Malibu Canyon Road Remains Closed As Rocks And Muck Continue To Fall, New Storm Coming

Water … mud and rocks continue to fall on Malibu Canyon Road.

And it remains closed. 

Although Pacific Coast Highway has been reopened down at Latigo Beach/Corral Canyon … some major grumbling from motorists. 

Caltrans crews worked all night … two nights ago … to dislodge rocks on the cliff above Pacific Coast Highway at Latigo Beach.

Then … with only one lane open westbound … someone made the decision to turn off  the traffic lights at Corral Canyon Road … they were set to flash red.

It appears to have been a Caltrans decision. 

With drivers stopping for the pair of flashing red signals … a miles-long traffic jam built up yesterday afternoon.

The gigantic traffic jam infuriated many drivers.

Social media exploded with complaints abut the flashing red signal … and the lack of deputies or other officials to direct traffic.

No word from Caltrans or the city is there are any plans to change the traffic mess today.

2 Small Businesses Soaked in Mud As Hillside Came Down In Storm

Workers spent yesterday shoveling muck and damaged equipment out of a smalll office building on PCH near Zuma Creek yesterday.

Wrecked equipment from a Pilates studio and a nail salon was being sorted out.

The building was once home to the Corral beach cantina … after the restaurant moved out … the nail salon and the pilates studio … called Bulates … moved in.

Twice this week … torrents of water came down the hillside from Heathercliff Drive and flooded the building.

The owner … Lisa Nilkes … tells KBUU that drains on the hillside had apparently become clogged with leaves or other plant material ,.,. then gave way.

The two businesses have been relocated to other office buildings owned by the Niles family … up on Heathercliff. 

The buildings have been inspected by the city. … which has approved a plan to clean them up.

Deal May Be Near For Skatepark Alterations, Developer’s Plan Appears To Be OK

There appears to be an agreement between the developer of a luxury subdivision of homes and the city .. over the construction of the city’s long-delayed skateboard park.

Scott Gillen … the man developing five deluxe houses nestled around Bluffs Park … has proposed a plan too move the skatepark 10 feet away from one of his houses… 

He also wants one platform lowered … and he wants additional landscaping between the skateboard ramps and his houses. 

His spokesman Robert Gold.

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“We want to thank the council and staff for your time and efforts to try to resolve this matter. We really appreciate it, I think we are really close, but we are almost there.

“Since its inception, Scott was concerned about the skate parks, design and its operations complying with the requirements of the EIR and the LIP, which included the special conclusion ‘that the facility to be constricted on Lot 7 (the skate park), should be designed to minimize noise, lighting impacts and disruption to the nearby residents.’ ”

No action was taken at yesterday’s special city council meeting … after a controversy over the skatepark design discussion once again being held beind closed doors.

Skateboard proponent Hamish Patterson was furious that the skatepark design … scheduled for a public hearing on Monday … was being discussed behind closed doors yesterday.

NEWSCART B70126 SKATE HAMISH 

“Why are the skateboarders being excluded from this process? We have a meeting on Monday where we are supposed to get up and give influence to support or tonight on the city Council. But we don’t know what’s going on. And from what I hear just from this proposal, is that the goal posts have moved.”

Acting city attorney Trevor Russin did … however … say more than the usual statements of no reportable action.

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“No settlement was reached at the closed session, but I have been authorized by the city Council to disclose that they will put forward an item to consider, a potential settlement, at the upcoming regular City Council meeting.”

Russin set the exact details of the proposed settlement will be disclosed in an amended agenda… Which should be made public today at the cities website. But for the first time in recent memory… Russin gave details as to what was discussed inside the executive session..

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“Amongst them are consideration for an alternative design, for one element of the skate park that was created by the skate park designer, the addition of additional landscaping to the park, and the shifting of the skate park by approximately 10 feet further from the case property, or part of it. That will be in the post settlement agreement.”

 

Dispute Over Closed-Door Sessions Splits Council 3-2, Silverstein Boycotts Session

A major controversy over meeting in secrecy erupted at yesterday at a special city council meeting … which went behind closed doors with one city councilman boycotting it. 

It was another special city council meeting to consider there skatepark plans.

Councilman Bruce Silvertsein said he would boycott the secret discussions … which were asked for the acting city attorney to discuss possible litigation from the developer.

Silverstein said the council was violating the Brown Act … the state law that requires open meetings.

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“The city council does not have any information about the nature of the appeal is pending, or the litigation that is being threatened. No, no substantive information whatsoever. In fact, we haven’t even received the council agenda report that explains what the appeal is about.”

But by a 3 to 2 vote … the council decided to go into executive session to discuss the skatepark anyway.

One council meMBber … Marianne Riggins … said the skatepark was too important to risk.

NEWSCART B70131 SECRECY RIGGINS 

“There are council members that are concerned about the process in which meetings are noticed and held, and discussions are done whether in close session … open session … others … and then we have a practical thing of trying to get a community amenity built for our community that has been demanding it for 15 plus years.”

