the current

Month: May 2018

  • Malibu’s First Mayor to Council: “Time to Review City Staff Functions and Values”

    Malibu’s First Mayor to Council: “Time to Review City Staff Functions and Values”

    Malibu’s first Mayor, Walt Keller is clearly unhappy with the way the City currently functions and found it necessary to communicate his concerns to Council members (and cc’d me) directly by email earlier today:

    Dear Councilmembers,

    When our city began, we had something like 5 staff members and a population of around 13,000 (admittedly, we contracted major functions out to Wildan Assoc.)… Now our staff numbers over 100 and the population is still 13,000.

    Don’t you think it is time for a review? A review of staff functions and value?

    Do we need such s large bureaucracy, with numerous “Directors” and no one to answer the phone?

    I urge you to hire a consultant to review Malibu’s needs and compare us to similar cities.

    Please request bids from an expert such as Len Wood, who counseled us when we began, or retired city managers from similar cities. Mr. Wood is still around at 310-832-5652, or see his web site at www.trainingshoppe.com.

    Did I help create a monster ?

    Walt Keller

  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Planning Commissioner Uhring Seeks – And Finds – Answers RE: The Malibu Beach Inn Crosswalk Controversy

    LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Planning Commissioner Uhring Seeks – And Finds – Answers RE: The Malibu Beach Inn Crosswalk Controversy

    What began as possible one of the worst traffic gridlock conditions on PCH this town has ever seen during Spring Break, has turned into a controversy uncovering the questionable ethics practiced at City Hall, supporting the rumors of back door deals and preferential treatment to special interests.

    Residents flooded my inbox with inquiries as to what was causing the gridlock in the morning hours of March 8th and as I immediately inquired with CalTrans as to who approved and was responsible for these projects. What we then learned this particular project was one of five total, most of them run by private developers, and all schedules were approved by Malibu City Manager Reva Feldman.

    Yet none – that’s right NONE – passed through the proper vetting and/or Malibu City protocol not to mention completely circumventing the residents right to due process.

    Upon further examination by Planning Commissioner Steve Uhring, he discovered even more jaw dropping, if not all out negligence by the City prompting him to address the Planning Commission in April and now issue this letter to inform to the Community:

    Dear Cece,

    I was intrigued at how quickly the new crosswalk being built just east of the Malibu Pier got approved, so I asked the City to explain its involvement in this project. In response, City Management told me:

    1. The City does not have a policy to review these PCH projects, so the City had no involvement.
    2. This is a California Coastal Commission project and there was nothing the City could do.
    3. The project was controlled by Caltrans, so it was out of the City’s hands..

    After a few phone calls it became clear the above answers were not accurate and in fact the City was an integral party to getting this crosswalk approved.

    A call with the Coastal Commission confirmed the Commission’s policy to coordinate with the City of Malibu on Commission’s enforcement actions, to insure the proposed action is mutually agreeable. The Coastal Commission gave Malibu the option of not agreeing with the crosswalk or delaying approval until the project had been vetted through the standard Malibu approval processes. Instead City leadership stepped aside, and approved the crosswalk.

    A phone call with Caltrans tells a similar story. An engineering report submitted to Caltrans suggested that a yet to be approved offsite parking plan was a fait accompli and used an unproven analysis of valet traffic to justify the crosswalk.  According to the Caltrans Transportation Office Chief the city was consulted on the crosswalk and knew about the bogus engineering report.  City leadership ignored the facts and gave the project its blessing.

    A  December 18th Planning Commission Staff report warned that constructing the crosswalk without the City’s review and oversight would allow the project to avoid the need to get a required city variance.  And that is exactly what happened.

    Everyone I have discussed this with asks the same question …Why?  Why would the city provide this crosswalk preferential treatment, subverting the required Malibu review and approval processes?

    I’ve asked, but people in City Hall no longer talk  to me.   So if you manage to  get an answer, please let me know.

