Schaar, offering to go to the city council meeting with Schaar and present the case for unrestricted lighting. “A half a loaf is better than none.”
“Malibu needs to be a sovereign city and not go to Coastal,” Gillespie said, but he voted to support the resolution, after Mazza reminded the panel that Schaar's position would be included as a minority report in the resolution and that additional discussion could take place at the city council meeting.
Malibu High School has used temporary lights for a small number of football games and practices during the past seven years. Plans to install permanent lighting that could potentially have been in use as many as 208 nights a year attracted massive opposition from West Malibu residents and revealed that neither temporary or permanent athletic lighting is permitted in Malibu, and that a special condition prohibiting lighting had been placed on the school property as part of the 1999 development permit from the Coastal Commission.
The school district opted to bypass the City of Malibu, passing a resolution in July of 2009 that exempts the district from municipal code, and took their request for lighting directly to the Coastal Commission, where it was unanimously denied.
The matter was then brought to the city, where the 16-night plan appeared to be viewed as an acceptable compromise by many of the interests involved in the debate.
The lighting LCP amendment will go before the city council its March 22 meeting.

Elementary School Libraries May Be Next on SMMUSD Chopping Block

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:48:00 +0000

• Athletics and Administration Are Untouched by Cuts

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

Elementary school libraries may be the next target of cost-saving measures being threatened if the May ballot tax measure doesn’t pass, according to Superintendent of the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District Tim Cuneo.
Cuneo recently hosted a meeting with members of the press to outline the district’s ongoing budget process and to promote the $195 temporary parcel tax that will be the subject of a May 25 special election.
The superintendent highlighted what he described as the district’s tremendous successes, including impressive advanced placement numbers, exit exam pass rates, and the strong relationship between the district and Santa Monica College, before addressing the budget issue.
Cuts in state funding have resulted in a growing district deficit, expected to reach $14 million this year. Cuneo explained that $4.5 million in cost cutting measures implemented in 2009, and money siphoned from the district’s reserve have slowed the deficit, but that it continues to grow, leading to a drastic plan to eliminate the entire elementary school music program, issue pink slips to 92 teachers, counselors and nurses, and increase class sizes for the second time in two years.
The district, which is facing a projected $14 million deficit, has already cut $4.5 million from its budget in 2009, and is planning to implement cost saving measures that will include five furlough days for all employees—reducing the school year from 180 days to 175—at an estimated savings of $2 million a year for the next two years.
The four members of senior management will take six days of reduced salary. Cuneo stated that he did not exercise the right to a bonus this year, last year or next year and added that, despite the furlough days “my work here stays the same.”
Cuneo explained that 71 percent of the district’s funding comes from the state, 14 percent more is restricted funding that can’t be reallocated and must be used only for specific programs. Local revenue from parcel taxes, PTAs and the community donations constitutes 10 percent. The remaining five percent comes from the federal government.
The budget crisis in Sacramento has caused state revenues to be reduced to 2003-4 levels, a net loss of 18 percent, or $8.5 million.
“The government is proposing another $2 million cut,” Cuneo stated. “We have to have a balanced budget by June. The state never does.”
The district is counting on passage of a $195 per property parcel tax that was initially described as an “emergency” tax but is now being called simply a “temporary” tax, to help bail it out.
“We’re actually running two budgets,” Cuneo said. One with the [parcel tax] measure and one without it.” Cuneo indicated that some recipients of pink slips could be rehired if the tax passes, and that cuts to programs could be mitigated.
“It took a very small amount of time to get here,” Cuneo said. “The recession will take a lot longer to recover.”
The communities of Santa Monica and Malibu have traditionally supported previous tax measures, however, response to the current parcel tax proposal has been described as “lukewarm.”
A large number of residents are already coping with the fallout from the housing and job market crisis and organized opposition to the measure is forming in Santa Monica.
“We have been very proactive,” Cuneo said. “We cut $4.5 million last year, but most of our money is all tied up.” Cuneo described the school board as “prudent,” and credited them with building a reserve that has slowed the budget decline but has not been adequate to stop it.
He explained that 49 percent of the district budget goes to salaries and benefits for certificated personnel.
An early retirement package offers some of the prospective teachers a less painful exit strategy but will do little to reduce class crowding and program cuts.
Cuneo revealed that in addition to terminating the elementary school music program, the district is also discussing shutting down elementary school libraries. No athletic programs have been cut, and administrators were not included in the current round of proposed pink slips.
The board of education has faced accusations from some parents that it is “holding elementary school music hostage” to the parcel tax. Classroom teachers union representative Harry Keilly has also been highly critical of the proposed layoffs, calling them premature.
“There are laws we have to meet, Cuneo explained. “Employees who are to be laid off must receive notice by March 15.”

Publisher’s Notebook

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:44:00 +0000

• Freedom Now: Can Marine Mammal Ethics Trump Profits? •

ANNE SOBLE

Less than a week after some of the nation’s most notable scientists and ethicists presented papers making a powerful case against the keeping of dolphins and other marine mammals in captivity, a six-ton orca largely kept in total isolation at a Florida amusement park was implicated in the death of a trainer. The animal had spent as much as 27 of his 29 years in solitary confinement except for occasional exchanges, such as the fatal one with the trainer, and his use in the breeding of 17 orca calves, whose value may have run as high as $2 million each.
Add other park breedings and the ticket take at these parks, and no one should be surprised that animals are not released despite possible implication in human tragedies as the orcas’ monetary value surpasses whatever costs the deaths involve. Despite any pretensions to the contrary, the enslavement of such intelligent beings as dolphins and orcas is predicated solely on profits from the sale of breeding stock and public attendance at shows that are today’s equivalent of the Roman “circuses.”
Malibu has long been in the forefront of making the case that dolphins and other marine mammals should be thought of as “nonhuman persons.” Scientists at the recent American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in San Diego presented papers against the keeping of these animals in captivity, even for medical research. Animals that swim upwards of several hundred miles a day in the wild should not be confined in concrete tanks where they can only swim in limited circumference circles over and over again. The consensus is this leads to frustration, anxiety and depression.
It was but two days after the death before park orca shows resumed and the “accident” was explained away. The fate of all the marine mammals in captivity is sealed unless people consciously decide that they will no longer participate in the subjugation and confinement of intelligent and sensitive animals that flies in the face of their gregarious nature. There has not been a single documented case of an orca injuring a human in the wild. The so-called human tragedies have all been in confinement.
AAAS scientists called for an immediate halt to the capture of dolphins and other animals. One ethicist said the mammals’ behavior and neurophysiology suggests that they have “all of the traits that philosophers traditionally require for persons.” Researchers have conducted studies that verified self-awareness, prompting these scientists to state that they will not study the animals in captivity because it constitutes unacceptable torture.
To some of the scientists who have looked at the extent to which captive animals suffer anguish in confinement, amusement parks may be a worse fate than death.
Only the marketplace has the ability to force these marine amusement parks to rehabilitate and free animals that are now confined. Digital technology can replicate the experience of these animals in the wild with much more immediacy and drama than forcing them to do stupid pet tricks for food.
As a society, we have to develop an interspecies ethic that would mark a significant turning point in the relationship between humans and other intelligent beings on the planet. Doing this would also mark a turning point in the way that humans deal with each other.

