Real Malibu

What it’s like to be a Malibu home seller in 2009

Rick Wallace / The Malibu Real Estate Report Nearly 500 homeowners in Malibu have attempted to sell their home so far this year. The frustration and, in some cases, catastrophic results of their efforts, would have been unpredictable just three years ago. While the underlying product of Malibu real estate remains the most exclusive and coveted of any in Southern California, it has not been immune to a financing system collapse and market deflation everywhere. Through August, only about 50 of the homeowners will have successfully closed escrow on their homes, a paltry 10 percent of those who have tried.

http://www.malibutimes.com/articles/2009/08/26/news/news6.txt

Labels: Malibu News

Proposed Septic Ban Boundaries Cross Malibu Neighborhood Lines

div align=”center”strong• Regional Water Quality Control Board Maps Indicate More Aggressive Plans for Oversightbr /br /BY BILL KOENEKER/strong/divdiv align=”justify”br /br /With this week’s distribution of the proposed septic prohibition area maps by the Los Angeles Regional Water Control Board, Malibuites learned that the boundaries of the area proposed for major changes in wastewater regulation not only encompass the Civic Center area, but entire residential sections, including the beach communities of Malibu Colony and Malibu Road and inland residential neighborhoods such as Serra Retreat, Sweetwater Mesa and the Malibu Knolls.br /Other areas that could be impacted include the commercial strip of Pacific Coast Highway from Serra Road to Sweetwater Canyon, excluding the ocean side land starting at Larry Ellison’s commercial property on Carbon Beach.br /A preliminary community meeting to give the public a chance to hear and comment on the proposed septic prohibition is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 1, from 10 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. The meeting will be held in the Fireside Room next to the cafeteria at Pepperdine University.br /The RWQCB has rescheduled the formal public hearing on the proposed septic ban in the Civic Center and surrounding areas. That meeting is now scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 5, at 9 a.m. in the board room of the Metropolitan Water District.br /The proposed prohibition would affect existing and future on-site wastewater discharge systems, or OWDS, in the Civic Center area, including what the RWQCB calls Malibu Valley, (the Civic Center) Winter Canyon and adjacent coastal strips of land including Malibu Lagoon, Amarillo Beach, Malibu Beach and Surfrider Beach.br /In effect, the RWQCB has crafted the possible boundaries for what could become the city’s proposed Civic Center wastewater treatment center.br /The prohibition would range from passive systems with conventional septic tanks to active systems that more aggressively remove pollutant loads from sewage before subsurface disposal. The prohibition would apply to residential, commercial, industrial and public properties.br /The prohibition would “immediately” prohibit all new discharges from OWDS and would prohibit discharges from existing systems within five years from the date of adoption by the board.br /An exemption would be allowed for so-called “zero discharge” units, if dischargers can prove to the satisfaction of the executive officer that reuse, evaporation and or transpiration will use 100 percent of the wastewater generated by activities on site and will not contribute to a rise in the water table.br /The RWQCB staff has indicated it has received requests for clarification on the boundaries of the area subject to the proposed prohibition. Hence, the maps. To delineate the prohibition area, staff used drainage patterns and hydrogeologic parameters.br /In the notice prepared by staffer Wendy Philips, the chief of the groundwater permitting and landfill section of the RWQCB, there is an acknowlgement that additional regulations or policies “consistent with the general purpose of the proposed amendment and complementary to the proposed prohibition,” may be developed at the hearing “as a logical outgrowth of discussions.”br /The board is expected to take action on the proposed amendment after hearing the staff’s presentation and public comments.br /Written comments must be submitted to the board no later than Oct. 8./divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/29088688-2133664696243216543?l=malibusurfsidenews.com%2Fblog’//div

http://malibusurfsidenews.com/blog/2009/08/proposed-septic-ban-boundaries-cross.html

