City Of Malibu: City Manager Updates September 17, 2021

Press release from the City of Malibu:

September 17, 2021

The public hearing on the City’s petition to form an independent Malibu Unified School District takes place Saturday, September 18 at 9:00 AM. Community members will have the opportunity to speak and voice their support for the City’s petition directly to the County Committee on School District Organization. The virtual meeting log in information is posted on the City’s website. Plan to log on to the meeting, speak and have your opinions heard. For more background information, facts and FAQs, visit the City’s webpage.

Camping Ordinance Amendment - The City Council on September 13 unanimously approved on first reading an amendment to the City's camping ordinance to make it enforceable by the Sheriff's Department within the constrains of the Martin v. Boise court decision. The camping ordinance prohibits people from camping on City-owned public property, any vacant or undeveloped private property and in areas deemed a high-risk fire area due to the proximity to the wildland-urban interface. The amendment provides a valuable legal tool to prohibit people from living unhoused in areas that pose an extreme fire danger, thereby reducing the chances of a fire start caused by a cooking or warming fire, or other means such as smoking. The City Attorney and the Malibu-Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station gave their full support of the amendment and are confident that it would withstand legal challenges. The item will return to the Council for final approval on September 27.  Watch video of the meeting. For more information, see the staff report. 

Clearing Homeless Encampments - The Public Safety staff worked with the LA County Sheriff’s Department Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST) Team on August 11 on an initial assessment of encampments in City limits. HOST Team members engaged homeless individuals, explained the purpose of their outreach and provided them with fire danger information. From this assessment, seven encampment sites were identified for clean-up in the near future. Public Safety staff worked with California State Parks and private property owners on the clean-up of the encampments under the Malibu Creek bridge on PCH on August 26, where three fires recently broke out. Public Safety staff worked with a private property owner and the Sheriffs HOST Team to help clear an encampment in eastern Malibu on August 28.

Local Emergency - The City Council voted unanimously on August 23 to declare a local emergency and establish a program for reducing the risk of fires associated with unhoused people engaged in unpermitted and unregulated camping in City limits. See more details.

Amending the Nuisance Code - The City Council unanimously approved amending the City’s Nuisance Code to strengthen the City’s ability to address hazards posed by homeless encampments in Malibu during the August 9 Council meeting. See more details. 

Homeless Count - Public safety staff coordinated a local Homeless Count on Tuesday, August 31with members of the City’s Homelessness Task Force, Homelessness Working Group and Public Safety Commission. The data collected will be used to assist homeless outreach efforts and HOST Team efforts to clear encampments. 

Staff continues to work with homeowners to rebuild. Here are the current rebuild statistics: 

With the re-opening of City Hall, the City has resumed public counter hours. Appointments are not necessary, but can be made on the webpage or by phone. The Senior Center is closed out of an abundance of caution due to the COVID-19 Delta surge. 

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY DEPARTMENT - Appointments: 310-456-2489, ext. x390Permits: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM -12:00 PM, and 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM for walk-ins and appointments. Other times by appointment only.Building Plan Check: Tuesday and Thursday, 8:00 AM -12:00 PM, for walk-ins and appointments. Other times by appointment only.Environmental Health: Tuesday and Thursday, 8:00 AM -12:00 PM, for walk-ins and appointments. Other times by appointment only.Geology/Coastal: Monday and Wednesday 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM, for walk-ins and appointments. Other times by appointment only.

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT - Public counter temporarily closed. Call for appointments: 310-456-2489, ext. 391 

PLANNING DEPARTMENT - Appointments: 310-456-2489, ext. 485 Public Counter: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM for walk-ins. Other times by appointment only.Biology Counter: Tuesdays, 9:00 AM -11:00 AM. Other times by appointment only. 

The Fire Rebuild team is available Monday through Friday at City Hall for complimentary one-on-one consultations about any fire rebuild project. Contact Aakash Shah at ashah@malibucity.org to set an appointment for phone or online meeting. For ideas about how to get started with your project, as well as numerous handouts, forms and resources, visit the Rebuild webpage.

City staff continues to monitor and respond to the pandemic by participating in regular briefings and conference calls with partner agencies and issuing alerts and notifications regarding changes to the situation. On September 14, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH) confirmed 37 new deaths and 1,930 new cases of COVID-19. Other key updates from the County’s COVID-19 Dashboard as of September 14, 2021 include the following:

The City tracks Live Fuel Moisture (LFM) as an important part of determining current fire conditions for our community. LFM is the percentage of water content to dry matter in live vegetation. As of September 15, LFM in the Santa Monica Mountains is at 58%, up from 57% on September 1. This change is due to cooler temperatures and a deeper marine layer over the last two weeks. LFM can be as high as 200%, and 60% is considered critical and can cause extreme wildfire behavior. The Los Angeles County Fire Department Forestry Division conducts sampling approximately every two weeks and posts the results on their website. For current and forecast fire weather conditions and warnings for the Malibu area, visit the National Weather Service, Los Angeles/Oxnard website (type "Malibu" or "90265" in the search box).