Residents in Corral Fire Area Organize to Attend Court Date

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:42:00 +0000

• Two Men Expected to Plead Guilty to Starting Malibu Wildfire on March 18

BY ANNE SOBLE

Motions to dismiss by the two men viewed as the most culpable in the starting of the Nov. 24, 2007 Corral Fire—William Thomas Coppock and Brian Alan Anderson—failed, and the pair are now scheduled to return to court on March 18.
The Operation Recovery group that formed after the disastrous Santa Ana wind-driven blaze that claimed 55 homes, is marshalling Corral Canyon residents to attend the hearing.
Operation Recovery coordinator Beverly Taki said the group is pleased with the court’s decision last week to rule against dismissing the two arson counts against the duo.
The third count, that the fire was started under a governor-declared state of emergency was dismissed because the original document lacked a necessary seal to be “official.”
Taki told her neighbors that their participation on March 18 is “imperative.”
She said she has been told the attorneys for the defendants have indicated that when the pair returns to court on March 18, they likely will plead guilty to both counts and be submitted to the court for sentencing.
Taki added, “Subsequent to that, the court will select a date for sentencing, and [at that time] it will finally be [the residents’] turn to address the court.”
Individuals going before the court usually prepare written statements that they then read to the judge.
Only a limited contingent of local residents attended last week’s hearing because OR was told to expect another continuance. Many of the local residents have attended numerous court sessions in Van Nuys that were continued.
According to a resident who went last week, “Judge [Susan] Speer determined Anderson and Coppock’s behavior that night to be reckless, based on the evidence presented at the preliminary hearings.”
As for the other two defendants, Eric Matthew Ullman and Dean Allen Lavorante, who had left upper Corral before the wildfire began, court observers expect them to end up with misdemeanor counts.
If Anderson and Coppock do plead guilty, Judge Speer is expected to send them to prison for 90 days and have them undergo psychiatric evaluation that might result in longer sentences or probation.
A fifth defendant, Brian David Franks, has already been convicted of starting the blaze as part of a plea bargain package that required him to testify against the other defendants.

Giant Coreopsis Really Is a Rare Local Specimen

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:56:00 +0000

• Coreopsis Genus ‘Relatives’ May Grow in Other States

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

For most of the year, it’s an unobtrusive brownish shrub, or sometimes even a small tree, but for a few short weeks during the rainy season, coreopsis gigantea, the giant coreopis, covers Malibu’s coastal bluffs with a tapestry of golden flowers on a background of feathery green foliage.
There are 35 known species of the plant genus coreopsis, all are native to the Americas, most have showy flowers, and many are widespread wildflowers or popular garden plants, but the giant coreopsis that thrives along the local coast is found on the coastal bluffs from Malibu to San Luis Obispo County and on the Channel Islands and nowhere else in the world.
A smaller cousin, the sea dahlia, or coreopsis maritima, occurs as far south as Baja, according to the bible of California plant identification, Willis Jepson’s “Manual of the Flowering Plants of California.”
Rarely found out of sight of the ocean, the aptly named giant coreopsis can reach a height of eight or even 10 feet.
Malibu’s first residents, the Chumash, reportedly used the plant to produce a vivid orange dye. It may also have had medicinal properties or cultural significance now forgotten. It grows most thickly in the places where the Chumash once lived, including the ancient Chumash shrine site at Point Dume and the cliffs above what was once the Chumash settlement of Muwu, now Mugu.
Uncontrolled development during the 20th century threatened this coastal plant with extinction. It is now protected, and continues to thrive on the Channel Islands and on the remaining undisturbed mainland coastal bluffs.
For many contemporary Malibuites, the golden flowers of the coreopsis are an eagerly anticipated harbinger of spring.
Native plant horticulturalist Antonio Sanchez sells giant coreopsis as a garden plant at his native plant nursery called Nopalito, at 4107 E. Main Street in Ventura.
Sanchez says that the giant coreopsis can be grown as a garden plant, with a little coaxing. He recommends treating this unusual California native like a succulent.
“You can grow them in a pot, like a succulent, that lets you control the soil and the water. They’ll also grow on a hillside with good drainage, but they don’t like to be watered during the summer,” he told the Malibu Surfside News.
One of the best and easiest places to see the flowers are at the Point Dume Headlands—where visitors may be additionally rewarded with a view of whales, sea lions or dolphins, or the sound of meadowlarks singing.
They are also currently visible all along the undeveloped portions of Pacific Coast Highway in west Malibu, from Point Dume to Point Mugu. Flower enthusiasts are advised to hurry—this magnificent sea of gold is a fleeting and transient pleasure that should be enjoyed by many.

Mitrice Richardson Missing Person Case Is Cited to Help Pass Law in Congress

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:53:00 +0000

• Measure to Increase Information Sharing Now Goes to U.S. Senate

BY ANNE SOBLE

Billy’s Law, named after a man who disappeared in 2004 and has not been found, would help expand the database of missing people and unidentified remains, as well as require the FBI to share what it knows about specific cases.
The measure was passed by the House of Representatives last week and now goes to the Senate where passage is also expected.
The effort to expand public information on missing people and unidentified remains follows a number of missing-person cases that have drawn major media attention, including that of Mitrice Richardson, 24, who disappeared after being released from the Malibu-Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station on Sept. 17 at 12:35 a.m. alone, on foot in an area with no public transportation, and without her cell phone or purse.
Rep. Maxine Waters, whose district includes Watts, where Richardson, an honors college graduate resides, was a co-sponsor of the bill, and cited Richardson in her statement on the House floor.
Waters said if the proposed system had been in place at the time of Richardson’s disappearance, she is “confident that we’d have a better understanding of what happened to [her].”

