ADRIAN GRENIER THE LONELY WHALE
Mercedes Benz of Calabasas 24181 Calabasas Rd, Calabasas, CA 91302 (877) 260-0905 calabasasmbz.net
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER I thelocalmalibu@gmail.com
ISSUE 46 2017
EDITOR’S N
Founder, Editor in Chief, Creative Director
CECE S. WOODS
OTES
FOR ADVERTISING I thelocalmalibu@gmail.com FOLLOW US I facebook.com/thelocalmalibu instagram I @thelocalmalibu twitter I @thelocalmalibu
Co-Founder STEVE WOODS
Executive Editor LORI JACOBUS JULIE TOBIAS
Contributors DAVID STANSFIELD MARSHALL THOMPSON SUSAN TELLEM MARI STANLEY MARIE MANVEL GUS JOHANSON ANNEMARIE STEIN
Contributing Photographers
Associate Creative Director JANET FRIESEN Executive Publisher
LYON HERRON TIM HORTON JEN BEL EMILY SCHER NATHAN FAGAN
NICK BETTS Managing Editor ADDISON ALTENDORF
Senior Editor CHRISTY CALAFATI
Beauty Editor TARA OWENS
Lifestyle Editor TRACEY ROSS
Wellness Editor DIANA NICHOLSON
Sustainability Director ANDREW MCDONALD
Copy Editor
I don’t think there is a worse feeling than having to go against your gut, especially when you’re trying to effect change and protect your community - let alone look to the future in order to protect your integrity.
KIM LEDOUX
In the interest of full disclosure, I never trusted Mayor Skylar Peak.
Contributing Editor
There, I said it.
Travel Editor LESLIE WESTBROOK
AMELIA FLEETWOOD
Editor at Large SAM HALL KAPLAN
Rogue Writer BEN MARCUS
Sustainability Advisor BRAD DIAZ
Sustainable Lifestyle Editor
Supporting Peak posed some serious, ethical headaches for me. It was slim pickins for environmental candidates with a track record, so when it came time to make the final decision on who would run on the ballot, I made it very clear to the campaign my instincts were not to trust Peak’s agenda. Needless to say, I lost that battle, and in return, we all lost now that Peak has shown his true colors. The Swamp has taken over, and the alligators have multiplied.
EVELINA CHRISTOPHERSON
We are now a pro-development majority.
political contributors
I have hopes, however, that with constant pressure from the community and continuous exposure of the corruption at City Hall, The Swamp’s power will likely wane.
JAMES HALL ELISABETH JOHNSON
Will Peak ultimately learn the lesson of Icarus with all the correlative tantalizing freedom, aggrandizing hubris and the risk of deathly downfall? Only time will tell, but the community is watching the clock very closely. Tick, Tock.. - Cece Woods, Editor in Chief
COVER PHOTOGRAPHER / JIM JORDAN
Photographer Jim Jordan, mid shoot with Adrian Grenier at the Malibu Beach Inn.
Photographer Jim Jordan (far right), with his crew (far left), and our crew, Christy Calafati and myself, Cece Woods (center). A huge thank you to the Malibu Beach Inn for hosting us!
CITY
RESIDENTS DEMAND
BY CECE WOODS
RECALL EFFORT BEGIN ON mAYOR SKYLAR PEAK
a stunning rise COULD ALSO BE AN even more abrupt collapse FOR MALIBU’S YOUNGEST MAYOR
“IF I’M ELECTED, I WANT TO BE WITH PEOPLE WHO PRESERVE OPEN SPACE.” - Skylar Peak, October 2016 Campaign Rally at the home of resident Michael McDonald
RECALL! Peak giveth and -update!- Peak taketh away.
PHOTO BY EMILY SCHER
In his never-ending effort to shake things up, Mayor Skylar Peak made a seismic misstep recently with his flip-flop on the development of Bluffs Park. Peak’s decision to revisit the City funding of the Environmental Impact Report for one of the last remaining coastal bluffs in California sent shockwaves through the community and is probably the quickest round trip on a major campaign promise this town has seen yet. It is not clear when and how Peak started to back out on protecting Bluffs Park, but it is clear the controversy to win the power over this precious open space is the the white hot center of Malibu’s environmental universe right now. Peak went pro-development by going back on his promise to protect and preserve, leaving the future of Malibu’s rural coastal character in certain jeopardy. And now, and many of Peak’s supporters want him out. This breach of trust by Peak is nothing less than monumental, creating a strong resistance from the pro-open space supporters who voted to reelect him and a growing number of residents are now calling for his removal.
CITY As the pro-preservation slate took to the dais in January of this year, Mayor Skylar Peak has unapologetically made some disturbing decisions going against the promises he made while campaigning for re-election. Without question, Peak took Malibu voters for a serious ride down Disappointment Drive. And now, here we are at Regret Road. Unfortunately, it looks like we may be stuck here a while, as efforts to recall Malibu’s current and current and youngest mayor take shape.
1. CALLING HIS BLUFF At this point, with his whiplash move on Bluffs Park, it wouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that Mayor Peak might believe one thing in private and say another in public. On the campaign trail back in October 2016, the Team Malibu slate spoke at a rally at Point Dume resident Michael McDonald’s home where Peak got on his environmental soapbox in order to lure voters; “If I’m elected, I want to be with people who preserve open space.” Peak said. As he continued to woo the crowd with his pro open space speak, Peak went in for the slam dunk to sway voters at the rally that he was against the development of Bluffs Park and gave a stern warning to proponents; “Wake up people. You’re never going to get it.” Oh they, got it alright. Right between the eyes. For the record, this was a sucker punch I knew eventually would come. When the slate first formed, the community was at a loss for true pro-environmental candidates. This meant I had to go against my instincts to publicly support Peak. Lesson learned. Note to future City Council candidates: Don’t make campaign promises you don’t intend to keep. It’s proves to be a lose-lose-lose-lose-lose.
