Construction Ban Receives Informal OK : Malibu: Swift approval by the council-elect is expected March 28. Opposition to the curbs on new single-family homes has been intense.
A proposed law that would temporarily clamp down on new home construction in Malibu while banning commercial and multifamily development has moved a step closer to approval by Malibu’s leaders.
The slow-growth-oriented City Council, which takes office March 28 when Malibu becomes a city, on Tuesday gave informal approval to most provisions of a proposed 45-day development moratorium, leaving scores of homeowners, builders and others unhappy.
“I think a lot of us are disappointed that after all the community input given on this issue, they appear to be ready to approve something even more restrictive than what they were previously considering,” homeowner David Shriner said.
The action clears the way for what is expected to be swift approval of the measure on March 28, although officials have said that the proposal is still subject to fine-tuning.
Tuesday’s hearing was attended by about 150 people, most of them opposed to the restrictions. Another 50 people were unable to get inside the auditorium at the Hughes Research Laboratories, where the City Council meets, because of fire regulations.
Although a proposal to temporarily halt commercial and condominium development had been widely expected, opposition by a coalition of homeowners, builders and real estate brokers to the restrictions on new single-family homes has been intense.
Opponents had packed the auditorium on two previous occasions when the issue was discussed, and 300 people showed up when the council held a public hearing on the matter at a local school last month.
Despite warnings by opponents that the ban would wreak economic havoc in the community, a majority of the council said Tuesday that the restrictions were needed for Malibu to get a grip on development once it gains independence from Los Angeles County.
“We need a short-term moratorium if we’re going to do things right,” Councilman-elect Larry Wan said. “We must not cater to special interests. . . . We’ve got to have time for the city to get its act together so as not to be shooting from the hip and so we can treat everyone fairly.”
By a 3-2 vote, the panel rejected a proposal by Mayor-elect Walt Keller that would have exempted many single-family homes.
“When people have spent a great deal of money and they’ve not had any forewarning that cityhood was about clamping down on them, I think those people should definitely be let go through (with their plans),” said Councilman-elect Mike Caggiano, who cast the other dissenting vote.
As proposed, the law would, with few exceptions, suspend building permits issued after Jan. 1 for projects where “substantial work” had not started.
It would make certain exceptions, including remodeling projects that do not increase square footage or septic capacity, and for the repair or replacement of buildings damaged by fire or some other disaster.
The proposal would also give the new city the authority to hold up projects where building permits were issued before Jan. 1 if the project were determined to be a hazard or present a nuisance to surrounding properties.
“It’s more restrictive,” architect Mike Barsochinni said, comparing the latest draft to an earlier proposal. “We gave them hours of testimony and I guess that’s not the way they wanted to go.”
By law, the new City Council will have the authority to halt development for up to 2 1/2 years while the new city develops a general plan to serve as a blueprint for future development.
As proposed, the emergency measure would expire after 45 days, but it could be extended.
Some opponents of the measure fear that should it be extended for a significant time, the measure could cause severe a hardship on construction-related businesses, as well as financial ruin for prospective builders caught by the ban.
“I very much understand the council’s need to be cautious,” homeowner Martin Duff said. “I think it’s very important that they staff their General Plan Task Force to enable a new land-use plan to be adopted as expeditiously as possible.”
On Tuesday, the president of the Malibu Chamber of Commerce asked the council to move ahead with the general plan process as quickly as possible, saying that many small businesses stand to be hurt if a development moratorium remains in place for long.
Deborah Johnston, the chamber president, said that 69% of members polled in a recent survey were opposed to the ban extending to the construction on single-family homes.
The Malibu Board of Realtors has opposed the restrictions on single-family homes since they were included in the earlier draft of the law presented last month.
The earlier draft contained a wide range of exemptions for homes of up to 6,500 square feet requiring no more than 1,000 cubic yards of grading, and for additions that do not exceed 1,000 square feet.