Conviction Includes 1977 Malibu Murder

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:48:00 +0000

• Jury Finds Man Guilty of Five Grisly Murders in ’70s

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

An Orange County jury has convicted Rodney Alcala, 66, of four brutal murders—a 12-year-old girl and three women, including 27-year-old Malibu resident Georgia Wixted—that occurred in the late 1970s.
After six weeks of testimony, the jury took just two days to reach a decision of guilty on one felony count of kidnapping and five felony counts of murder. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty on the basis of a gruesome series of special circumstances that includes committing multiple murders, murder with torture, murder during the commission of rape, murder during the commission of kidnapping, murder during the commission of a burglary of an inhabited dwelling, and murder during the commission of a robbery. The penalty phase is slated to begin this week.
Alcala, who has twice before been sentenced to death for the murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe of Orange County and had the convictions overturned, is expected to receive a third and final death sentence.
Forensic evidence linking Alcala to the four other murders began to emerge in 2006, when previously unavailable DNA analysis was used to analyze evidence collected at crime scenes.
Wixted, a nurse who lived alone in an east Malibu apartment, was found dead on the floor of her bedroom in December of 1977. According to the forensics information, she reportedly died of strangulation and massive head injuries, and her corpse had been badly mutilated.
Sheriff’s detectives retrieved and retained biological evidence from the Wixted case, including samples containing DNA, and a partial palm print. Computer matching technology that did not yet exist when the crime was committed, subsequently connected the cold case to Alcala.
New analysis of forensic evidence also linked the other three victims, Jill Barcomb, 18, slain in November of 1977; and Charlotte Lamb, 33, and Jill Parenteau, 21, killed in June of 1979, to Alcala.
In what many legal observers have described as a bizarre move, Alcala refused legal council and served as his own attorney at his trial, cross-examining himself and the witnesses, including the mother of Robin Samsoe.
Alcala also presented as evidence video footage of himself as the winning contestant of a 1978 episode of the TV game show “The Dating Game.”
There is as yet uncorroborated conjecture that Alcala could potentially be connected to as many as 30 unsolved murders that took place in the same time period.
For now, Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy and Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Gina Satriano, who are prosecuting the case, are seeking the death penalty for the existing six felony charges.

Camping Remains a Hot Button Issue in SMMC Proposal to Increase Public Access

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:49:00 +0000

• Several Dozen Malibu Speakers Focus on Fire Danger

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

More than a hundred angry Malibu residents packed the auditorium at Webster Elementary school to hear more than two dozen speakers address the Environmental Impact Report for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s controversial Malibu Parks Public Access Enhancement Plan that includes trail connections and improvements, increased ADA access and camping at SMMC properties in Ramirez, Escondido, Latigo, and Corral canyons, and at Bluffs Park Open Space above Malibu Road.
The SMMC may have underestimated public interest in the issue—an October scoping session in Pacific Palisades attracted only a handful of participants—but observers criticized the physical set up for the meeting, which placed some members of the SMMC board—including Executive Director Joe Edmiston—with their backs to the audience. Less than a third of the room was allocated to the standing-room-only crowd, and a large area of empty space off to one side that could easily have accommodated the overflow was inaccessible.
The two dozen speakers included two city council members, three city council candidates, many residents of areas that burned in the 2007 Corral Fire, and representatives from numerous homeowners associations and organizations, all seemingly united in opposition to the SMMC camping plan.
Fire danger and public safety were the primary concern of almost all of the speakers, although the majority were supportive of the project’s proposed trail improvements. Plans to place campsites in Latigo and Escondido canyons continued to attract the highest level of criticism.
Many speakers told the SMMC board that they had not yet had time to completely review the massive EIR document, which is thousands of pages long.
Joyce Parker-Bozylinsk, the planning manager for the City of Malibu, stated that city staff believe the EIR is inconsistent with the city’s certified Local Coastal Program. “We disagree with conclusions reached in [the section pertaining to development in Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area]. We [also] have concerns and disagreements with the findings as it relates to fire safety. We will be putting our comments into writing and submitting them to you,” she told the board.
“I’m sure you are all aware of the six campers who were lost last week,” Malibu Park resident and public safety commission member Susan Tellem said. “They put a campfire in Newton Canyon and no one saw it. This presents a real danger. People trying to get warm in a cold canyon.” Tellem also raised concerns over the SMMC’s contention that the improvement projects would have a less than significant impact on the environment. “‘Less than significant impact’ is hard to explain when you take a pristine area and put grading, parking, fire shelters, sheds, and so on,” she said. “This cannot be less than significant. Just dragging this stuff in is significant.”
“Trails going in is a good idea,” Corral Canyon resident Brian Weiss said, “but I’m worried about the potential impact of fire. Camping between Corral and Latigo is reasonable. It’s the hike-in camps I have problems with. The problem isn’t responsible people, it’s when irresponsible people show up. My concern is supervision.” Weiss asked that the SMMC work with Corral residents to find reasonable solutions.
“I want to talk about not the EIR but your process,” city council candidate Lou La Monte told the board, speaking as president of the Big Rock HOA. “You’re in danger of becoming a behemoth who doesn’t listen to people. We are one of the most environmentally friendly cities. This Conservancy has alienated neighborhoods just because of the process. Malibu residents are as ready and able of mounting battles as you are. I urge you to reach out to the residents of Malibu. We all live in the Santa Monica Mountains and we deserve that respect.”
“I’m an avid camper and equestrian, Malibu Park resident and city council candidate Steve Scheinkman said. This project is not in the backyard where I sleep at night but backyard where I spend a lot of time. It puts a lot of people at risk of losing their homes, their property and their lives. There is no budget for enforcement and no guarantee that it will be enforced. I ride my horse on these trails. It’s really insulting to say to these people who have lost their homes to fire that it’s safe, to think that everybody is going to camp by the rules, to think they’re not going to get lost, not light a fire like what happened last week. It’s common sense. “
“When you read the EIR, there are two things that stand out that scare the people of Malibu: fire and public safety,” planning commissioner and city council candidate John Mazza said.
“Your report says 90 percent of fires are caused by people. The 10,000 gallon water tank [planned for one campsite] is like pouring a Dixie cup on a wildfire,” Mazza continued. “In 1994, fire burned all of these proposed campsites. We want trails, we can work together to get trails, but we are putting a small amount of campsites in a highly dangerous area. If you can burn to the beach in eight minutes, you have an evacuation issue that you have not considered. The people of Malibu don’t want to fight you, but there are hundreds of millions of dollars in property at risk.”
“You’re supposed to be protecting the parks. Burning them up doesn’t qualify,” Malibu Township Council representative Lucile Keller said. “The SMMC plan is totally deficient in commitment to provide rangers. A walk through these campsites once a day will not be enough to enforce violations,” “It’s totally inadequate. No needs assessment has been provided. We’ve asked for it repeatedly. There are 1300 camping sites already [in Malibu]. If more sites are needed they should be placed at Leo Carrillo. The state has admitted that it does not have enough rangers. If a fire starts in one of these parks, it could reach residents in two minutes. The whole area is in an area of highest fire danger. There is no guarantee that users of campsites will be knowledgeable or responsible.”
“You don’t have a full understanding of what we deal with in Malibu,” another member of the Corral Fire Safety Alliance stated at the end of public comment, summing up the views of many of the speakers. “We want trail access, we support that. This is about fire safety. In Corral Canyon we have one way in and one way out. You are essentially blocking our only way out. People will die and it will be on your hands. We support trail expansion, we do not support camping.”
The comment period for the Environmental Impact Report for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s Malibu Parks Public Access Enhancement Plan will remain open until March 22. Written comments can be submitted via email to eircomments@smmc.ca.gov. The EIR document is available at the Malibu Library or online at www.smmc.ca.gov

