Mansionization. Tonight.
Written by 991KBU on July 1, 2019
Hundreds of Malibu residents are expressing anger … and plan to attend tonight’s Planning Commission meeting … as the city’s anti-mansionization ordinance goes up for public comment … and a possible decision by the Planning Commission.
it will be a preliminary decision … the final call is up to the city council.
Realtors and land rights activists have been flooding the internet … Facebook and Nextdoor … upset that the city may take away development rights on their land.
Advocates for slow growth and old Malibu have been pretty quiet … perhaps keeping their powder dry … perhaps afraid to stand up on the face of a tidal wave.
The city council has already by a 4 to 1 vote asked city staff to come up with an ordinance addressed at the gigantic houses popping up amidst smaller ones in neighborhoods like Point Dume and Ramirez Canyon.
The city zoning rules .… as put forth in the state approved Local Coastal Program … require the city to consider neighborhood character when deciding on houses that are proposed in established neighborhoods.
That never really happened … until four city council candidates were elected on various slates or coalitions that generally favor slow growth.
Those majorities have voted against a few houses that truly outsized others in their neighborhoods.
Neighborhood character is not defined in the city rules … that’s what this ordinance is all about.
Malibu Times publisher Arnold York says t… and we quote .. “this has been billed as an anti-mansionization ordinance, but it is much more than that.
“It is going to have a profound effect on every homeowner in Malibu.
“This is just a slap in the face” … writes York.
“It’s the same council attitude we saw when the council rejected the Bluffs Park swap and doomed the creation of new ball fields, recreation facilities and additional recreational space.”
The meeting begins at 6:30.