It was a 3 to 2 vote … with Steve Uhring joining brice Silverstein.  

Uhrting attended the secret meeting … but not Silverstein.

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“I will not be attending the meeting because – as I read the Brown Act – and I have not been presented with any authority that says I’m not reading it correctly – thIS meeting is illegal.

“So – I completely am aligned with Marianne, by the way.

“I want to see this project – if it’s appropriate – proceed post-haste.”

Speaking as a journalist, the management at KBUU Radio sent a statement to the city council … pointing out that state law is quite clear on open meetings.

And that the city of Malibu has once before lost a case that went all the way to the state Court of Appeal … 17 years ago … 

In that case … a city zoning decision was undone because the council acted in a closed session … because of a threat of litigation.

KBUU pointed out that California courts have always ruled against cities making decisions in executive sessions … based on the need to discuss legal strategy.

KBUU Radio does not take political stands on anything other than the right of the public to attend meetings. 

 

Porsche Totaled Above Broad Beach, Moron Arrested For Reckless Driving

The Nitwit driver hall of fame claimed another Porsche driver on PCH yesterday. 

An expensive Porsche was pretty much totaled in a crash yesterday after on PCH west of Trancas.

The white Porsche had earlier that afternoon been observed using other vehicles as slalom poles … on PCH.

At about 3:30 … it crashed above broad beach.

The driver was arrested … taken away in handcuffs to be charged with reckless driving.

Mazza Doesn’t Find Being Quoted On KBUU About Maids Using A Bus Stop ‘To Be Helpful’

Malibu Planning Commissioner John Mazza objects to a KBUU report, that included his comments that “the only people that I can contemplate using the bus stop, are the local maids.”

That was one of several quotes from Mazza and other Planning Commissioners featured in the article, about the commission’s rejection of converting a midtown Malibu crosswalk signal from a flashing yellow beacon to a green-yellow-red traffic light.

The article can be found here: www.radiomalibu.net .

Writing on Nextdoor, Mazza repeated the arguments he made at the last Planning Commission meeting, which we’re also posted in the KBUU article.

As the article pointed out, the Planning Commission voted 5-0 to send the requested traffic light back to the city planners and Caltrans for additional details.  One detail demanded from the staff was whether the crosswalk even needs to be there in the first place, or if it should be removed.

The crosswalk in question links two bus stops, sits 1,200 feet or so in either direction from the next crosswalks, in front of the Colony House Liquor Store.  It connects public parking spaces and the bus stop on the north side of the highway, to the Coastal Access pathway leading to the beach

As KBUU reported this week, all five planning commissioners wanted answers about the existence of the crosswalk.

The Planning Commission decision to request more data flies in the face of recent public demands for slower traffic, more pedestrian safety, and other improvements on Pacific Coast Highway, demands that intensified after four Pepperdine students were milled on a sidewalk-less stretch of PCH, less than a mile away.

KBUU reported that Mazza asked why the crosswalk in question was placed “in front of a liquor store.” He asked why there was a crosswalk on PCH there, and not at other locations like in front of Moonshadows restaurant.

Other commissioners suggested that pedestrians walk about 1,200 feet west to the traffic signal at Nobu, or about the same distance east to the crosswalk at Nicholas Eatery, to cross the PCH.  About 40,500 vehicles per day pass each day.

In an interview Friday, the father of a young Pepperdine student who was killed 6/10 of a mile away from this crosswalk said he was “perplexed to learn that the City of Malibu planning commission thinks they shouldn’t install a synchronized traffic signal at this crosswalk to help slow traffic.”

Barry Stewart told KBUU he was puzzled to learn that “the commissioners are considering removing the crosswalk, which would have the effect of, if anything, speeding up traffic.”

Mazza’s reply is printed below, in its entirety:

“Let’s put the record straight . The planning commission did not send this project back to the public works department and Caltrans because of any bias for residents or bias against local workers. The planning commission (in my opinion rightly) voted (5-0) to send the project back to study if a cross walk (sic) was needed at that location which essentially has no public businesses (open other than a pot shop and a liquor store) or residences on the land side of the highway that would need a crosswalk. When questioned , the CalTrans staff which Zoomed in had no one to discuss the need for the cross walk and no studies of the safety needs of the PCH in that area or any other area were apparently done. No representative of the public works department was present to question . Obviously PCH is not safe to cross in many places and no consideration of obvious needed cross walks with lights has been done and none were recommended. When some project , that will use up our Metro funds, comes to the planning commission it is important that it has been well planned out . It does not help that it is implied that for some reason commissioners are biased for one group or another. As a group we at least try to do the right thing for Malibu and our only passage into town. It is up to the city staff and other agencies to do a safety study on needs for PCH rather than just replace fifty year old features which may no longer be relevant.”