Is a consultant really needed to hear Malibu residents?i

Feeling unusually magnanimous toward the forever faltering governance of Malibu, I have a few suggestions concerning the proposed agreement for community outreach concerning several city owned vacant lots, item 6D before the City Council.

The faltering I must first note is due to the last several City Council majorities being dominated by pro-development realtors and political neophytes, combined with the hardened arteries of a bureaucracy warped by a past city manager.

As for the proposed outreach, I feel it is what the council and staff should be doing as a requisite responsibility inherent in their positions, be it elected or appointed, and not to have to immoderately rely on consultants, certainly not to be a buffer between them and residents, and not at up to $350 an hour charged by Tripepi Smith in a sweet $200,000 plus contract.

And this to elicit the opinions of a dwindling resident population concerning the orphaned vacant lots, which if anybody cared to listen have been aired numerous times in the past in various forums and in the local social media.

Several also have been the subject of past planning and development studies contracted by Malibu for not modest consultant fees, now sitting on dusty shelves somewhere, and are available. I recently reviewed several.

These have included developing select parcels for needed affordable housing for those who serve Malibu, such as teachers and first responders, maybe even a few City Hall employees; to be sure the housing be low rise and attractive, designed desirably by local architects. This might also forestall the State taking threatened action, while easing the daily crush of PCH commuters.

Also suggested have been both market rate and subsidized housing for Malibu seniors who want to sell their existing homes but stay in the city. Further recommendations included community gardens, passive and active playgrounds, a skateboard park, an outdoor theatre, public art, and to be sure, a few to be left as open space, wildlife preserves and view plains.

What a few residents repeatedly requested is that the Malibu move forward on several of the suggestions – that was ten years ago –and specifically not to continue hiring consultants to deflect the public’s frustration with a floundering City Hall, while placating special interests.