Engineers Still Investigating Cause of Latest Rambla Landslide

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:44:00 +0000

• Tentative Assessment Focuses on Possible Impact of Private Downslope Grading in the Area

BY BILL KOENEKER

A landslide and subsequent failure of Rambla Pacifico Road that occurred on Feb. 5 between Azurelee Drive and Las Flores Canyon Road is being tentatively attributed to a work crew performing grading work below the roadway for a driveway and residence, according to Los Angeles County authorities.
“It is difficult to assess. It is currently still under investigation,” according to John Kelly, who is the deputy director for the county Public Works Department, which oversees the unincorporated area of Malibu where the slide is located.
The road collapsed and is completely closed. The impact to hillside residents is minimal since it does not block homeowners going south to Pacific Coast Highway, but provides an impediment to about 20 residences south of the slide who are going northward and must detour. However, the road provides an alternative route during disasters. The roadway is expected to be repaired by June, according to Kelly.
The public works spokesperson said the private party is expected to complete slide remediation and restoration and offer a fix for the road.
“Our first order of business is to deal with the slope failure. [The owner] is submitting plans to repair it,” Kelly said.
The construction crew was grading into the hillside in what is called a “back cut,” which is believed to have ultimately caused the failure, Kelly said.
The permit allowed 26,000 cubic yards of grading. There is still no estimate of how much slide material was involved, explained Kelly, who said the California Coastal Commission is also involved in overseeing the restoration. The applicant had permits from the county and the coastal agency.
The public works spokesperson said it no longer seems feasible that the water main was leaking and contributed to the problem as initially reported. The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District’s water main was under the road. The slide took the pipe with it and a bypass line had to be installed.
“All I can really say is the exact cause is being investigated,” said Kelly, when pressed to explain why leakage had tentatively been ruled out.

Council OKs $7 Million More in Debt for Work on the New City Hall

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:40:00 +0000

• Two Candidates Tried to Hold Reins on Spending for Plans They Said Need More Vetting

BY BILL KOENEKER

Despite the urging by two council candidates on the April 13 ballot to either forego moving forward or revising plans, the Malibu City Council this week gave the go-ahead to the latest cost estimates for the remodeling of the new city hall and approved the indebtedness of $7 million to make the $5 million improvements.
The additional $2 million is to fund a debt service reserve fund, capitalized interest on the certificates of participation for three years and the costs of issuing the certificates. A portion of the certificates will be taxable debt.
Council hopeful Mike Sidley told members they should wait on taking on any more debt and let the reconstituted council after the election decide.
“I urge you to delay until the April election,” said Sidley, who added, “You should wait and see what happens to decide what we really need to spend money on.”
The council candidate said the Civic Center septic prohibition might cost the city as much as $56 million and that could be a deciding factor if the city was forced to take on more debt.
However, council members were quick to point out that the $56 million price tag referred to the costs that an assessment district might have to pay for a sewage treatment facility in the Civic Center area recommended by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The city would not incur debt or be required to pay for such a public works project.
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich did get City Manager Jim Thorsen, who was explaining where the $56 million price tag came from, to acknowledge that the new city hall is in the septic prohibition area and would probably be part of any assessment district and obliged to pay into the district.
“That would be a utility bill,” said Thorsen.
Councilmember John Sibert, explaining his actions in response to Sidley’s challenge, said he was elected to make decisions and not to defer them. “This has nothing to do with April,” he said.
Earlier in the evening, the staff had delivered a new report estimating the cost of improvements to the new city hall.
Council members were told the latest preliminary construction estimate, which at one time was $1.1 million has skyrocketed to $4.6 million. The latest figure represents the preliminary costs for optional improvements at over $1.3 million.
The estimate was broken down by exterior site, building and interior elements, as well as base costs and optional costs. Elements that could be attributable to a sustainable design were indicated for council consideration.
Council hopeful Steve Scheinkman said he believes the council should call for a sustainability study, which could take a month, but could result in savings in the long run.
Mayor Sharon Barovsky said that sustainability concern is why the council chose LPA. Inc. “We choose this architect because of their sustainability [reputation],” she said.
Seven of the candidates took part in a tour conducted by Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich last week (see page 13), which meant that they had an opportunity to go through the complex and look at plan specifics.
Scheinkman also raised the issue of mildew—a whitish fungal coating, or mold—in parts of the city building. This was the first public reference to the presence of mildew in the new city hall.
Assistant City Manager and Administrative Services Director Reva Feldman said that city officials are aware of the mildew.
“There is mildew. But it is leaking from [interior] plants. The smell is there, but [the mildew] is not throughout the building,” she said.
Councilmember Jefferson Wagner said he was prepared to support the report with a proviso. He said he wanted LEED silver certified (green building) interiors that would add $150,000 to the costs.
Other members agreed and the report was then approved by all five council members.
However, there was a dissenting voice when it came time to approve the issuance of the $7 million in certificates of participation to finance the improvements.
Conley Ulich, who had urged the council to wait until firmer numbers were in place, complained there are still only estimates for the city hall improvements and not a budget.
“We still don’t know [the actual costs],” she said as she cast a no vote.