“WAKE UP PEOPLE, YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO GET IT.” -Skylar Peak’s “warning” to pro-development supporters of Bluffs Park at a campaign rally in October, 2016
2. NUMBERS DON’T LIE One would think the statistics showing how Malibu’s youth population is rapidly declining would be enough to deter Peak from destroying Bluffs Park. Or better yet, how about a parent telling you so. Longtime Malibu resident Kathleen Mudd, mother of 3, spelled it out for Peak: “Malibu population of children is SHRINKING!!! Don¹t believe me??? Ask Shari at CCW she is down to ONE classroom now for the first time in 30 years!!! She also had to let (Joannie), a long time loved teacher of 18 years, go!!! She has NO WAIT LIST!!! Why why why do we need to ruin Bluffs Park when there were only 3 U14 boy’s soccer teams this year and 4 U12. Do we need more fields for 4 teams? NO. Or what about baseball? Again 4 teams in each division. Why? NOT DUE TO LACK OF FIELDS, RATHER DUE TO LACK OF CHILDREN!!!!” So, how is Peak rationalizing his change of position from the thousands of voters that re-elected him to preserve open space over a diminishing demographic with a very acute focus? More importantly, why is Peak aligning with the proponents of developing Bluffs Park, who he knows distorted the results of the Bluffs Park survey to suit the minority and shrinking Little League lobby? Why would Peak ignore the substantial geological deficiencies for the Bluffs, which he knows would be a virtual impossibility to push through the Coastal Commission? Because, as I explained in our last issue, it has never been about the kids and it never will be. It’s about Politics, Power and Paybacks. Peak jumped into the swamp and decided the water was just fine. Will he learn the wisdom of Lord Acton, about how power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely? One can only hope, but with the information we have learned, I’m not holding my breath.
3. CONFLICT OF MANY INTERESTS : Peak, who along with the slate campaigned on draining the swamp at City Hall is now partially responsible for flooding it. In spite of City Mangaer Reva Feldman’s staggering deficiencies (one of the main reasons why the majority of voters looked to the slate to clean house), Peak, just days after the election, was already defending Feldman’s complete disregard for public safety as community members were alarmed the City issued no alert to residents after a fire broke out in Corral Canyon.
“I have been been more than satisfied thus far with her performance on this.” - Peak on Feldman’s track record MAKING SURE safety alerts ARE ISSUED IN A CONSISTENT AND
TIMELY MANNER - which to date has not materialized, leaving residents to fend for themselves and take to social media to inform the community. It’s no secret that Feldman’s agenda is to eradicate any and all City employees who are truly committed to the community, including the calculated elimination of one of the most dedicated employees to the Public Safety, former Emergency Services Director Brad Davis. Protecting the public is the FIRST responsibility of government and the City Manager and, at this point, there is no question Feldman has been severely derelict in her duties with regard to the public safety of our town. Malibu went 9 months with no one at the helm of Emergency Services (now “Public Safety Department”) during the most dangerous time of the year. This kind of city managing is undeniably dangerous. Feldman, who has been with the City since 2005, is no stranger to procedure and protocol. Yet city hall has become increasingly conflict-ridden under her supervision and this decision maker is making decisions that don’t seem to be in the broad public interest. And with all that taken into account, Peak was one of the deciding votes to extend her contract, with an INCREASE in pay. Feldman is paid substantially higher than most U.S. Senators. Sometimes you’ve got to say: is this is a joke? Or maybe, the joke’s on us.
CITY 3. FISCAL FAILURE Peak wasted no time showing his true allegiances and at the first City Council meeting as part of the slate, Peak was unwilling to oust Lou LaMonte from the Administrative & Finance committee allowing LaMonte to linger long enough to run the current 2017/18 budget, effectively allowing The Swamp to remain in control for another fiscal year. Peak has allowed the old pro-development regime of LaMonte and Rosenthal to continue to control the city’s relationships with outside agencies and governments. They have remained the city’s appointments to the Las Virgenes-Malibu Council of Governments, The Southern California Associated Governments, The League of California Cities, California Coastal Cities Assoiciation. After an orvelwhelming victory in the last election nothing has changed as far as the world outside Malibu is concerned due to a clear lack of leadership by Mayor Peak.
4. FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS DEvastate OUR M.P.A. Mayor Peak, a third generation Malibuite, was raised by a true steward of the land, his father Dusty Peak, a pillar in the community who spent his entire life protecting the creeks that went into the tide pools on Point Dume, which are considered to be a federally protected marine resource (Marine Protected Area or M.P.A.). So imagine our disbelief, or come to think about it, maybe not so much, when we learned that Peak went out of his way to accommodate neighbor/developer Richard Sperber’s project on Wildlife at the February 13th City Council meeting - essentially sanctioning the desecration of such precious environmental area. Why would Peak allow such leniency you ask? As I think back to the night before the election watching Sperber engage with Peak at a local restaurant and follow our group to another venue, continuing to schmooze with Peak one on one I had to wonder, “How deep does this relationship go?” Pretty deep - and lands right in a Marine Protected Area that Peak’s father fought for decades to protect. Sperber’s project was passed by the planning commission with restrictions on grading. In a behind the scenes move, the planning department “fixed” the plans to follow what Sperber wanted by allowing massive grading in a process called “substantial conformance”. After a huge pile of dirt towered over his neighbor, the planning department was forced to reverse its decision (a.k.a. “favor”). Sperber also filed a lawsuit against the City when the City revoked his building permit when it was also discovered that Sperber pushed too much soil out near the creek without the required runoff barrier, during the rainy season. These soils (silt) leached into the MPA which resulted in devastating the tide pools. Peak absolutely should have had the presence of mind to recuse himself given his personal involvement with Sperber which could pose too many ethical headaches. Yet he chose not to, and instead, to appease Sperber, a majority Council vote 3-2 forced resident Chris Farrar (whose property was being affected by the project), to file a complaint against Sperber with the California Coastal Commission.