Labels: Malibu News

California Coastal Commission Wins Latest Round in Malibu ‘Sins’ Litigation

div align=”center”strong• Superior Court Judge Rules Against Charges of Civil Rights Violations in Norris Casebr /br /BY ANNE SOBLE/strong/divdiv align=”justify”br /br /A Los Angeles Superior Court judge last week dismissed two Malibu property owners’ high profile allegations that the California Coastal Commission has violated their civil rights.br /The so-called Norris case became a cause célèbre in the property rights movement with the distribution of the unreleased documentary “Sins of Commission,” which includes commentary by several in the Malibu community who are longtime critics of the California Coastal Commission.br /Southern California filmmaker Richard Oshen bills “Sins” as an expose of how citizens are subjected to the “unelected commission’s autocratic actions wielded, surprisingly, without accountability or oversight” and has alleged CCC efforts to silence the film.br /Last Thursday, Judge Luis Lavin granted the commission’s request for summary judgment and ruled that the issues raised in the case against the agency and two Coastal Commission enforcement staffers did not raise issues that warrant further review.br /The plaintiffs have not yet indicated whether they plan to continue their legal action.br /The commission, however, expressed elation with the court action. “We are pleased but not surprised by the ruling,” said CCC Executive Director Peter Douglas in a prepared statement. “This suit was patently frivolous from the beginning. It’s been a regrettable and costly diversion of public resources, but now we can all get back to work.”br /According to CCC enforcement documents, the case “involved illegal roads, grading and tree removal on property owned by Dan Norris and Peggy Gilder. Because the property is located in the coastal zone, these activities required coastal development permits. A site visit in October, 2005, was authorized by a court order.”br /After reporting that it verified illegal development on site, the commission issued a “Notice of Violation” on the property and told the owners to apply for a permit. The owners refused, and sued the commission. Last year, a superior court ruling upheld the commission’s action on the majority of the plaintiffs’ claims.br /The recent court action eliminated the remaining claims. Lavin’s ruling dismissed the contention that the CCC’s Notice of Violation was a “taking” of their private property and decreed that the allegation that the site inspection violated their civil rights was “without merit.” The ruling states that the commission staff’s actions were “objectively reasonable,” and the case has “no triable issues of material facts.”br /Acknowledging the controversy related to Oshen’s documentary, the CCC statement addresses the filmmaker’s public allegations of attempted censorship by the agency.br /“We did nothing of the sort,” said Commission Chief Counsel Hope Schmeltzer. “His friends asked him to film our site visit, then sued us for trespassing and damages. We just wanted a copy of the footage to defend ourselves in court. [Oshen] has always been free to use the footage in any way he wants.”br /Oshen has written on an Internet blog that Lavin’s recent ruling is a “travesty of justice.”/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/29088688-1095485188336526749?l=malibusurfsidenews.com%2Fblog’//div

http://malibusurfsidenews.com/blog/2009/08/california-coastal-commission-wins.html