School District Threatens to Cut 92 Staffers and All Elementary Music

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:36:00 +0000

• Parents Say Actions Are Pressure for Yes Vote on Tax

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District Board of Education was blasted by representatives of the teachers union and arts and music advocates at its Feb. 18 meeting for a layoff plan that would cut $7.3 million from the budget by letting go of 15 percent of the district’s certificated staff—92 employees, including teachers, counselors and nurses—and completely eliminating the elementary school music program.
The self-described financially strapped Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District says it is facing a $14 million deficit.
The resolution contained a depressing litany of certificated staff reductions: three nurses, seven counselors, eight math and science teachers, two physical education instructors, 10 music teachers—encompassing the entire grade school music program, and 42 elementary school instructors, among others.
Harry Keilly, the president of the Santa Monica Malibu Classroom Teachers Association, was quick to point out that there are no administrative positions on the list. “15 percent of the membership of teachers union has skin in the game. We don’t see the administrative side having any skin in the game,” Keilly said. ”The association opposes each and every one of the layoffs.”
Arts and music advocates also cried foul, criticizing the board’s decision to tie the fate of the elementary music program to the success or failure of the May 25 parcel tax initiative. One speaker questioned whether the program will be spared even if the measure passes. Others stressed the importance of music as a core subject.
“It’s not only important, it’s essential,” said one parent. “We will lose too much by cutting these programs.”
“It’s very important to our children, Not fluff. It’s part of core curriculum,” said another, stressing that the cuts to the music program will have the greatest impact on the district’s poorest students whose parents do not have the option of placing them in different schools or providing private music lessons.
“The secondary music program would suffer irreparable damage at the middle school level [if the program is eliminated] said a third.
The cuts may not end up being as dire as predicted, because under state law the district is required to issue pink slips no later than March 15 and long before the state budget is finalized. If the state, which provides 70 percent of school funding comes through with more money than anticipated, some positions will be reinstated, according to school district superintendent Tim Cuneo.
The district is also counting on it’s May 25 parcel tax initiative to raise additional funds, although the measure, if it receives the required two-thirds vote, will offset less than half of the district’s projected deficit.
However, additional layoffs could still be on the horizon, and Cuneo stated that the district will be looking at reductions to the administrative staff.
A special early retirement incentive could offer a less traumatic alternative for up to 28 district teachers, but would do little to improve conditions for students facing larger class sizes and cuts to programs.
The board agreed to postpone voting on the layoffs until March 4, after boardmember Oscar de la Torre raised concerns. “It would be more beneficial to postpone the vote,” de la Torre said. “We’re contemplating making some very serious reductions. We can make some irreparable harm if we send this message out. Some of our employees might start looking for other opportunities just by putting this out.”
Ironically, the school district just announced this week that Santa Monica High School music students Emily Wong and Matthew Van Pelt, concertmaster and principal violist of the Santa Monica High School Symphony Orchestra, respectively, have successfully auditioned for and have been accepted to the 2010 National High School Honor Orchestra.

TV Pilot’s Producer Tries to Allay Parent Concerns

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:24:00 +0000

• Says Program with MHS Students Will Be ‘Innocent’

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

A flurry of critical emails between Malibu High School parents who are concerned about a possible reality TV show that might present a slanted perspective on Malibu teens prompted the producer of a pilot program being made on spec to respond.
Lexi von der Leith told the Malibu Surfside News that parents who expressed those concerns last week “should not worry.”
“We haven’t even started shooting the show,” von der Leith told The News. “My partner and I both grew up in Malibu and want to make a great show about how wonderful going to high school was in Malibu.”
Von der Leith, a professional surfer who grew up in Malibu and attended MHS and Pepperdine University, says she envisions the show as a Malibu version of the popular 2004 MTV reality show “Laguna Beach,” which revolved around the lives of Orange County high school students.
However, that show came in for its share of criticism for explicit sexuality and profanity, as well as being embroiled in the debate surrounding nearly all so-called reality programming, that it actually was often scripted. The wealthy teens in the O.C. spent much of their time shopping and partying.
However, von der Leith said of her proposed series, “It’s a girl drama, but [it’s] innocent, no drinking or anything.” She said, “The production company, along with all the producers, want people to watch the show and remember how fun high school was.”
Von der Leith confirmed that auditions have taken place, and that there are 10 prospective student-actors, although she said that the final number is expected to be reduced to seven—four girls and three boys.
“We’ve been in contact with the parents,” von der Leith said. “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt these kids. We aren’t exploiting them. We have a great group of kids together, and I don’t want people getting scared that we’re taking advantage of them. These kids are like brothers and sisters to me, and I’m protective of them.”
Von der Leith explained that she plans to pitch the program to MTV once all of the pieces are in place, but that nothing has been signed yet.
“I hope that we can do a project that warms people’s hearts,” she said.

Publisher’s Notebook

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:22:00 +0000

• Impasse Between Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Is Not a Solution •

ANNE SOBLE

Each and every Malibuite understands the fears of the local residents who packed Monday night’s meeting of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy on its Malibu Parks Public Access Enhancement Plan. Many of us have personally experienced what they have gone through. I have endured multiple evacuations of not only family members, but also horses, burros and llamas from corrals ringed with flames, in addition to the usual menageries of dogs, cats, geese, ducks and other critters during the last two decades. Every wildfire is a frightening and humbling experience. We all want to do everything we can to try to prevent having to go through it again, even though we know that likelihood is high.
No one should deride or wag fingers at residents concerned about wildfire, especially those who have lost their homes and cannot bear to think of that happening again. But neither can anyone expect to unreasonably obstruct public agencies from making lands paid for by the public available to that public. None of us want to be told we are trying to keep those whose taxes paid for the open spaces that make our own lives so special from opportunities to enjoy outdoor recreation, especially in a faltering economy when these lands may be among the few joys still to be had. But it is also not unreasonable to insist that public holdings that are open to the public be adequately monitored, not just for the safety of those who live here, but for the safety of the visitors who venture out into these holdings.
Recently we saw how easy it is for lost hikers to remain lost, if they do not take the precaution of alerting others to their outdoor plans in advance. Tho
se hikers were in precarious circumstances until they were stumbled upon by accident. That is why the best locations for public facilities are those that are readily accessible in emergencies. It is not by chance that Leo Carrillo is one of the state’s most popular and safest campgrounds. It is located on the coast, close to a county fire station, patrolled by law enforcement and well staffed by rangers. Leo Carrillo draws families, boy and girl scout troops, and visitors from around the world. The camp registry is a living example of “we are the world.”
Instead of speaking past each other, as is too often the case, a committee of residents and city representatives might be formed that could meet with SMMC officials and explore options that address not only the very real fear of wildfire, but also the benefits to the public and to Malibu’s international image that could follow an agreement that results in more public campsites. If positive thinking doesn’t occur, the loggerheads will continue in meeting rooms, then progress to the courtroom, where the needs of the public will likely prevail unfettered.