National Preparedness Month events in September 

September is National Preparedness Month, and the Public Safety Office will be hosting events all month to encourage community members to prepare for wildfires, earthquakes and other disasters. All events and participation instructions will be promoted individually on the City website, social media, Nextdoor and e-notifications. 

The City will provide additional free virtual trainings for Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) for seniors and at-risk adults on Wednesday, October 13, 10:30 AM, and Thursday, October 21, 3:00 PM. A free backup battery is available to participating Malibu residents who complete the training, a quiz and provide a copy of their photo ID. Limit one per household. Only 22% of the free backup batteries have been distributed. The training is open to all, but the backup batteries are available only to Malibu residents. RSVP for the free virtual training online.

The Fire Safety Liaison will teach residents about the dangers of flying embers that can rain down on a home and property during a wildfire, a leading cause of homes igniting and burning down during wildfires Thursday, September 23, 3:30 PM. If these embers land in receptive fuels or become lodged in something easily ignited on or near a house, the home may be in jeopardy of burning. There are often simple and inexpensive ways to harden a home against flying embers, and taking action ahead of time can substantially reduce the ember threat. Residents can RSVP on the webpage for the free virtual training.

The City provided its first disaster preparedness training to Spanish-speaking residents and workers in Malibu on September 11 at the Malibu Labor Exchange, in partnership with the Malibu Foundation, the Labor exchange and Pepperdine University. Nearly 50 people attended the free event, and learned about emergency kits, home fire safety, basic bleeding control, heat illness and registered for the City’s new Spanish Language Nixle emergency alerts. Ensuring that non-English speaking people who live or work in Malibu have access to the City’s emergency information and emergency preparedness efforts is an important part of the City’s whole-community approach to emergency planning. 

The City has launched Spanish-language emergency alerts for Spanish-speaking people who live or work in Malibu using the City's Nixle alerting service. Spanish speakers can text “MalibuAlerta” to 888-777 and they will be registered to receive emergency alerts via text message in Spanish about evacuations, wildfires, earthquakes and other disasters. Residents or businesses who employee Spanish-speaking people are encouraged to share this information with them. During an emergency, the City will send Spanish translations of emergency information by text message to the subscribers, including a link to more detailed emergency information on the City's webpage. Ensuring that non-English speaking people who live or work in Malibu have access to the City’s emergency information and emergency preparedness efforts is an important part of the City’s whole-community approach to emergency planning, and is required under California law. 

All residents, employees, business and organization leaders, students and other Malibu community members are urged to attend the annual Community Fire Season Briefing being held virtually on Thursday September 23 at 6:00 PM. LA County Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Drew Smith, a Fire Behavior Analyst, will give a presentation on local Live Fuel Moisture, expected weather patterns, and what that means for fire conditions in Malibu. The meeting can be viewed live or later on-demand, and questions can be submitted in advance or during the briefing. RSVP on the webpage.  

Preparedness Month ends with the City's annual Public Safety Expo on Saturday, October 2, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. At the Expo, you can attend trainings, including Crisis First Aid, see presentations, ask questions, find volunteer opportunities, learn about emergency preparedness services and products and more. Participating organizations include public safety and emergency response partner agencies, volunteer organizations and emergency services and products vendors. RSVP for classes online.

As part of Malibu’s ongoing efforts toward community-wide wildfire preparedness, the City continues to offer its no-cost Home Ignition Zone Assessment Program with Fire Safety Liaison Chris Brossard. Chris will visit your home and give you a checklist of simple, often inexpensive steps you can take to harden your home against flying embers, a major cause of homes igniting during wind-driven wildfires like the Woolsey Fire. To schedule an appointment or for help with wildfire preparedness, email Firesafety@malibucity.org or call 310-456-2489, ext. 387 or visit the Fire Safety webpage. 

On September 8, the  California Coastal Commission granted its staff a one-year extension to hold a hearing on the City’s proposed Malibu Local Coastal Program (LCP) amendment for its Hosted Short Term Rental (STR) Ordinance. During the next few months, City staff will work with CCC staff on addressing any suggested modifications to ensure that an amendment is brought to a hearing in the near future. Prior to the hearing, a Notice of Public Hearing will be published in a local newspaper and a CCC staff report will be available on the CCC's website. For more information, visit the City’s STR webpage. 

On  September 8, the Planning Commission held a public hearing to consider the Malibu Inn Motel project environmental document and project entitlements. After deliberations, the Commission continued the item to the Regular Planning Commission meeting on Monday, November 1, 2021 and directed staff to bring back a supplemental report clarifying the project’s required and proposed floor area ratio. The staff report will be available on the website prior to the meeting. Based on the required entitlements, the project only requires a hearing before Planning Commission because no code amendments are required. The project is subject to a local appeal period and is within the Appeal Jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission; therefore the project could be appealed to the City Council and/or California Coastal Commission. If the project is not appealed, the Planning Commission's decision will be final. For more information about the project, visit the webpage. 