Labels: Malibu News

School District Selects Panel to Prep Push for New Emergency Parcel Tax

div align=”center”strong• Everyone Who Applied Was Selected for the Committeebr /br /BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN/strong/divdiv align=”justify”br /br /The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board of education, at its Aug. 21 meeting, approved a 33-member committee to examine the feasibility of an emergency temporary parcel tax to offset reductions in state funding and explore another school construction bond measure.br /The committee comprised of everyone who submitted an application, is a who’s who of Santa Monica school advocates and activists, including former PTA president Rebecca Kennerly; former Measure R Parcel Tax Committee member Laurie Lieberman; and former Santa Monica mayor and Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights board member Denny Zane.br /Only two Malibuites appear to have applied for the committee: safety activist Susan Tellem, who is a member of the City of Malibu’s safety commission, and education advocate Ralph Erickson, who is also on the Proposition 39 oversight committee and campaigned actively for Measure BB.br /Tellem, who said she had not yet been notified of her appointment, said she applied to assure that Malibu had representation.br /A representative will also be chosen from both city councils, as well as from Santa Monica College and the teachers union. The SMMUSD superintendent’s office confirms that the remaining appointments will be announced in September.br /According to a district staff report, the committee is charged with two goals: a recommendation regarding the feasibility of an emergency and temporary parcel tax,” and a recommendation on the potential for “a future capitol improvement bond measure to modernize the district’s schools.”br /In 2006, the district passed Measure BB, a $268 million bond measure “to improve health, safety, class instruction by repairing, renovating outdated classrooms, bathrooms, plumbing, leaky roofs, computer technology, fire safety equipment.” In 2008, voters passed Measure R, which removed a “sundown” clause from existing parcel taxes “to preserve quality schools despite inadequate state funding, and prevent program cuts shall the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District renew—without increasing—existing school parcel taxes.”br /The new committee would be authorized to expend up to $50,000 to poll the electorate, and will “work with a polling firm to craft questions for community input,” and “work with the chief financial officer to delineate the steps necessary to place a parcel tax and/or bond measure on a future ballot or special election and retain the necessary counsel for each step of the process.” A report on the proposed emergency parcel tax is due Dec. 10. The recommendation on the proposed capitol improvement bond measure is expected next March.br /Not everyone is enthusiastic about the proposed taxes. A critic recently described the district as having “a voracious appetite for money, more money and even more money.” One Malibu resident, in a recent letter to the Malibu Surfside News, stated that the district is proposing “yet another tax undemocratically imposed by Santa Monica voters, which will benefit only Santa Monica students, Santa Monica teachers, Santa Monica bureaucrats and Santa Monica schools, all at Malibu’s expense.”br /However, the district’s chief financial officer, Jan Maez, has cautioned that the district, already experiencing a deficit of $12 million due to the state budget crisis, will face an increasingly bleak future without new sources of alternate revenue./divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/29088688-8115475186133517782?l=malibusurfsidenews.com%2Fblog’//div

http://malibusurfsidenews.com/blog/2009/08/school-district-selects-panel-to-prep.html

Labels: Malibu News

City Officials Seek $5 Million Grant for Legacy Park Work

div align=”center”strong• Push to Settle Baykeeper Suit Is Onbr /br /BY BILL KOENEKER/strong/divdiv align=”justify”br /br /Now that Malibu city officials have chosen a contactor for proposed building improvements at Legacy Park, they are now seeking a $5 million grant to pay for the project.br /Municipal officials are attempting to get the money from federal stimulus funds administered by the State Water Resources Control Board, according to Mayor Andy Stern, who made the announcement last week.br /“This $5 million grant is essential to the construction of Legacy Park, the centerpiece of the city’s more than $50 million commitment to clean water, and we are optimistic this application will be funded,” the mayor said in a press release.br /Stern said, given the call by many environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, for better controls on stormwater, Legacy Park will “answer the NRDC’s call to prevent beach water pollution by creating an environmental cleaning machine for more than two million gallons a day of stormwater and urban runoff.”br /Malibu municipal officials insist Legacy Park “will transform 15 acres in the heart of Malibu into a central park that will capture stormwater and urban runoff flows from the surrounding watershed so it can be cleaned, disinfected and recycled.”br /However, some environmental groups don’t agree and are litigating the matter. The Santa Monica Baykeeper filed suit against the city arguing that a different approach is required.br /City officials insist they have to start somewhere and the park is the best place to handle the stormwater component of the problem.br /“Legacy Park definitely qualified as a ‘shovel-ready stormwater’ project,” said City Manager Jim Thorsen in the same press release. “The Malibu City Council already awarded the construction contact, and the groundbreaking is scheduled for September. We are hoping to resolve the Legacy Park lawsuit filed by Santa Monica Baykeeper so it won’t interfere with the city’s ability to secure essential funding for a vital project to improve ocean water quality and help restore the environment.”br /City officials, who say they want to finish the project by October 2010, noted they still have significant support from the Annenberg Foundation, Santa Monica College, U.S. Representative Henry Waxman, State Senator Fran Pavley and State Assemblymember Julia Brownley.br /Malibu municipal officials indicated they are preparing plans for a centralized wastewater system for its Civic Center area and authorized $2.6 million in January 2009 for design and engineering. There are no estimates on construction costs./divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/29088688-6227140062514560261?l=malibusurfsidenews.com%2Fblog’//div

http://malibusurfsidenews.com/blog/2009/08/city-officials-seek-5-million-grant-for.html