    Steve Uhring

     

     

     

  • Planning Commission to Hear Proposed Short Term Vacation Rentals Ordinance

    Planning Commission to Hear Proposed Short Term Vacation Rentals Ordinance

    Do you know who your neighbors are?
    Corporate greed, NOT responsible home share hosts are to blame for destroying the fabric of our community. There are over 70 homes alone on Malibu Rd. that are full time vacation rentals pushing out long term affordable renters and valuable community members.
    Malibu is essentially turning into one big ‘hotel’ community.
    Monday May 7, at City Hall, 6:30 p.m. the Malibu City Planning Commission will hear the community’s input and review the proposed Short Term Vacation Rentals Ordinance.
    Are you ready to take your residential area back?
    Malibu resident and realtor James Weekley, BRE# 01996821, provided The Local with these graphics detailing the staggering growth in the vacation rentals industry in Malibu and with LA City passing some new guidelines for short term rentals, it opens the doors for these corporations to move their income producing properties to Malibu, already overrun by corporate entities scooping up properties and turning them into hotels.
    Total of active vacation rentals listings in Malibu. Graphic provided by James Weekley.
    There are responsible home share hosts managing their properties by being present on site, however, unless guidelines and laws are put in place to regulate and ensure properties are managed by owner-operators who actually occupy the premises, Malibu will be overrun by corporate run vacation rentals and completely lose the quiet, rural coastal beach town vibe we all moved here for.
    According to Airdna, LLC as of 5-3-18, they have listed 585 active rentals in Malibu with 86% of those being
    the entire home.
    Once summer hits, predictions are that it’s possible Malibu will reach 1000 active rentals in 2018 and growing each year.
     If you cannot make the meeting in person at City Hall, please email your concerns to kstecko@malibucity.org and include the Agenda Item No 5C in your email subject line.
    Vacation rentals are growing at a rapid rate. Graphic provided by James Weekley.
  • Wildlife Bridge Hits Design Phase

    Wildlife Bridge Hits Design Phase

    Finally, good news for wildlife and wildlife advocates.

    The 101 Wildlife Bridge is getting closer to creating a safe wildlife passage connecting two important wildlife habitats.

    The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced May 4th that the Project Report and the Environmental Document have been completed for the wildlife crossing at Liberty Canyon Road, over Highway 10, marking a major milestone for the initiative.

    The project now moves into final design and engineering (the “blueprints” phase) and is slated to begin construction in late 2020.

    The planned wildlife crossing at Liberty Canyon is a public/private partnership between Caltrans, the National Park Service (NPS), the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, the California State Coastal Conservancy and The Santa Monica Mountains Fund.

    The project responds to more than two decades of NPS research on the conservation needs of L.A.’s mountain lions and ecosystems and advances long-standing local efforts to establish habitat connectivity for wildlife across U.S. Highway 101.

    “The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority applaud Caltrans’ work in completing this environmental review, a critical phase in making a safe passage for wildlife across the 101 and delivering on our 30 plus years of work to preserve habitat linkages,” said Rorie Skei, Chief Deputy Director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

    The public support for this wildlife crossing, which will potentially be the largest of its type in the world, the first of its kind in California, and which will serve as a visionary model for urban wildlife conservation, has proven unprecedented.

    A total of 8,859 comments were received in response to the draft Environmental Document, with only 15 opposed. Comments in favor came from a diverse group of constituents, including a letter from the eight previous mayors of the City of Agoura Hills, Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, the California Turtle and Tortoise Club, actress Carolyn Hennesy (of Cougar Town fame), and the Monrovia High School Environmental Club.

    A collaboration by experts, public agencies, conservation organizations and community partners, along with public input, proved key to achieving this significant milestone. Ongoing active support and participation from the early stages of the project came from elected officials such as California State Senator Fran Pavley, (retired) and California Assembly member Richard Bloom, along with the newly elected California State Senator Henry Stern. “A project this unique and of such considerable size and scope always has a wide diversity of opinions and ideas—this process has helped create the best possible solution for area wildlife that also meets the needs of the local community,” said Senator Fran Pavley. “We thank everybody who participated in the public process, which ultimately made this project stronger.”

    This milestone was also completed as a result of funding from NWF’s #SaveLACougars fundraising campaign, which also enjoys widespread support with donations from across the country and the globe. “Our sincerest thanks to the more than 1,500 people and organizations who have contributed to the #SaveLACougars campaign to date, such as the California State Coastal Conservancy, Annenberg Foundation and Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which helped fund this integral environmental document,” said Beth Pratt-Bergstrom, California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, who leads the #SaveLACougars campaign. “When we started this campaign a few years ago, the crossing was just an idea and had no funding attached to the project. With the generous donations of our supporters, we have raised over $3.7 million, have achieved every fundraising target to date and know this trend will continue as we work to achieve our goal of $10 million by the end of this year to keep Caltrans on schedule.”

    #SaveLACougars is primarily seeking private philanthropic dollars, although public dollars earmarked for conservation have been, and will continue to be, sought. The campaign is not seeking to divert state transportation or other taxpayer funds from needs such as schools, hospitals, bridges, or road repairs.