Judge Denies Nearly a Million Dollars in Penalties to California Coastal Commission over Malibu Stairways

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:17:00 +0000

• Controversial Case Involves an Enforcement Action on Property in the Encinal Bluffs Area

BY BILL KOENEKER

The California Coastal Commission missed out on a million dollars in civil fines and penalties that a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge refused to award the state agency over a highly controversial decision requiring a Malibu homeowner to build two stairways over a sea stack-like promontory below their bluff top home.
The property owners, the court ruled, should not be penalized for unpermitted development that was already present on their property when they purchased it. They were required to remove a gate, a stairway on a coastal bluff going down to the beach and a lawn that was growing on top of the promontory.
The commission had ordered Graeme and Brenda Revell to build the million dollar staircases that were part of a condition of approval in 1980 for a previous owner to build the house that the Revells purchased years later in 2004. The house was built, but the staircases were never constructed.
The matter was taken to court by the Revells after the commission insisted they pay the current costs of the staircases, but the Revells would only agree to pay what it would have cost the developer had he done the same work in the 1980s.
The coastal panel then slapped the homeowners with notices of violations of the Coastal Act, cease and desist orders, and non-compliance of CCC conditions.
In 2007, Judge David Yaffee issued what could be called a split decision, with the judge ruling that the Revells were obligated to furnish the stairways, but in lieu of that could meet their obligations with a monetary assessment. The CCC had earlier rejected that offer.
The Coastal Commission was told that it could neither order, nor require geological reports for the stairways that could turn out to be more expensive than the stairway themselves.
Finally, Yaffe ordered that nothing in the writ could prohibit the CCC from changing the design of the stairways to meet current ground conditions
Meanwhile, the Coastal Commission, through the state Attorney General’s office, filed a cross complaint seeking over a million dollars in civil penalties.
The Revells’ attorney, Alan Robert Block, a former commission attorney, said, “The Coastal Commission’s decision to take this case to trial reflects how poorly the commission has been managed for the past several years.”
A decision was rendered on the cross complaint this month by Judge Mark Mooney.
“Thus, Judge Yaffe’s order contemplated that the monetary contribution required of the Revells to build the accessway would be based upon the plans as approved by the commission in Aug. 1986. The costs attributable to any reasonable changes to those plans were not to increase the cost of or burden to the Revells. The plan submitted by the commission represents a substantial increase in cost from the plan originally approved. The court therefore finds that the Revells may discharge their obligation under special condition two by tendering to the commission the sum of $50,000,” Mooney wrote in his ruling.
Block revealed that the Revells had previously offered $500,000 to settle with the commission. Block said the deputy attorney-general assigned to the case recommended the settlement. However, the Coastal Commission rejected that offer, according to Block, and that legal counsel was subsequently removed from the case.
“At a time when the state is in dire financial straits, the commission has squandered hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funds, on a worthless bridge from nowhere to nowhere,” said Block. “This was bureaucratic waste and mismanagement in the extreme.”
When considering the civil penalties sought by the Coastal Commission, Mooney wrote in his 13-page opinion, “When the court considers the nature, circumstance, extent and gravity of the violation, the Revells’ conduct warrants the imposition of only minimal civil liability. The Revells did nothing more than purchase property upon which an unpermitted development was already present. They did not put in the landscaping, irrigation system, metal fence, locked gate or wooden stairs. Indeed, this unpermitted development may well have been present for more than 20 years before the Revells purchased that property. The fact that the commission did absolutely nothing regarding these unpermitted improvements, despite receiving complaints as far back as 1983, speaks volumes as to the low level the commission placed on the gravity of the violation.” Mooney concluded.
The judge then ruled that the court found the Revells to be the prevailing party and awarded court costs against the commission.

Mitrice Richardson’s Family Members Hope to Get Some High-Tech Assistance in Search Effort

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:14:00 +0000

• There’s No Letup in Their Effort to Keep the Missing Woman in the Public Eye

BY ANNE SOBLE

Family members of 24-year-old Cal State Fullerton honors graduate, Mitrice Richardson, who now has been missing for almost six months, are excited that new search efforts may be undertaken, but express frustration on other fronts related to the case of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station’s release of the woman who has not been seen since last Sept. 17.
The unusual specifics of Mitrice Richardson’s booking on two field-citable counts, the issue of her mental state, the impounding of her car with her purse and cell phone inside, her pre-dawn release and subsequent disappearance, and her family’s allegations that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department personnel have evidence—including videotapes—that they are not releasing, are the subject of a series of weekly articles that have appeared in the Malibu Surfside News (www.malibusurfsidenews.com).
The missing woman’s mother, Latice Sutton, and other family members and friends are hopeful that approval soon will be granted for the next LASD—and City of Los Angeles Police Department, the lead agency in what is still a missing person case—search to be assisted by a drone from San Diego State University’s Immersive Visualization Center, the Viz Center. The drone is a small unmanned aircraft that takes high resolution video and photos.
According to Charles Croft, a videographer who has been working with the mother’s family, “the [Viz Center] drone has the capability of going down into canyons and can search better than any helicopter. It is not affected by winds as much and can fly extremely low to obtain very high resolution, close-up images and video.”
Croft said the drone, also known as a “bird.” has already been used in a number of missing person searches, and law enforcement “and the drone people are set to use the aircraft soon.” He added, “The drone has discovered people and [skeletal] remains in about seven different instances when large searches failed.”
FRUSTRATION
Sutton expresses frustration that there has been no effort yet to get a petition with over 5000 signatures to Washington, D.C, to try to involve the FBI and possibly the U.S. Department of Justice.
The missing woman’s mother said she is unable to get any information from Change.org, the Web group that hosted the petition drive. Sutton said, “A lot of people worked really hard to get the signatures, and they are asking why there has been no action in getting the petition to the FBI.”
PROGRAM
The Friends Group of Pasadena (The Pasadena Commission on the Status of Women) plans a public conference on March 17 at the Pasadena Public Library from 6 to 8 p.m. to discuss nighttime custody release policies.
Among the panelists are Ronda Hampton, the psychologist who was Richardson’s college mentor and a family friend; LASD’s chief of field operations for the region that includes Malibu, Neal Tyler; and Deputy Chief Attorney Benjamin Jones of the Office of Independent Review, which has yet to announce the results of its investigation of Lost Hills procedures in the Richardson case that Sheriff Lee Baca has publicly stated was handled “by the book.” For conference specifics, see www.thefriendsgroup.org
INFORMATION
For general information about Richardson and public search updates, see Latice Sutton’s website at www. findmitrice.info; the father Michael Richardson’s website at www.bring mitricehome.org; contact Dr. Ronda Hampton at 951-660-8031; or LAPD Homicide Lt. Charles Knolls and LAPD Detective Steven Eguchi at 213-486-6900.