I had to wonder, “How deep does this relationship go?” Pretty deep - and lands right in a Marine Protected Area that Peak’s father fought for DECADES TO PROTECT. 4. ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST With the interest of running the City more efficiently, Council member Jefferson Wagner proposed the office of the Ombudsman during the 2016 campaign. The City of Malibu is in constant jeopardy of continued litigation. An ombudsman may be able to negotiate a fair decision between two conflicted parties, eliminating costly court and legal fees for both parties. The ombudsman would be an independent resource hired by the city on an at-will basis. Clearly, Malibu is in dire need of a program like this as our City manager prides herself in creating conlict and directs city staff to follow her lead. Wagner is currently at a loss, needing council support to execute the office of the Ombudsman. Although Peak reached out to Wagner, suggesting they move on the proposed Ombudsman office, it still has not yet made it as an agendized item at either Zoraces or the Planning Commission. The office of the Ombudsman is a necessary conflict resolution program which council member Jefferson Wagner promised on the campaign trail. Peak, who suggested to Wagner he was in support, has now switched gears leaving Wagner falling short on his campaign promise.
5. HINDSIGHT is always 20/20 As I look back at the efforts made by a core group of devout Malibuites to assemble a team of three candidates with the intent on protecting our rural coastal town, it is now abundantly clear to everyone that Peak was the riskiest, most controversial investment of the campaign and we were swindled into a slate by Peak that is now unequivocally pro-development. Nobody likes being lied to and manipulated. Malibu was sold swampland by Peak when he told us he was dedicated to draining the swamp. The community has definitely soured on Peak suggesting the animus is now personal. There will be a steep price to pay without question.
LOCAL LA PAZ PROJECT GETTING LARGER? A LOSE-LOSE FOR MALIBU
BY THE LOCAL MALIBU STAFF
Most residents in Malibu have little idea that a enormous new retail mall/ office building is poised to be built in the heart of Malibu, the Civic Center. The “La Paz” project was approved in 2008 under the previous pro-development City Council. LaPaz will be larger than the Ralphs Colony Center at Webb Way and PCH. It was originally a combination of retail stores, restaurants and offices. Suddenly this project could potentially become even larger with changes potentially being made to usage. The Malibu City Council, put forth by Mayor Skylar Peak and Pro-tem Rick Mullen, will consider at the next city council meeting trading City development rights on a City owned parcel. This Council action would allow LaPaz to change their plans and to expand their mall development by an additional 10,000’ of restaurants. This violates the original development agreement and exceeds the City’s parking requirements. The Malibu Coastal Plan allows development of up to 20 percent of a commercial parcel if public amenities are provided in the Civic Center. If the council allows this swap it would exceed the limits set by Malibu’s LCP. It would invalidate the originating Environmental Impact Report, along with the traffic study, and in addition it violates critical parking requirements. This attempts to circumvent the Planning Commission and the public as it increases density in the Civic Center in what appears to be a move potentially made behind closed doors. This move violates the Malibu’s LCP of .20 maximum development and our slow growth new council could be setting a dangerous precedent of over development of the Civic Center and violating the intent of Measure R
WHY THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH PLAYING FIELDS IN MALIBU, AND OTHER FOLLIES By Sam Hall Kaplan
Bluffs Park might be one of the prime public promontories on Malibu’s singular coastline, but it is politically a civic swamp no thanks to a bumbling city bureaucracy, conflicted combatants and a clunker of a council. Following the continuing debate over the Park’s future is frankly exasperating, a puff of hot air in the lingering June gloom, as you sadly watch the conceit of a city crumble under municipal mismanagement, political pandering and resident neglect. And for this, our city manager gets a raise! And don’t bother to polish the plaques for our elected officials to hand out to each other while posing for their fawning publicists to celebrate themselves and the city’s next anniversary.
Even if the Council approves the questionable EIR the sport complex advocates are urging, overcoming an absentee (or is it just absent-minded) mayor and a preachy pro tem, you know City Hall will somehow delay any development for decades, while making patty cake with its overpaid consultants and padding its pensions. Meanwhile, the long reigning Lou and Laura show can be counted on to support the EIR and any other city exercise or excess, especially if it will enhance their pimping for a post council sinecure where they can cash in on their waning influence. As for the council’s stalwart good guy, Zuma Jay, he, if necessary, can abstain. Then, if these hurdles were not high enough, there is also the threat of tortuous lawsuits, and the tangled politics of the Coastal commission and the MRCA. My kids and those of my good neighbors might have played on Bluffs, but our grandchildren certainly won’t even if somehow they end up living here elbowed among the increasingly pricey second homes for the flighty one percenters.This is what Malibu has become. If we really want more playing fields, I suggest placing them on the vacant center city expanse known as Legacy Park, as I had hoped we would have done when suggested by a city parks commissioner 20 years ago. As we know, a back room deal between developers and a smarmy City Council went for a landscaped water runoff treatment plant that would ease the way for more unneeded, commercial development. The city also reportedly gave the right to amend the plan if needed to the present owner of Ralph’s. If the parents parading their kids before a discombobulated Council really want ball fields, let me in suggest (no doubt in vain) them boycotting the market. That would be easy enough, for fewer and fewer locals are going to the civic center anyway, given its vacancies, and traffic mess. So much for the slothful City Hall paying millions for consultants to diddle with our civic center and the PCH. And then, as I have suggested previously, there is Trancas Canyon Park, which can easily accommodate several playing fields and, with some minor tweaking, be ready almost overnight. All it would take is for the city to amend its specious agreements now banning active sports there, which it did to please a few of vociferous locals. If that is too much work or thought for City Hall, perhaps a consultant can be hired to make it happen.
HISTORIC SOLAR ECLIPSE By Steve Woods A total solar eclipse will occur on Monday, August 21, 2017. It will be visible in totality only within a band across the entire States. The previous time a total solar eclipse was visible across the entire contiguous United States was during the June 8, 1918, eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s apparent diameter is larger than the Sun’s, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth’s surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometers wide. Although only a partial solar eclipse will darken Malibu skies on August 21, it should be a day to mark on the calendar to be outside at 10:29 am.Meanwhile, this roving reporter will head to Montana to experience the center of the total eclipse. The last time I witnessed a total solar eclipse was in1987at the zoo in Surabaya, Indonesia on the island of Java. The animals at the zoo behaved with confusion as their solar time clocks were disrupted.