Labels: Malibu News

Trancas Park Construction Goes to Bid

div align=”center”strong• Municipal Officials Move Ahead Despite Litigationbr /br /BY BILL KOENEKER/strong/divdiv align=”justify”br /br /Malibu city officials put out a notice last week inviting bids for the construction of improvements for Trancas Canyon Park. The original approvals of the park and the certification of the Environmental Impact Report are currently being challenged in court.br /The scope of work for construction of a 6.5 acre park facility includes, according to the notice, the earthwork and grading, concrete and asphaltic concrete pavements, decomposed granite walkways, concrete curb and gutters, landscaping, irrigation systems, plantings and vegetation, restroom facilities, storage building, shade structures, children’s playground, multi-use sports field, signage, electrical work, onsite wastewater treatment system, fencing, retaining walls, water service and pipeline work.br /A pre-bid conference is scheduled for Aug. 25. A site walk-through will be conducted immediately following the pre-bid conference. The bids will be publicly opened and read on Sept. 10.br /Last month, a majority of the city council approved an additional $100,000 for a consulting firm to provide engineering and design plans for the council-approved redesign. This was amid an unsuccessful plea by some members of the public to reconsider the redesign plans and consider an alternate proposal.br /Earlier in April, the council had approved a different plan involving over 100,000 cubic yards of grading that was challenged in court by the Malibu Township Council. The MTC filed the suit over grading and other issues involving the Environmental Impact Report prepared for the original project’s dimensionsbr /During its budget hearings, the council allocated $3.5 million for building the park. The allocation is a designated fund for financing park construction and not an actual appropriation. Currently, the city has a little less than $300,000 set aside for construction./divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/29088688-8669034584321174328?l=malibusurfsidenews.com%2Fblog’//div

http://malibusurfsidenews.com/blog/2009/08/trancas-park-construction-goes-to-bid.html

Labels: Malibu News

Publisher’s Notebook

div align=”center”strong• PCH Praxis: Malibu Road Woes •br /br /ANNE SOBLE/strong/divdiv align=”justify”br /br /br /If a tree falls on Pacific Coast Highway and no one is there, not only will it make a loud sound, but it also will probably clog the roadway for hours. This take on the philosophical riddle about perception and reality was anything but theoretical when thousands of commuters were faced with a closed PCH on Monday. Of course, the inevitable phone calls were placed to the newsroom along the line of, “Why does it take so long to remove a tree?” but usually phrased less politely.br /One can only conjecture how many sign-offs are required for multiple bureaucracies to spring into action and resolve what appears to be the kind of occurrence that should not have the ability to cripple the main artery for several communities. Why the official mindset isn’t to move as much debris off to the side as quickly as possible and deal with other issues such as power lines in a prescribed area in order to get traffic flowing quickly is pure puzzlement.br /Baffled is also our response to Caltrans scheduling a major tear-up and resurfacing of Pacific Coast Highway during the weeks leading up to and likely including the Labor Day holiday. This is, after all, a beach community. Fortunately, the temperatures recently have been well below the triple-digit mark, otherwise one can only imagine some of the potential snafus, as the number of local visitors increases exponentially.br /We know there is no optimum time for doing major roadwork, but factors other than when the funding check is cut should play a part in scheduling. And, of course, the agency can’t use its longstanding excuse of wanting to avoid the rainy season because there’s a drought. Maybe the oft tongue-in-cheek explanations of indifference or sadism are not so far off, after all.br /In addition to taking a toll on vehicle suspension systems and alignments, the roadwork is occurring during the kind of weather and the time of year that attracts large numbers of cyclists to PCH. That the roadwork may have been a factor in recent bicycle accidents is under investigation. Motorists are forewarned that extra caution is warranted when sharing the corrugated surface lanes with other forms of transportation.br /There is one plus to the current scheduling. At least the bulk of the construction work is going on overnight and, as long as crews aren’t assembled in front of one’s own house when the residents are trying to get some sleep, the realization that the impact on daytime commuters is less might be somewhat heartening.br /Until the roadwork is completed and the long lines of trucks and equipment have left Malibu, everyone is urged to pay close attention to the construction warning signs, hold on to their steering wheels and try to avoid falling prey to bruxism because their tires won’t have the luxury of being able to do the same./divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/29088688-3548661847401690385?l=malibusurfsidenews.com%2Fblog’//div

