City Hall Is Now Center of Attention : Government: Officials and residents are grappling with the question of where to put municipal offices. Two options have been recommended.

Picture this: Residents of a new city begin planning their town center; it is expected to include pedestrian walkways, bike paths, housing for seniors, cultural activities, theaters, shops and a visitor information center.

But what’s missing from the picture? An element many residents take for granted in the heart of a city: City Hall.

The city in question is Malibu, and the questions now being raised about where to put a city hall illustrate anew some of the unique aspects of this quirky young municipality.

First of all, “City Hall” in Malibu refers not to a municipal building, but to whatever rented space the city offices happen to occupy. For the two years since incorporation, the offices have been in the Malibu Professional Park, an office complex in an area of town known as the Civic Center.

But the city needs more space now, and cheaper leases are widely available, so plans are afoot to move in the next few months. The question is where.

Choices are, in fact, rather limited in the 26-mile-long municipal stringbean that has but one main street: Pacific Coast Highway. It can be in the eastern section, along the stretch of highway closest to Los Angeles and Santa Monica; in the western section, where more people live; or in the middle, presumably in or near the Civic Center, close to Malibu Colony and Pepperdine University.

At a workshop last weekend sponsored by Civic Center property owners, about 100 residents divided into small groups and painted their ideal pictures of what a town center should look like. Nine out of 12 pictures included a City Hall, which some of the residents described as a vital component of the town center.

It would seem natural that the Malibu City Council would consider those sentiments on Monday when it is scheduled to review its options. Based on the recommendations in a staff report, the decision appears to be whether to keep the city offices in the Civic Center area or move to Point Dume, seven miles to the west.

Only two of the five council members, Joan House and John Harlow, attended the workshop, however, and neither played an active role. In fact, previous council discussion has focused on possible confusion among residents, who might think the private workshops are sponsored by the city.

In addition, the city’s General Plan Task Force, charged with recommending land use plans to the council, voted to bar its members from attending. They had been advised by the city attorney that attendance by a majority of task force members might amount to a violation of the state’s open meetings law.

House was glad she went.

“I think it’s always important to be as well-informed on any subject as possible,” she said. “I became more informed. I attended only as an observer.

“I will pass on (to the council) that many people felt strongly that there should be a Civic Center and that it is the best place for (City Hall),” House said. Her considerations in determining a location include cost, location, parking and traffic safety.

Councilman Jeff Kramer, who took issue with the way the Civic Center workshops were initially advertised, said Thursday that he, too, favored a Civic Center location for City Hall.

“The Civic Center is the logical place for a City Hall in most people’s minds,” he said.

A staff report prepared for the City Council offers four options for the new City Hall location. Two are in the Civic Center: the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department station, which has vacant space since some deputies were transferred to a new station in Lost Hills, and the closed CenFed Bank branch.

The other two are in the Point Dume area: the new Pavilion building on Heathercliff Road, and the Point Dume Professional Center on Portshead Road at Pacific Coast Highway.

Space is cheapest at the Professional Center--$1.91 per square foot over five years.

The sheriff’s station is next, at $1.98, with the CenFed Bank asking $2.49 and the Pavilion $2.70, all averaged over five years.

The staff report recommends the council consider the Professional Center and sheriff’s station as the main options.

The current City Hall lease at the Malibu Professional Park is in the third of five years but can be ended with 90 days’ notice. It is being terminated because of cost, said City Manager Ray Taylor.

Mayor Walt Keller said recently that the tradeoff for the council to decide lies between the geographic center of town, the Civic Center, and the population center, Point Dume.

Four of the five council members live in western Malibu, and the fifth, Kramer, is moving there, but they say that will not influence their decision.

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mary Lou Blackwood participated in the Civic Center workshop, specifically making a pitch for the chamber to remain there. Other city services should be there, too, she said. The chamber is now located in the same building as City Hall.

“It’s very important for City Hall to remain in the Civic Center,” Blackwood said. “It is more the center of town.”