MALIBU COLONY PLAZA I 23733 WEST MALIBU RD. I MALIBU, CA. 90265 I 310-456-1500
SESSIONS
SURFAID CUP PROFILE WITH DR. DAVE Dr. Dave recently sat down with the SurfAid team to talk about the success of the SurfAid Cup global event series, and how it’s grown from a small morning paddle out to SurfAid’s signature fundraiser.
SA: We’re hearing a lot about the SurfAid Cup events around the globe. How is SurfAid using the stoke of surfing to save lives? DJ: It started as a breakfast paddle out with corporate surfers where we’d give an update on SurfAid’s work then head out for a surf. We invited people like Occy and Tom Carroll to join us and the concept evolved into our first SurfAid Cup in Manly in 2011. It was such a hit that we now run 8 SurfAid Cups globally. Since our first event in Manly, the SurfAid Cup Series has raised just under $2.5 million globally. To put that into perspective, it costs SurfAid approximately $25,000 to run our full-scale Mother and Child Health program. This equates to over 100 villages gaining access to clean water & sanitation, improved nutrition, and basic healthcare. All accomplished through a day of surfing! SA: What makes the SurfAid Cup unique? DJ: There is a special energy that comes with working together as a team to save lives. Adding in your favorite surfing legends and the camaraderie that stems from people coming together for the welfare of others makes this a rare and meaningful opportunity that you’ll never forget. SA: How are you getting some of surfing’s biggest names behind your event? DJ: They’ve heard about or seen our exceptional results in reducing maternal and child mortality rates in places they all love to surf. Surfing in a SurfAid Cup is their way of giving back. They get caught up in the energy of the event and that explains why so many of them come back year after year. Nat Young surfed with us for the first time in Santa Cruz and was amazing. He stoked out our competitors by hanging out all day and thanked us at the end for the opportunity. We are also really lucky to have the support of long term friends like Tom Carroll, Shane Dorian, and Kelly Slater who are simply stoked to help out and leverage their hard work and success on behalf of our families. Shane and Kelly took their support for SurfAid to a new level by partnering with us on their 2015 Omaze project that raised $75,000 for our Mother and Child Health Programs. Shane surfed with us in last year’s SurfAid Cup Malibu and is a great ambassador of our work. SA: Is the SurfAid Cup only open to pro level surfers? DJ: Definitely NOT! The surf is secondary to the stoke on the beach and the impact it makes to our program in the field. This event is for surfers who give a damn no matter what level they are. We have a grom team in Malibu that started when some of the kids were only 8 years old! There is no doubt that part of the fun is being in a competition and the adrenaline that goes with it, but at the end of the day no one cares how well you surf – the focus is on giving back. I wiped out on both of my waves in the SurfAid Cup Santa Cruz – earning me the Wild Card trophy for my custom “Founder Flounder.” It’s all part of the fun and we’re here to surf and save lives. SA: Since the comp is open to all levels of surfers, is there a restriction on the type of board you ride? DJ: No—it varies by location, but most are open to long and short boards. The judges are well versed in scoring all styles and judge accordingly. Part of the fun is seeing the various styles compete. Our last event in Santa Cruz came down to an epic battle between long and short boarders. The winning team, the Pleasure Point Life Savers, all rode longboards and had World Longboard Champ Joel Tudor as their Pro. They battled a team made up of some of the areas hottest shortboarders, the Santa Cruz Syndicate. Big Wave charger, Tyler Fox was their pro and both styles were incredible to watch. SA: What if you can’t surf, are there other ways to support the event? DJ: There are lots of ways to help both in and out of the water. We’re always in need of volunteers to help on the beach, run our merch tent, and help with silent auctions and securing raffle prizes. This is a great way to involve your business and we are always looking for event sponsors. If you can’t surf, you can join us virtually as a Soul Surfer in the US or AUS. Same as all our competitors, you’ll be given a personal fundraising page and you can skip the surf and join us for the party on the beach. These events are also a great way to donate your services. We’ve been lucky to have a variety of photographers, videographers and other talented people donate their services. You can contact our team in the US or Australia to find out more. SA: Where can we expect to see the SurfAid Cup Series in 2017/18? DJ: This year we are holding our first cup in Queensland and we’re also adding a new event in the US this coming spring as part of Shaper Studios Self Shape Surf Festival in Cardiff, CA. Our US Headquarters are just down the road in Encinitas, so it will be great to have a SurfAid Cup for our local supporters. SA: How do you register for a SurfAid Cup? DJ: Again, you can contact Erin in the US or Jessie in AU. The events typically fill up so it’s good to get your name on an early interest list.
SESSIONS
SA: SurfAid has hosted this event since 2011 – you’ve got to have some great stories, can you share a few of your favorite SurfAid Cup memories? DJ: There’s a few times I recall in Margaret River and Newcastle where the surf was big - much bigger than some of the surfers usually surfed in. They pushed themselves and paddled out for their team and they were so stoked they had done it. A few told me they were going to start training again and start surfing bigger waves. A recent memory was in Santa Cruz. Occasional 6 foot sets were coming in so I decided to wait. I was surfing alongside Nat Young and he was creating quite the buzz. A Bomb came and I just blew the take off and did a rather spectacular tumble down the falls. Bad enough to win the wildcard award for my spectacular wipeout. SA: Dream big – if you could add another SurfAid Cup anywhere in the world, where would it be and who would make your team roster? DJ: My dream would be to have an event as part of the triple crown at the home of surfing Hawaii. I’d love to see an event with many of the long time legends who no longer compete professionally but we miss seeing in action. Pair them with some of our big-time fundraisers in the US and AU for a global competition. I would also love to see my hometown Auckland have an event and then we could hold our own triple country crown. In all honesty, our events are our way of bringing our villages to our supporters. We try to share some of the impact that’s being made in the field and it’s a great way to show our thanks for your support. SurfAid is happy to bring a SurfAid Cup wherever our supporters want us to be. That’s what is most important – giving back and sharing the stoke for our programs. SA: What’s the best way to learn more about the SurfAid Cup? DJ: Contact our team in the US or AU or check out our SurfAid Cup Events Blog – even better, come surf with us.
