City Of Malibu: City Manager Updates May 28, 2021

Press release from the City of Malibu:

May 28, 2021

The City has continued its efforts to separate Malibu’s local public schools from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SM-MUSD). The City made its case in front of the County Committee on School District Organization at a virtual preliminary hearing on Saturday, April 17. View video of the meeting. Hundreds of Malibu residents, educators, students, and parents shared their views with the Committee in support of an independent Malibu Unified School District (MUSD), either through live, written or recorded public comments. At the conclusion of the meeting, the County Committee continued the hearing to a date to be determined in June 2021. As of May 27, a date still has not been set. 

County Committee Regular Meeting - Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 9:30 AM. The virtual meeting information is available on the LACOE website. Community members are encouraged to sign up to speak at the meeting or submit public comment in advance to voice their support for MUSD and encourage the County Committee to set the date for the continued preliminary hearing on the City’s petition to form an independent school district. 

Sign up for the City's e-notifications to receive updates and stay informed as the separation process continues. For more information, visit the City's webpage.

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

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 May 25, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH) confirmed 10 new deaths and 191 new cases of COVID-19. Other key updates from the County’s COVID-19 Dashboard as of May 25, 2021 include the following:

Live Fuel Moisture (LFM) is an important component in determining critical fire danger and Red Flag Conditions. LFM is defined as the percentage of water content to dry matter content in live vegetation. Live Fuel Moisture can be as high as 200%, and 60% is considered critical. The Los Angeles County Fire Department Forestry Division conducts sampling approximately every two weeks and posts the results on their website. LFM was last measured on May 15 and is currently 91%, a reduction of approximately 7% since it was last measured. LFM is currently about the critical marker, however, it is approximately 35% lower than this time last year. 

Property owners are urged to complete their mandatory brush clearance by the June 1 deadline to help protect their homes, families and neighborhoods and to avoid fines. Annual brush clearance is mandatory for all properties in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, which includes the entire City of Malibu. These measures help create the “defensible space” that firefighters need to effectively protect life, property and the environment and to protect their own safety. Properties with good defensible space may require no or minimal intervention during a wildfire and stand the best chance of survival. For more information on how to complete brush clearance and get a brush clearance inspection, including a list of vendors, maps, a video and more, visit the County webpage. For questions or concerns related to the Brush Clearance Program, contact local Fire Stations, which are listed on the City website.

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 to help residents protect their homes against flying embers, a major cause of homes igniting during wildfires. There are simple and often inexpensive ways to harden your home from the millions of flying embers that can travel up to two miles out ahead of a firefront during wind-driven wildfires such as the Woolsey Fire. To schedule an appointment or for help with wildfire preparedness, contact Chris at Firesafety@malibucity.org or 310-456-2489, ext. 387 or visit the Fire Safety webpage.

City parks will be open for normal operating hours throughout the Memorial Day Weekend, including Monday, May 31:

The City has been coordinating with the Sheriff’s Department, Beaches and Harbors, State Parks, MRCA and CHP on annual measures to protect public safety on PCH and canyon roads, beaches and trails. The City has been putting out messaging to the public asking visitors to be mindful of the community by properly disposing of all trash; not engaging in dangerous or loud driving; and watching for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers pulling in and out of beach parking. 

Every summer, the City funds the Sheriff’s Beach Team, which started early due to the loosening of COVID restrictions. The beach patrols are an important way to address illegal alcohol consumption on the beaches, thereby reducing drunk driving on PCH and canyon roads. The MRCA is doubling park patrols. State Parks will have seven-day coverage. Beaches and Harbors increased staff for parking, maintenance, and trash. CHP will continue to implement its Street Racing Task Force and is putting out two additional units for PCH traffic control. The City requested additional patrols by the Sheriff’s and the Volunteers on Patrol. 

Please report street racing to the CHP at 323-259-3200. Report drunk drivers to 9-1-1. Sign up for the City’s emergency and traffic alerts on the website (scroll to “Alert Center”).  

The City of Malibu, in partnership with UCLA Health, will be hosting a Blood Drive at City Hall on Friday, June 4 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM in the Multipurpose Room. Blood supplies and donations have been sharply reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. But blood is still needed every day for surgeries, emergencies and medical procedures. Please register in advance for an appointment online (click on "Blood Drive" and enter "Malibu" in the zip code box). Eligible donors will receive a gift card, and select blood donations will come with a free COVID-19 antibody test. For further information, please call 310-567-1720. 

Due to COVID-19, the City’s regular schedule of ongoing CERT training courses is temporarily shifting to a hybrid model where students take the classroom portion online in the safety of their own homes. Registration is now open for the online classroom portion. Upon completion of the online section, participants will be eligible to take the in-person training portion when it is safe to do so. CERT training includes instruction in disaster preparedness, fire suppression, disaster medical, search and rescue, disaster psychology and terrorism. For more information or to register, email PublicSafety@malibucity.org or call 310-456-2489, ext. 368 or visit the CERT webpage.

The Fire Rebuild team is available 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. 

The Planning Commission will hold a virtual public hearing on Monday, June 7, 2021 at 6:30 PM to consider the environmental document, code amendments, and entitlements for the proposed Sea View Hotel project and make a recommendation to the City Council. The proposed project is a 39-room hotel with amenities including a spa, restaurant, private decks and a rooftop deck with a pool on 51,776 square feet on two commercially developed parcels Pacific Coast Highway near the Malibu Pier. For more project information, including the Notice of Hearing, visit the project page. The staff report, viewing and commenting instructions for the hearing will be posted prior to the meeting on the website.

The California Coastal Commission (CCC) on May 13 allowed the City of Malibu to advance its efforts to restrict environmentally harmful rodenticides, herbicides and pesticides to protect wildlife, habitats, pets and people in City limits. The City has been striving for years to eliminate environmentally harmful poisons from City limits, and has taken numerous measures to restrict their use, in partnership with Poison Free Malibu, a local non-profit dedicated to eliminating such poisons from the environment in Malibu. Prior to the CCC approval, the City’s ability to enact more powerful restrictions these chemicals was hampered by existing state law that preempts the ability of municipalities in California to create laws prohibiting the use of state-regulated chemicals. The City Council will consider the modifications to the City’s LCPA on June 28. The staff report and viewing and commenting instructions will be posted prior to the meeting on the website. For additional details, see the press release.

Reminder: The City of Malibu has a Street Vending Ordinance that requires street vendors (including food trucks) to be permitted by the City. The ordinance also limits where street vending can occur. Currently, the City has issued three street vending permits located in an area just west of Trancas Canyon Road. State law prohibits all street vending on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH).  In an effort to inform the food trucks and to reduce unsafe conditions, the City has posted flyers at strategic locations. Anyone who sees vendors operating illegally or in an unsafe manner are asked to contact the Malibu Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station at 310-456-6652. 

There are no approved event permits occurring in the upcoming week.  

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.