On September 13, the City Council held a hearing and the first reading of Ordinance No. 493, which will restrict overnight parking along the west side of Trancas Canyon Road from PCH to Tapia Drive, a location where vehicles are observed to be parking for extended periods of time. The second reading of the ordinance will be held on September 27. A Coastal Development Permit (CDP) is required prior to posting signs and enforcing the ordinance. A hearing to consider the CDP is tentatively scheduled for October 2021, with details to be announced. 

The City's adopted Local Coastal Program Amendment (LCPA) pertaining to a citywide prohibition of pesticides is in effect as of September 8, 2021. The prohibition is part of the City's efforts to protect wildlife, habitats, people and pets from toxic poisons. This allows the City to create a regulatory framework to restrict the use of environmentally harmful pesticides, rodenticides, and insecticides throughout the City. In order to create an ordinance to implement and enforce a citywide prohibition of pesticides, the City Council initiated an amendment to the LCP Local Implementation Plan on June 28, 2021. Staff is in the process of drafting the new ordinance which will be presented at a series of public meetings, which will be announced on the website, social media and e-notifications. For more information, visit the webpage. 

On September 13, 2021, the City Council held a public hearing on the Sea View Hotel Project and adopted the environmental document, code amendments, and project entitlements. For amendments to the Resolutions and Ordinance, see the City Council Actions. The second reading of the Ordinance will be held on September 27. Once the ordinance is adopted, staff will submit the Local Coastal Program Amendment (LCPA), including the Development Agreement, to the California Coastal Commission (CCC) for review and certification. The corollary amendments to the Zoning Ordinance and General Plan will not become effective until the LCPA is certified by the CCC. In addition, since the approval of the entitlements are dependent on the code amendments, once the LCPA is certified, the City will file a Notice of Final Local Action on the entitlements to the CCC, at which point, the project will be appealable to the CCC. For more information, visit the project webpage. 

The City of Malibu is launching a new mandatory organic waste recycling program to help Malibu businesses and residents reduce their carbon footprint and the impacts of climate change. The program also meets mandatory requirements established under California Senate Bill 1383. Businesses are required to sign up for service starting October 1, 2021 and residents will begin services automatically on January 1, 2022. To learn more about what to expect as a business and resident, visit the webpage. 

The 2021 Malibu Triathlon will take place on Saturday, September 25 and Sunday, September 26 in the Zuma Beach area. The City expects a significant number of visitors to the area on both days between 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Traffic on Pacific Coast Highway will be impacted, with travel reduced to one lane in each direction in two locations from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Saturday, September 25 - PCH between Heathercliff Road and Deer Creek Road. Sunday, September 26 - PCH between Heathercliff Road and Mulholland Highway. For more information visit the Malibu Triathlon website or e-mail Info@MalibuTri.com.

The Community Services Department will offer a series of free Poetry Workshops with Malibu Poet Laureate Ann Buxie. The first workshop, Caffeinated Verse, will be held virtually through Zoom on Saturday, September 18 at 11:00 AM. Carol Ciliberti Smith will be the featured reader, followed by an open mic format. To RSVP or for more information, visit the Poetry webpage or call 310-456-2489, ext. 350.

Swim lessons with the City's Aquatics Programs start on Saturday, September 18 at the Malibu Community Swimming Pool. Lessons are available for youth ages 3-14 and will take place every Saturday through October 30. Skill levels and times are available on the Aquatics webpage.

The Community Services Department will offer Youth Soccer Programs for youth ages 2-7 beginning on Saturday, September 18. The programs are part of the Community Services Department’s Youth Sports offerings at Malibu Bluffs Park. For more information or to register, visit the registration webpage or call 310-456-2489, ext. 239. 

Kids in grades K-12 are invited to submit their original artwork to be featured in printed bookmarks as part of the LA County Library’s 42nd Annual Bookmark Contest. The winning submission will be printed on 88,000 bookmarks distributed at the LA County Library’s 85 branches. For more information and to submit designs, visit the contest webpage.  

The City of Malibu was awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). The City has received the award for 20 consecutive years. See the City's 2019-2020 Report, past reports and other financial reports.  

The non-profit organization Project O has certified the City of Malibu as a “Blue City” through the Blue City Network (BCN) in recognition of Malibu’s commitment to healthy waterways and oceans. This certification is based on measurable actions through policy and conservancy to protect the ocean and waterways. Learn more.

Construction continues at the Morning View location. The contractor will also begin working at the other locations per the project plans and specifications. Work will include temporary lane closures with traffic control and flaggers. 

The contractor has completed the installation of speed humps on Birdview Avenue and all pavement repairs and crack seal work. The contractor will continue with slurry work next week. The estimated completion for the project is October 2021.

There are five events permitted between September 17 and 23, 2021. The City posts a weekly report of approved event permits on the website. To sign up to receive an email or text message when an updated Event Permit Report is posted, visit the e-notifications page (scroll down to the "Special Event Permit Report" category).

The City maintains a robust e-notification system so the community can stay informed about all the City’s activities. Sign up to receive messages by text or email on the City’s e-notifications page. 

For questions or comments, contact the City Manager at SMcClary@MalibuCity.org.

See Past City Manager Updates 

This press release was produced by the City of Malibu. The views expressed here are the author’s own.