http://malibusurfsidenews.com/blog/2009/08/publishers-notebook_26.html

Labels: Malibu News

Malibu School Septic Woes Are Costly

div align=”center”strong• Repairs Necessary Before Classes Startbr /br /BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN/strong/divdiv align=”justify”br /br /The public had an opportunity to learn more about the extent of septic system issues affecting Malibu area schools, when the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District board of education, at its Aug. 20 meeting, voted on an emergency resolution that authorizes repair of the systems.br /Investigations into the onsite wastewater treatment system at Point Dume Elementary School and Malibu High School that have been part of the Measure BB improvement plans have revealed serious issues that require immediate attention, according to a staff report.br /The situation is so serious that the work has to be completed by the start of classes on Wednesday, Sept. 9.br /“Currently, the district is in the programming and design phases of the Measure BB bond program. The resolution states, “District consultants have found that two of the septic systems are in need of major repair and immediate action to correct unsafe conditions.”br /According to the resolution, the situation at both locations is so serious that it constitutes an emergency condition. The resolution circumvents the usual bidding process and authorizes immediate repairs “to permit the continuance of existing school classes, or to avoid danger to life and property.”br /According to district staff, investigations have revealed that the OWTS at Pt. Dume Elementary School is “inoperable, almost to the point of being filled to capacity, causing a potential overflow problem. In addition, the tank ceiling is collapsing.” At MHS, the ceiling of a tank in a septic system located under the basketball courts is also collapsing.br /According to the staff report, “The septic tanks for system number 6 at the MHS will be replaced; seepage pit maintenance for Malibu High School and Cabrillo will be completed both on Deferred Maintenance funds.” The cost for this work is estimated to be $350,000.br /The repairs at Point Dume are estimated to require a construction budget of $400,000.br /Webster Elementary, which recently received a notice of violation from the Los Angeles County Regional Water Quality Board earlier this year, also requires an extensive overhaul to its aging OWTS infrastructure that is estimated to cost $580,000.br /The board also voted on a resolution for emergency repairs to MHS, following in the wake of two costly incidents that occurred over the summer.br /The first was a fire in one of the school’s science labs, allegedly caused by a faulty aquarium tank pump. The fire was limited to the lab, but smoke reportedly damaged five adjacent rooms. Damage was estimated at $600,000.br /In the second incident, a broken air conditioning coil reportedly caused $70,000 in flood damage to the high school band room and instrument storage area.br /According to staff, the cost of repairs will be covered by the district’s insurance in both incidents. The resolution was required to expedite the repairs./divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/29088688-1152660367784606654?l=malibusurfsidenews.com%2Fblog’//div

http://malibusurfsidenews.com/blog/2009/08/malibu-school-septic-woes-are-costly.html