COVER FEATURE
THE LONELY WHALE Adrian Grenier, Co-Founder Lonely Whale Foundation and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador.
PHOTO BY SHAWN HENDRICHS Founded in December 2015 by Adrian Grenier and Lucy Sumner, the Lonely Whale Foundation strives to inspire empathy towards marine species and develop life long advocates for ocean health. Through the powerful narrative of the 52Hz Whale, Lonely Whale Foundation initiatives focus on delivering educational curriculum that inspires our youngest learners and our innovative campaigns build community and encourage dialogue on and advocacy for ocean health issues and direct positive impact. To learn more and support, please visit LonelyWhale.org. Dune Ives, right, Executive Director of Lonely Whale Foundation and Sam Barrett of the United Nations Environment Program.
MAKING A CHANGE, TOGETHER. The Lonely Whale Foundation is dedicated to bringing people closer to the world’s oceans through education and awareness, inspiring empathy and action for ocean health and the well-being of marine wildlife. Born out of the full-length documentary, 52: The Search for the Loneliest Whale, the Lonely Whale Foundation was created to develop and support a community of ocean advocates through the champion of the Lonely Whale. Calling out at 52 Hz, the Lonely Whale sings at a frequency unrecognized by other whales leading us to believe it lives alone, calling out to no response. Through the story of our whale, we are able to confront loneliness and connect with one another, ourselves, and our environment.
The Local Malibu visited with Adrian Grenier, Co-Founder Lonely Whale Foundation and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador, and Dune Ives, Executice director of the Lonely Whale Foundation recently at the Malibu Beach Inn, where we were able to learn about this amazing organization dedicated to the ocean and the health of marine wildlife. THE LOCAL: What do you think are the biggest issues you feel are affecting the ocean and marine life today? DUNE IVES: Apathy and carelessness are the biggest issues our ocean faces today. Our ocean provides 70% of the oxygen we breathe and is the main source of protein for approximately 17% of our world’s population. Yet, every day we make choices that are crippling this life support system. Take, for instance, plastic pollution. We continue to create an estimated 300 million metric tons of new plastic annually and, still, less than 10% of this plastic is recycled. As a result, we’re now on track to have more plastic than fish by volume in the sea by 2050. More plastic than fish in our ocean! THE LOCAL: How can we become more educated on promoting a healthier environment - especially in terms of protecting the ocean? DUNE IVES: Ocean health is a problem that we can solve for, but we have to start participating. That can mean learning about your local waterways, understanding how individual action can make an impact, or beginning to understand how land use practices, climate change, and ocean health are inextricably linked. Most importantly, once we have that knowledge, we must share it with others. Not everyone will invest in their own ocean education, and so I view that sharing of information as a necessary step for all of us to take to protect our ocean and our environment. For that reason, connecting all people to one of our most vital sources of life is the mission statement of the Lonely Whale Foundation. THE LOCAL: Plastics are a huge issue, how can we make a more aggressive effort to reduce consumption? DUNE IVES: We have to start small, on an individual level. If we can hold one another accountable for our daily actions, we will have a ripple effect of change. But beyond ourselves, we must also support the governments (both local and national) and corporations who are taking a forward thinking stance on plastic pollution. Working together across borders and shopping aisles will support a concerted effort to reduce and permanently remove single use plastics from our cultural consumption. THE LOCAL: What other steps can we take to be proactive in protecting the ocean? DUNE IVES: There are so many! I would suggest choosing an action that resonates most with you. Maybe it’s single use plastics (#StopSucking!), or maybe it’s sustainable seafood. Whichever issue you choose - stick to it! Once you’ve successfully made that change, move onto your second ocean positive action. THE LOCAL: The Lonely Whale was started in 2015, what is the progress you’ve seen as the result of your foundations’ efforts? DUNE IVES: Since we began in 2015; we have grown from a collective of passionate storytellers to a team of impassioned activists with a penchant for corporate collaboration. Since its launch just under two years ago, the Lonely Whale Team has worked tirelessly to bring people, organizations, and governments together to ideate on innovative ways to share about and care for our ocean. Our Strawless Ocean program is just the first of many initiatives fully realizing our ideals and measurable global impact.
LOCAL
DUNCAN MCKENZIE
PC: Brian Asher
Words cannot describe how devastated the Malibu surf community is with the loss of one of its own. Duncan McKenzie, photographer and surf culture historian, passed away suddenly at the end of July. Our hearts ache as we remember how much joy he brought to everyone who knew him, and how Malibu will never be the same without him. Rest in peace dear friend.
“Rest In Peace, dear friend, gentleman, scholar, passionate surf culture documentarian. There hasn’t been a dry eye for miles since you’ve passed. We all know there will never be another @duncanmkenzie: unbelievably generous, warm, gregarious, loving, and proud to be a member of our tight-knit band of wonderful misfits. You will always be on the shore with a smile, your straw hat, converse, and your Canon, scanning for that shot that perfectly representS the unique joy of Southern California surfing. Photo by @brianasher #RIP #malibu #surfphotographeR” @malibusurfassociation
Friends gathered at Leo Carrillio Beach recently to remember Duncan Mckenzie. A paddle out will be held at Surfrider Beach in Duncan’s honor. Go to facebook.com/thelocalmalibu for more details.
ENVIRONMENT
Has the Lagoon Restoration Project ruined
the iconic Surfrider Wave?
BY STEVE WOODS
The Rindge house property experienced similar ocean and creek erosion problems in 1941 as is occurring now in 2017.