Little League Season Opens Feb. 27

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:12:00 +0000

Malibu Little League is celebrating the opening day of the 2010 season on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Bluffs Park, and the community is invited to attend.
A Malibu tradition for 55 years, the free event offers a wide range of activities for children of all ages, including a climbing wall, inflatable jumpers, and baseball and softball games.
Organizers have invited Webster Elementary School principal Phil Cott to throw out the first ball.
Food, including kettle corn and ice cream, will be available. A free shuttle will be running throughout the day from the parking lot at Webster school to Bluffs Park.
Games begin at 8 a.m. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. www.malibulittleleague.org

Malibu Voters Get Their First Opportunity to See All City Council Candidates at One Time

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:48:00 +0000

• Panelists from Chamber and Realty Board Lead Q and A

BY ANNE SOBLE

Dueling Web sites are up and running, lists of supporters are being touted, the mailings have started to arrive, and signs are cropping up on front lawns throughout the community—all are clear indications that the race for the two open city council seats on the April 13 ballot has begun in earnest.
City of Malibu registered voters will have their first chance to see and hear all 10 council candidates in the same venue, answering questions at a forum jointly sponsored by the Malibu Chamber of Commerce and the Malibu Association of Realtors that is scheduled for Thursday, March 4, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the Hughes Research Labs Auditorium.
In their announcement of the forum, the two groups noted that the field of 10 candidates seeking one of the two council seats “is very important for the future of Malibu, and the leadership decisions are critical to the future of the city and business community.”
The free event is open to the public. All 10 candidates are currently expected to take part.
A panel composed of members of both organizations will ask questions that are viewed as “important” to business and real estate interests, “whose common goal is to serve the community we all share.”
The forum will be recorded for future airing on the municipal cable television channel. Both the chamber and the realty board are also considering the endorsement of candidates “based on the results of the forum.”
The 2010 city council campaign was off and running as soon as the 10 individuals were certified as candidates. Some city government watchers, however, are saying, not entirely tongue-in- cheek, that the 2010 campaign began two years ago, if not earlier.
The more aggressive and well funded candidates have started major door-to-door campaigning and are using social networking sites to send upbeat messages to supporters, fence-sitters and even some opponents.
Coffees are starting to jockey for position on local calendars, as campaign momentum shifts into high gear.
The 10 candidates met last week with Malibu officials, including the city manager, the city attorney and most department heads. They were given a cram course in Local Government 101: how city government works in general and the role of each agency and its staff in detail.

Council Takes on New City Hall Design

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:46:00 +0000

• More Money Has to Be Borrowed to Pay for the Changes

BY BILL KOENEKER

The Malibu City Council is expected to take another stab at how to finance the improvements required to turn the new city hall complex into a functional office building for staff, while at the same time offering money-making public amenities, such as a theater and recording studio.
The council will be told that the preliminary construction estimate will remain the same at $3,755,000. That is the same estimate that was used by the staff at the previous meeting when the council discussed the matter. At that time, the council directed the staff to see if they could trim that estimate to lower the costs. The staff was also directed to return to the council with further details on those preliminary costs.
LPA Inc., the city’s architect, will present the design and estimate costs to the council.
At the same time, the city council is expected to make the final decision on incurring another $7 million of indebtedness to finance the makeover of the new city hall in the form of certificates of deposit.
“Pursuant to the lease/purchase agreement, the city will covenant with the owners of the certificates to annually budget and appropriate from the city’s general fund sufficient funds to make all lease payments pursuant to the lease purchase agreement. The city will issue an amount not to exceed $7 million of certificates, which will generate up to $5 million in proceeds for the City hall improvements. Certificates proceeds will also fund a debt service reserve fund, capitalized interest with respect to the certificates for three years and pay costs of issuing the certificates,” wrote Assistant City Manager and Administrative Services Director Riva Feldman, in a staff report.
Feldman will tell the council the annual lease payment associated with the certificates will be about $480,000.
The council and the architect agreed that in constructing the building there should be space for a senior center, emergency operations center and community theater.
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich, who has been the lone outspoken critic of using COPs to finance the improvements, wants the council to explore the feasibility of forming an Ad Hoc Committee for New City Hall Cost-Saving Options.
Conley Ulich has repeatedly expressed concern that the city council is not being given time for sound decision making.

Crummer Field Project Is Ok’d by Members of the California Coastal Commission

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:44:00 +0000

• Deal Has $2 Million ‘Price Tag’

BY BILL KOENEKER

The California Coastal Commission approved a five-home subdivision and two acres of open space proposed for a 24-acre blufftop parcel, historically known as Crummer Field, but only when the developer agreed to kick in $2 million as a “mitigation fee.”
The coastal panel made its decision last week, when it met in Oceanside to consider the application on the mid-Malibu land that is currently zoned commercial visitor- serving.
The City of Malibu had requested that a proposed development agreement that included a public ball field in exchange for the five-home subdivision be included in its Local Costal Program Amendment, which sought 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 uses on the vacant parcel adjacent to Bluffs Park.
However, the commission agreed with its staff and denied the city’s LCPA request and approved the proposal with a number of modifications, including the mitigation fee for changing the zoning from the commercial visitor-serving, which coastal planners successfully argued is so valuable that if it is retired, there should be offsets to compensate for the change. The coastal staff had sought a $750,000 mitigation fee, but a majority of the commissioners said they considered that amount “ludicrous.”
The owner of the site, Richard Ackerman, who agreed to the $2 million fee, had approached the city several years ago about subdividing the parcel into eight new lots and developing the site with five new single-family homes with a private road in the eastern portion of the property and dedicating 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 then completed and the city and developer unsuccessfully approached the commission with the LCPA.
However, the commission staff, after identifying what they called 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 that is owned by the state, which is considering rehabilitation, decided the loss of the commercial visitor-serving zoning should then require compensation by having the developer pay an in-lieu fee for the motel makeover.
However, at the meeting, CCC staff modified the condition and indicated that it wanted more flexibility, saying the money could go to a non-profit or private agency, which has a “shovel-ready” project for affordable overnight accommodations available.
The decision is not unlike another approval that the Coastal Commission granted a developer near the County Line where a small residential subdivision was planned and asked to meet similar conditions.
The commission required the developer to donate an in-lieu fee for possible upgrades, such as cabins for popular Leo Carrillo State Park to allow for additional overnight visitor-serving accommodations.
Some commissioners used that as an example of why Ackerman should pay more because of the amount the developer had to pay for the County Line project.
Meanwhile, city officials say it is not clear if the commission approved the ball field or an open space with a passive activity restriction.