Labels: Malibu News

Names Provide a Link with Malibu’s Original Residents

div align=”center”strong• Chumash Singer and Storyteller Says That the Ancient Language Continues to Resonatebr /br /BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN/strong/divdiv align=”justify”br /br /Not all Malibuites may be aware of it, but the coast still resonates with echos of the language and history of the area’s original residents, the Chumash. According to Chumash singer and sto-ryteller Julie Tumamait, traces of the language remain in place names like Mugu, “beach,” and Malibu, or “humaliwo,” which means ”where the surf sounds.”br /Other local Chumash names include the beach destination for millions of Angelenos every summer, Zuma, which stems from the Chumash word for abundance, “sumo.” Mysterious Anacapa Island, which often appears as a mirage of impossibly high cliffs and arches, is the Chumash word for illusion.br /A descendent of Island Chumash, Tumamait is committed to preserving the Chumash language and culture by sharing stories, songs and cultural lore at schools and locations like this one, the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center in The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.br /As night fell and the stars and the bats came out, local children had a chance to learn about Chumash language and traditions, at a site in the Santa Monica Mountains that for thousands of years was home to Malibu’s early residents.br /Anthropologists estimate that there may have been as many as 20,000 Chumash living on the coast between San Luis Obispo and Malibu when the Spanish explorers arrived on the scene. Today, only between 4000-5000 persons can claim Chumash heritage. The culture and the language came close to extinction in the twentieth century, Tumamait says, but efforts are under-way now to revive it and keep thousands of years of tradition alive.br /A 4000-word dictionary, the work of many years, sponsored by the Santa Ynez Chumash was published in 2008, in an attempt to revive Ineseno, or Samala, one of six related Chumash languages. Other efforts are underway to collect, preserve and teach the Barbareno and Ventureno Chumash languages.br /“We don’t have a lot of our songs,” Tumamait said. “Just little bits and pieces. We have about 70-80 percent of our culture, but our most sacred part is missing.” The songs that have survived, she says, are very ancient, transmitted by oral tradition for centuries. She sang several for the audience, accompanying each with either a rattle or a set of clapper sticks, a percussion instrument made of local elderberry wood.br /Tumamait said that there are no longer any native speakers of the Chumash language, but there is an effort underway to revive the language. She describes wax cylinder recordings made by legendary linguist and ethnologist John Peabody Harrington in the early 20th century that pre-serve interviews with a handful of individuals who still spoke the Chumash language.br /“We are grateful for that,” Tumamait said, describing it as an important resource. “[But] it’s hard to understand, no one is fluent any more.”br /Tumamait told the gathering of children and adults stories that ranged from a humorous cau-tionary tale of a boy who cried xus—bear, to a beautiful and sad legend of how seven children escaped their cruel mother by transforming themselves into geese and flying up into the sky to become the seven stars of the Pleiades.br /“Many of our stories teach children how to behave,” Tumamait said. “We call it myth, but it’s teaching.”br /Tumamait paused as a barn owl circled the group. It dove, just a few yards away, and glided silently off with a mouse.br /“He’s come to hear stories, I’m sorry, owl, I don’t have an owl story today.” She did, however, have the owl’s Chumash name: “she’,” which sounds almost like the bird’s hunting cry. The name for the great horned owl, she says, is the equally onomatopoeic word “muhu.”br /Tumamait ended the evening with what she described as a visioning song. “There’s a lot of visioning we need to do in the world,” she said. “We need to put positive energy [into it]. Little by little, it’s coming back.” /divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/29088688-247435676777893791?l=malibusurfsidenews.com%2Fblog’//div

http://malibusurfsidenews.com/blog/2009/08/names-provide-link-with-malibus.html

Labels: Malibu News

MCSA Surf Contest at Zuma Beach Aug. 29, 2009

The Fifth Annual Malibu Community Surf Classic will be held Sat. 29, 2009 at Zuma Beach Tower 7. We just got back from Becker surfboards with a truck load of gear including new surfboards,…

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Labels: Malibu Real Estate