Surfrider Beach was the concern of a group of surfers from Malibu Surfing Association representing the Malibu Lagoon Action Committee who spoke during the public comments at the June 26thCity Council meeting. Lagoon Restoration opponents Steve Dunn, Josh Farberow, Drew Lewis, and Allen Sarlo were several well-known local surfers asking the Council to address the concerns over the existing erosion problems affecting the Adamson House and the wave quality at the world-famous Surfrider Beach. The group is requesting that Council take action in order to restore sand replenishment to protect the Adamson House from erosion, enable lifeguard trucks adequate access to beach wide emergencies, bring back and restore the tide pools, manage a breach opening at the top of the point, and lower the water temperature in the Malibu Lagoon. They also want to bring the iconic Surfrider Beach back to its former glory, which includes restoring “Kiddy Bowl,” a short-lived hollow wave section inside of 2nd point that slowly eroded away nearly 20 years ago. One request to the council was to restore sand back to “Old Joes “ which is on the eastern end of the private Colony Beach. One speaker named Ross alluded that the problems at Surfrider were the result of the Malibu Lagoon Restoration Project and said the solution would be solved by maintaining an outflow of the lagoon at an “existing channel “ just west of the 3rd point, 63 yards east of the Malibu Colony fence.(there is no existing channel) Mayor Peak, who is also a world-class surfer, took a little wind out of this groups request by responding,” Coastal erosion in this city is a major issue right now, whether it is Surfrider, Zuma or elsewhere, or where PCH is closed, or whether it is homes: our sand is disappearing.” Peak goes on to claim that “The Surfrider wave is the worst it has been in 30 years. That is very sad.” Peak questioned if the Lagoon Restoration Project was responsible for the beach erosion problems at Surfrider, even though every beach in Malibu has been impacted by a lack of sand from our watersheds that produce the needed sediment to replenish our beaches. Years of drought have also reduced beach sand replenishment . Specifically speaking of Zuma beach, Mayor Peak went on to request “help from the County because right now during high tides the ocean is in the parking lot.” It has now become more and more apparent throughout Malibu that a lack of down coast beach sand replenishment is affecting beaches other than Broad Beach, where emergency permits have been issued to build a protective rock barrier to protect homes. The Broad Beach Geological Hazardous Abatement District (GHAD) was formed by the homeowners to finance the estimated $30 million project to replenish the once broad beach. After an eight-year-long quest to bring in hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of quality sand to replenish Malibu’s now non-existent Broad Beach,there is yet another bureaucratic snag in delaying and irritating stakeholders and homeowners who dream of a sandy beach paradise. Ironically the very rip rap boulder wall that is protecting their homes is also preventing beach replenishment. During high tides the wave energy bounces off or refracts off the boulder barrier, sending its wave energy and sand back out into the down shore current to the east to Zuma and around Big Dume to Paradise Cove .Even though most surfers laugh at the plan to replenish Broad Beach knowing that just one El Nino winter of large west swells could scour the millions of dollars of imported sand down the coast , they say ,”bring it on”. Historically, Malibu beaches have received the bulk of its beach sand replenishments from the Ventura River, Santa Clara River and Calleguas Creek watersheds to our west and though droughts have always impacted reduced sediment loads onto our beaches, recent over development in these watersheds has had even more impact in reducing sediment sand loads. Each of these sand producing watersheds has been dammed, flood controlled, developed with concrete culverts, asphalt roadways, parking lots, subdivided housing tracts, urbanized landscaped, and diverted to farming irrigation ditches to the point that very little sediment is ever allowed to end up in our ocean and onto our beaches. Because of environmental laws and the Coastal Commission not even Cal Trans can dump the sediment that falls onto PCH over the side and into the ocean below.
Mayor Peak, who is also a world-class surfer, took a little wind out of this groups request by responding, “Coastal erosion in this city is a major issue right now, whether it is Surfrider, Zuma or elsewhere, or where PCH is closed, or whether it is homes: our sand is disappearing.” So as a long time Surfrider surfer and proponent of the Malibu Lagoon Restoration Project, I will argue that the erosion problems at Surfrider are not a result of the Restoration Project. In fact, the erosion problems from the creek outlet impacting the Adamson house are not new. Ever since Rhoda Rindge Adamson and her husband Merritt Adamson built their dream house in 1929, there has been a history of battling the elements of the ocean and the flow of the lagoon outlet that has always and historically migrated towards the east threatening many times to undermine the house and pool. Since the 30’s many wooden erosion barriers have been constructed, failed and rebuilt again. Most of the lawn area between the erosion barriers on the beach and the house has been replaced many times by importing off-site dirt fill. Not until the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s when large boulders were put in place did the erosion slow down. The house was built on an ancient sand dune that the Chumash lived on but below the house and underneath the sand dune are acres of creek cobblestones, which is evidence that the creek once had a history of flowing right under where the house is today. On the west end of the Lagoon, there is evidence that the lagoon outlet or creek flow has been to the west of Old Joes Rock. After a strong winter storm erodes the sand from Colony beach, and during a minus low tide, you can observe large, rounded creek cobblestones for about 6 houses to the west of the Colony fence. I hope those surfers who are upset with the natural changes occurring at Surfrider Beach understand that the lower Malibu watershed has always been in constant evolution and change, that nothing stays the same.
ENVIRONMENT Most surfers today have no understanding of how much more perfect the wave was at Surfrider after the killer floods of 1938 when surfers trimmed out on redwood paddle boards on flawless section-less waves from the top of the point near today’s 3rd point to the pier. Those cobblestone contours lasted through the mid 40’s but the cobblestones were rearranged by other floods and large swells which made the outer point unrideable through the 50’s and 60’s. First Point was the only real wave to ride until the magic floods of 1969. I was fortunate to witness the fury of both of the heaviest rains in Malibu history happening weeks apart and coinciding during minus low tides as massive flooding ripped through Malibu Canyon that was bare of vegetation from the previous seasons brush fire. Just before the storm the creek’s outlet was flowing out to the top of First point but as the flow of the raging creek hit flood stage with a ferocious force, the creek carved the outlet up the point and what sounded like a deafening bowling alley, thousands of cobblestone boulders were pushed out to sea to form a reef that gave birth to a world-class wave we called 2nd point. Two weeks later an even bigger storm hit during a minus low tide forcing the outlet even further west pushing out another giant boulder pile of cobblestones that gave birth to an even better cobble reef we deemed 3rd point. For the surfers who were blessed enough to surf in that era and the 10 years that followed will never be able to convince today’s young surfers of how dreamy the shape of the waves were then. Though two new world-class waves were born, one was lost for several seasons. First Point became a closed out beach break as the sand sediment from the storms filled up Kellers Cove nearly out to the end of the pier. On a minus low tide you could almost walk out to the end of the pier on sand .It took a few seasons of strong south swells to scour out the sand but the cobblestones of First point were eventually groomed clean and first point once again retained its perfect long point break shape but paled in comparison to the absolute perfection up the point at the new 2nd and 3rd point cobblestone reefs .Over time these two cobblestone reefs were impacted by large swells and other floods that swept the high points down and filled in the low channel between the two reefs and by the late 80’s the outer point reefs were reduced to the funky close-out quality of the 50’s and 60’s.In the spring of 1978, a spring flood swept giant sycamore trees into the surf zone along with a gravel rock reef inside of 2nd point creating a hollow section that we called “ Kiddy Bowl .” In 1986 winter flooding exited the lagoon berm inside first point creating a gravel rock island that cut the wave at first point in half with an unmakeable section for several years until large south swells groomed the rocks back into perfect order These changes that negatively impacted the wave quality at Surfrider preceded the Lagoon Restoration project.
