Malibu council hears Memorial Day report

https://www.malibusurfsidenews.com/p/news-city/malibu-council-hears-memorial-day-report

Michele Willer-Allred, Staff Reporter9:15 am PDT May 28, 2020   

Parking violations were the big-ticket item over Memorial Day weekend in Malibu.

More than 1,100 people were issued citations by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Volunteers on Patrol, according to a report on holiday activity by City Manager Reva Feldman to the City Council on Tuesday.

During the video conference meeting, officials reflected on a quieter-than-normal Memorial Day weekend, but did say a lot of work must be done to ready the city as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

Feldman told the council that Los Angeles County reopened beach parking areas in response to crowds the previous two weeks. 

“Having the beach lots open this week helped us tremendously from the crowds not having places to park,” said Feldman.

She also heard anecdotally from the Sheriff’s Department that beach use was lighter than previous Memorial Day weekends.

Feldman said the city hired extra deputies for the weekend, funded by Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s office.

The Sheriff’s Department’s Volunteers on Patrol were also out in force for two weekends straight, issuing 1,165 parking tickets over the three-day holiday weekend.

About 40 workers from the county’s Disaster Operation Center also served as goodwill ambassadors, making sure people knew about social distancing rules.

Feldman credited city public works crews for picking up trash throughout the holiday weekend.

“We have just been seeing a ton of trash, much more than usual and they are doing their very best to stay up with it,” said Feldman. Caltrans typically picks up trash on PCH, she added, but city workers were called in to help.

Mayor Karen Farrer weighed in, saying she was appreciative of hearing no news about issues at the beach.

“It was a lot quieter than the weekend before and I think all the coordination with different state and local agencies and the first weekend with (the sheriff’s) beach team working, it really made a huge difference,” Farrer said.

Feldman said city parks are also open on a limited basis, with facilities, playgrounds and fields still closed. The pool at Malibu High School also remains closed.

She said that as the county starts lifting restrictions, the city will be working on some different paths to assist businesses and restaurants as they move forward with reopening.

Regarding opening City Hall, she said the county won’t allow gatherings over a certain number of people. But things are changing rapidly.

Returning to Malibu’s short-term rental ordinance, Feldman said a meeting on the matter originally scheduled for March 30 was cancelled because of the pandemic.

“Staff’s intent is that as soon as we are back in City Hall and able to have meetings in public without issues of people in the room at the same time, we’re ready to bring that forward,” Feldman said.

Mayor Pro Tem Mikke Pierson said the city’s past short-term rental ordinance has been stalled by COVID-19 and “we just left people hanging out to dry, and I think it really sucks.”

Pierson said that other cities have done emergency ordinances, which have all expired, so there’s no leeway there.

“I really hope we can get things going and get back to business and take care of this,” Pierson said.

Pierson did add that he has talked to county officials about opening outside areas of restaurants.

“I think it’s pretty clear no matter what you believe about COVID, is that we’d rather be outside than inside in the fresh air. That’s very well recognized to be a lot safer,” Pierson said. “If we can do that and help out our local businesses and maybe make allowances potentially for the right public spaces or parts of parking lots, I’m very interested in seeing that happen.”

Of all businesses in Malibu, Pierson added, restaurants are potentially most at-risk because of COVID-related restrictions.

“So, if businesses can operate more outside, we should find a way to be more lenient right now and let them get back to business,” he said.

Council member Rick Mullen said there is a lot of frustration from the public about reopening and the council feels that frustration.

Council member Skylar Peak said he appreciates everyone wearing masks at stores and trying to be as respectful as they can with physical distancing.

“I know when you gather with people at the beach, that’s a little hard to do. But I think for the most part, people have been relatively respectful. I, along with our community, appreciate that,” Peak said.

Feldman said officials are also working on a plan to get City Hall back open to some degree, but it will happen in stages. The first stage will be by appointment only, and there will only be a limited number of people allowed in a room at one time. Planning permits and plan checks can continue to be done online. 

So far, 102 building permits have been issued for Woolsey Fire rebuilds, and a third home was recently rebuilt and received its certificate of occupancy from the city.

Feldman said staff has been busy continuing to run the city, and updated various projects.

The temporary skate park is moving along on schedule, with the asphalt and fencing work almost completed. California SkateParks is constructing the equipment and putting it together on an off-site location, and will then transport it to Bluffs Park, where it will be installed in the next week or two.

Progress photos are available here. 

Feldman said the Public Works Department is continuing to do weed abatement throughout the city, and she encouraged all residents to also do required brush clearance.

She said the city is also moving forward with a coastal vulnerability assessment project, and is looking for historical photos of coastal storms in Malibu.