Open Planning Panel Seat Set to Be Filled at Next Council Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:43:00 +0000

• Election Could Result in New Faces

BY BILL KOENEKER

A new planning commissioner is expected to be appointed next week at the regular Malibu City Council meeting to fill the vacancy that resulted when Commissioner Regan Schaar announced her resignation on Feb. 2
A notice of the unexpected vacancy for the planning commission appointment was posted on Feb 3, and the appointment is earmarked to go to another Point Dume resident Roohl Stack.
“She is a longtime activist in the community,” said Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich, who confirmed that Stack will be her appointee. “She has great business acumen and education.”
Schaar had toyed with the idea of running for one of the two vacant city council seats in the April election. She had pulled nominating papers, but decided not to return them.
Persistent rumors about a run-in with another council member prompted Conley Ulich to publicly state that Schaar’s decision was not caused “by another council member,” but the result of personal reasons.
In a letter to the editor a week before her resignation, Schaar wrote that her interest in possibly running for a council seat was “focused on bringing back civility and professionalism to the Malibu City Council. Increasingly, it became more embarrassing to watch the mean-spirited behavior at the city council meeting.”
Conley Ulich praised Schaar’s work on the planning commission. “I am very grateful for Regan. She has given her blood, sweat and tears. She did a great job. She understood the need for a specific plan for the Civic Center,” the council member said, adding that she expected to see Schaar return to civic duty.
Stack was the treasurer for Conley Ulich’s successful run for a council seat in 2008 and has professional experience with various financial institutions and software companies.
“While working at Oracle and Treasury Services. Inc. I worked with implementation teams where group discussion and consensus were important to finishing any project. Additionally, I believe that clear communication is important to achieving success in any endeavor,” the panel applicant wrote.
“Beside making informed decisions on residential and commercial building projects that are good for Malibu environmentally, socially and economically…the changing demographic of our community also requires the planning commission to ensure that all of the residents needs are met,” Stack said.
The face of the planning commission may change much more after April when two of the termed-out council members’ appointments will probably be replaced.
Planning Chair Ed Gillespie, who was appointed by Mayor Sharon Barovsky, will leave if he is successful in his bid for a city council seat. Councilmember Andy Stern’s appointment, former Councilmember Joan House, may also be replaced upon Stern’s departure.
Councilmember Jefferson Wagner’s appointment, city council candidate John Mazza, will go if he is elected to the council.
That might lead to a majority or more of new panelists in the weeks after April 13.

School Board to Disclose Latest Collective Bargaining Agreement and Its Impact on Budget Issues

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:40:00 +0000

• District Cannot Call May Tax Vote an ‘Emergency’ Measure But Gives No Explanation of Why Not

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

At its Feb. 18 meeting in Santa Monica, the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District board of education, struggling to cope with a $14 million deficit, will discuss the terms of a collective bargaining agreement contract tentatively reached with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 99 and the district covering the period beginning July 1, 2008, and ending June 30, 2010, according to the meeting agenda.
The agreement includes a complex array of what are represented as cost-saving measures, ranging from a five-day reduction in the school year for the next two years—anticipated to save the district $2 million per year, to early retirement incentives for district employees.
The proposed agreement still needs to be ratified by the unions that represent district teachers and employees. SEIU’s membership vote is expected to be completed before March 4, 2010.
Salaries would be frozen as part of the agreement, but health and welfare benefits would not be touched, according to a staff report.
The plan counts on passage of a $198 per property parcel tax in May. If the tax fails to pass, negotiations would have to be reopened, and additional layoffs are predicted.
Administrators are also reportedly taking cuts. Superintendent Tim Cuneo, who has been under fire recently for receiving one of the highest salaries in the area for his past, has stated that he will be affected by the proposed furlough days, which will result in cutting approximately six days of pay and approximately $5000 in benefits from his $220,000 salary.
At the same meeting, the board of education is scheduled to discuss removing the word “emergency” from the language of the proposed parcel tax measure. Instead, the measure will be called “a special temporary tax,” rather than an emergency tax.

Preliminary Hearing Date for City Staffer Charged in Fatal Hit-and-Run Is Continued

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:38:00 +0000

BY BILL KOENEKER

City of Malibu employee Robert S. Sanchez, the man accused in a fatal hit-and- run on Pacific Coast Highway, was in court last week when the hearing date to set a preliminary hearing date was continued to March 11, according to the district attorney’s office.
Sanchez, who is out on $100,000 bail, is charged with hitting two bicyclists, who were participating in an organized ride on PCH last July, killing Rodrigo “Rod” Armas, 45, and injuring his son Christian, 14, while driving under the influence.
Sanchez has pled not guilty to three counts, which include gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence, and failure to stop after an accident involving an injury.
According to law enforcement reports, Sanchez allegedly fled the scene of the accident and was subsequently found hiding, at which point, he was picked up and taken into custody.
Sanchez is a records clerk in the planning department of the City of Malibu.

Publisher’s Notebook

noreply@blogger.com (MalibuSurfsideNews) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:34:00 +0000

• Mountains Mettle •

ANNE SOBLE

Tuesday’s news about the rescue of six hikers and a dog in the Zuma Trail area provided an example of local search and rescue work at its best. When someone is known to be in a specific area in an established time frame, crews not only will nearly always find their subjects but can bring them out of the toughest circumstances swiftly and safely. That’s a far cry from needle-in-a-haystack searches where there are no specific clues as to location and time for a missing subject. The Santa Monica Mountains are like an archipelago of volcano craters in that someone or something can disappear in an area of tall and thick chaparral and remain unseen until stumbled upon, most often by accident, when a hiker cuts through terrain that may have been untrod by humans for weeks, months, or even years.
This became evident when the Malibu Mountain Rescue Team, looking for two missing hikers and their dog, encountered four other hikers in distress that no one knew were out there. These four had built a campfire, an act of reckless disregard if there had not been sufficient rain recently, and no one knows how long they might have had to endure the elements until they were sighted. This is why immediate response is critical whenever someone is reported missing anywhere in the mountains. Waiting one day, two days, or a week, geometrically increases the odds of search failure. Someone who might have entered a hollow for protection, or fallen onto the canyon bottom, could be passed over repeatedly and not be found until the rescue effort becomes one of recovery, a distinction that portends the ominous.
All of the hikers in the Tuesday morning rescues had gone into areas where they had to be helicoptered out. The chopper crew of Air Rescue Five is awesome to watch as it maneuvers the craft in spaces that defy possibility and positions gurneys and lines in ways that make Cirque du Soleil routines look like backyard monkey bar climbing. At least the hikers had all adhered to the cardinal rule of not going into the backcountry alone. However much one might seek solitary communion with nature, the buddy system is imperative for those who plan to leave established trails and venture into the extraordinary wilderness of the Malibu hinterlands.
One can park at a trailhead and find a personal Pandora, but to do so without a companion and having left word as to general time and location of departure is to invite unnecessary danger that could even put canyon trekkers beyond the reach of rescue teams as adept as the local ones. But accidents can happen despite due caution and preparedness. When these mishaps occur, there is the assurance of knowing that there are trained personnel who have the ability to take on the Malibu mountains on their terms