Even though most surfers laugh at the plan to replenish Broad Beach knowing that just one El Nino winter of large west swells could scour the millions of dollars of imported sand down the coast, they say ,”bring it on”. During the 80’s and 90’s I was part of a group of local surfers deemed the Midnight Shovel Brigade. During the summer when the lagoon was in a closed berm condition and Tapia was dumping semi treated waste into the Malibu Creek watershed the water table became unnaturally very high in the lower watershed.So high in fact that some of the Colony septics and leach fields were submerged causing a few toilets to back up into their houses. One irate home owner who was fed up with his plumbing problems would complain to the county and order them to breach the lagoon in order to lower the water table. Well, a county crew would arrive with a bulldozer and was told by the home owner to dig an opening over by first point because his wife did not want her swimming hole at 3rd point ruined by the dirty water. The unnatural mechanical breach created such a fast flow of water that it pushed rock out and negatively impacted the shape of the wave in the surf zone. Not only were surfers pissed off , they got sick from the bacteria / virus-rich content. From then on County lifeguards who surfed tipped off the surfers of the Midnight Shovel Brigade that the following morning the county tractors would be out to cut an opening at 1st point. For hours into the night, a small team of surfers would dig a channel from the lagoon out into the swimming hole of our least favorite Colony resident. The next morning we watched with joy the angry faces of the county tractor driver and the homeowner’s wife but at least they could flush their toilets now. It was these unnatural tractor breaches that surfers protested and that were making surfers sick that inspired surfers like Glenn Hening to establish what was to become known as the Surfrider Foundation. It wasn’t until the excavation of the Lagoon Restoration Project that it was discovered that some of the adjacent Colony houses to the lagoon had covert illegal discharge pipes that led into the back of the lagoon. Several eye witnesses claim that at least one particular home owner would sump pump untreated human waste of his submerged flooded septic through his illegal discharge pipe directly into the lagoon. No wonder the EPA deemed that area of the lagoon a ‘Dysfunctional Death Zone’ and surfers referred to it as the ‘Polio Pond.” Not only did we in the Midnight Shovel Brigade believe we outsmarted the County and the Colony home owners but we really believed that by breaching the lagoon at the top of the point would make the waves better.In the 20 years that we did this , it NEVER made the waves better but we did kill thousands of tide pool creatures and lagoon fish in the process when the fresh water of the lagoon killed tide pool anemones , urchins and clams and hundreds of fresh water conditioned lagoon fish would die when they were swept out to a saline ocean .This is why the federal agency, Fish and Wildlife, will never allow a the Malibu Lagoon Action Committee to manage out of season breaches of the lagoon.The survival of aquatic life in Southern California Lagoons depends on seasonal open and closed berm conditions.
In the spring of 1978, a spring flood swept giant sycamore trees into the surf zone along with a gravel rock reef inside of 2nd point creating a hollow section that we called “ Kiddy Bowl .” I know that many Malibu surfers have been led to believe that by breaching the wave at the top of the point that the waves will magically become perfect again.Not so. Summer time tidal flows do not have the power of a 50 year flood to create or improve a cobblestone reef . It does not matter if a breach in the berm is natural or man made, it will not remain in the same place at the top of the point . Because of the down coast current all breaches migrate east towards the pier. Since the Restoration project was completed 80% of the natural breaches that have occurred have exited between 2nd point and 4th point, which is optimum, but every one of those breaches ends up repeating the historical migration to the Adamson House. Some have suggested putting a jetty at 3rd point to keep the opening at the top but the Army Corps Engineers, the Coastal Commission and the Fish and Wildlife Service would never sanction that. Some suggested having Beaches and Harbors continue its stupid, wasteful practice of bringing in more sand from sand deficient Zuma beach to protect the Adamson house but that has been a proven failure so many times that it is laughable.Sand does not stop erosion. More Rip Rap Boulders would do a better job of protecting the Adamson House. During a phone conversation I had with Allen Sarlo, we agreed that the efforts of the Malibu Lagoon Action Committee may have its most likely success if all the stake holders united on coming up with a plan to breach the berm at the top of the point but only if it is eminent that the lagoon was about to naturally breach near the Adamson House due to rising water levels in the watershed.
Not only did we in the Midnight Shovel Brigade believe we outsmarted the County and the Colony home owners but we really believed that by breaching the lagoon at the top of the point would make the waves better. As far as the wave quality at Surfrider goes, rest assured that history will keep repeating itself but perhaps not on the time scale that satisfies the brief life span of a human surfer.If the 50 -100 year miracle storms of 1938 and 1969 give you any hope for the future of another chance for an improved surf spot, next year could be that year!... or will it be 100 years from now?
Editors Note Update: It was the forces of nature that threatened the Adamsom House and now the forces of nature have come to the rescue to save the
house. With the Lagoon is in its seasonal closed berm condition, several south swells and high tides have deposited large amounts of sand that is now acting as a protective buffer between the Adamson Property,the creek and the erosion forces of the ocean. .
