The City is approaching the 1/3 milepost on the journey to rebuilding Malibu. According to the City’s website The City recently granted the 15thBuilding Permit for a Woolsey rebuild. A total of 148 applications have been turned into Planning since Woolsey. Only 18 of the Planning applications are still waiting for approval so they can go on to engineered drawings. When the City receives 8 more applications, they will have reached 33% of the Homes lost within the City limits. Please get your applications in prior to November 9th2019 so we can hit the 50% mark by that date. The City wants you back!
I received a call from a gentleman who’s currently striving to replace a home that he has owned for over 30 years on Point Dume. About 15 years ago he had moved back to the Palisades and has been renting out his Malibu home ever since. He doesn’t qualify for any of the permit rebates from the City or County since the home has not been his personal residence for the last 15 years. The Fire Department is charging him a $500 application fee plus another $2,000 to analyze his Fuel Modification plan. He believes that the fee to look at and then stamp his Fuel Modification Plan is more than a little steep. Theoretically all permit fees in California are supposed to be set to reimburse the permitting agency for the costs of providing the service only. What has your experience been?
At about 11:30AM on Friday the 30tha fire broke out on the hills above Carbon Beach. The PulsePoint.com app on my phone Pinged me with the location Sweetwater Canyon and PCH. I went into the parking lot of my office on Malibu Road and looked in the appropriate direction. A plume of dark smoke was rising vertically in the air, drifting slightly to the north. The absence of any wind was a blessing that was soon joined by the first Fire truck sirens. Additional resources continued to arrive over the next couple hours including water dropping helicopters. With each water drop the smoke got lighter and whiter. The Fire response was massive, and the fire was 30% contained before 1:30!
At about 12:15 the Community Emergency Response Team received a text from Public Safety Manager Susan Duenas advising that she and City Manager Reva Feldman were both on the way to open City Hall and set up an emergency headquarters. Three CERT members arrived at the City Hall where we were admitted to the building by Mayor Pro-Tem Karen Farrer. We took turns manning the phones and speaking with the citizenry while Ms. Feldman returned the over 50 messages she had received in the time it took to get through Malibu Canyon. By 2:00 P.M. it was apparent that the Fire was in the Mop up phase and no further assistance was required. All in, it was a good drill that allows me to remind you that CERT classes start Sept. 5that 6 PM at City Hall. It’s not to late to call 310-456-2489 to sign up.
Kudos to the Malibu Boys and Girls Club for keeping the Malibu Chili Cookoff tradition alive. All the money goes to the Boys and Girls Club and their 5 local charity partners.