ENVIRONMENT
IF YOU REBUILD IT, WILL THEY COME? PART II Restoring Malibu Creek Steelhead to Their Past Glory.
BY BEN MARCUS
This story first appeared in Volume 2#1 of The Fly Fish Journal in 2009
Rindge Dam, the Rindges, Malibu Creek, Malibu, steelhead. I could write a book. I am writing a book and from all my many hours of poking around in the Huntington Library and the Seaver Center and the Adamson House and especially the LA Times online archive, I must know as much Malibu history as anyone standing. Summing it up in 500 words or less: In 1890, Frederick Hastings Rindge was a 28-year-old Bostonian who’d inherited a family fortune worth $3 million. He went west to grow with the country, and came to Los Angeles. Looking for “a farm near the ocean and under the lee of the mountains; with a trout brook, wild trees, a lake, good soil and excellent climate, one not too hot in the summer,” Frederick Rindge bought the 13,300-acre Rancho Topanga Malibu y Sequit. It’s possible Frederick Rindge was one of the transplanted men who transplanted rainbow trout into southern California streams, if you believe a report on Southern California Steelhead ESU by the Southwest Regional Office of the National Marine Fisheries Service: “Beginning in the 1890’s and extending through the late 1930’s, fingerling rainbow trout were planted into almost all possible waters in southern California. Included were stocks identified at the time as both rainbow trout and steelhead (Swift et. al. 1993).” Matt Stoecker begs to differ (and screw up the 500 word thing):
“The coastal rainbow/steelhead (O. mykiss) is native to southern California and even south into northern Baja and is native to Malibu Creek. No question on this. That is true. In fact, rainbow trout and anadromous steelhead strains have been planted in waters all over the state since hatchery operations started in the mid 1800’s. My point is that they were already there naturally. The natural distribution of O. mykiss in North America extends from Alaska south to Mexico and anadromous steelhead are native to watersheds throughout this range south to at least the Rio Santo Domingo in Central Baja. They’ve been planted everywhere. Steelhead have been present in all sizable coast California watersheds for tens of thousands of years. Dr. Peter Moyle is the most respected fish biologist in California and he has a good write up of steelhead in Salmon, Steelhead, and Trout Status and Emblematic Fauna. The Southern Steelhead section starts on pg 86 and here is an except related to this discussion: ‘Southern steelhead watersheds have been the focus of decades of hatchery planting of rainbow trout from outside the region, although there appears to be very little genetic mixing of wild steelhead with these hatchery strains with the exception of a few populations south of the Santa Clara River basin (Girman and Garza 2006). However, steelhead of genetically native ancestry occupy some basins south of the Santa Clara River such as Malibu, San Gabriel, and San Mateo Creeks.” Mr. Rindge and his wife May (and his millions) thrived in a southern California that was booming at the turn of the century – and so did the rainbow trout. Historical accounts place the peak steelhead run at 1000+ fish and shutting your mind to the present, it’s not hard to imagine a time when the Malibu was semi-wild, and there was a scrum of steelhead pushing up against the sandbar, waiting for the season when the skies burst, the trickle turned to a flood and the steelhead made a turbo run a few short miles up Malibu Canyon, to the flatlands beyond, in what is now Malibu Creek State Park.
Hollywood luminaries like Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy were said to take a break from their movie shoots to fish the Malibu’s still-viable runs.. Photo: AMPAAS Library.
A couple of miles up a rugged canyon is a cakewalk to a fish that can swim up the Columbia River, and all the way to the top of the Rocky Mountains in Idaho. Mr. Rindge died and left the Malibu to his wife, May. In 1926, she constructed a beautiful Arch Deco dam to provide water for growing citrus and lima beans, watering alfalfa and cattle and bringing “dam water” to the Rindge/Adamson home and headquarters, located a few miles downstream. Rindge dam is 100 feet high and makes an arc 172 feet long at the top. When full, the dam trapped 574 acre-feet of water. (According to Marko Swearingen, a horticulturist who hangs out at Malibu Kitchen and is sitting right next to me as I write this, 574 acre-feet of water is 150 million gallons. The submarine ride at Disneyland is 6.3 million gallons. The Vasona Reservoir in Los Gatos, which I remember from childhood, stores 400 acre feet.) Through the 1930s and 1940s, the Rindge dam began to trap more sediment than water: “In 1940 there was a large storm that silted the dam as you can see now,” Matt Kivlin said. “The storm also washed away the larger part of the Malibu Pier, part of the Highway and a very large fishing barge anchored off of Santa Monica. The rain for 1940 was 32.76” for the year, most from the one storm. The surfing beach was covered with trees that were washed down from the Canyon when I first went surfing at Malibu.” The Rindges sold the dam to the State of California in 1967. By then, there was more silt than water behind the dam, and it was decommissioned – but not deconstructed.
There is a movie star who lives in Malibu that is famously sexy but also famously, permanently stricken with hepatitis. A fisherman regards Malibu Creek in the same way: sexy, but tainted. Good from far, but far from good.
ENVIRONMENT In 1996, the Bureau of Reclamation office in Boulder City, Nevada wrote an appraisal report for the California State Parks Department called Rindge Dam Removal Study: An Effort to Reduce the Decline of the Malibu Creek Steelhead Trout Population in Southern California. The 39-page report includes a lot of overviews and underviews and diagrams with circles and arrows and a paragraph explaining what each one was. There are a lot of numbers in that Reclamation report: miles, inches, pounds, tons, truck loads, cubic yards, dollars and cents, but the most important number is the amount of sediment trapped behind the dam – and that number effects all the other numbers. Especially dollars: “During the course of this preliminary investigation it became apparent that there was a discrepancy on the amount of sediment deposited behind Rindge Dam. Reclamation originally calculated a quantity of about 1,600,000 cubic yards, while a State contractor estimates a quantity of 801,500 yards…. Although the volume of sediment is critical to determining an accurate cost estimate, existing data are inadequate to provide a specific quantity with appropriate confidence. Given this dilemma, one of several approaches could be taken. The high number could be used to provide an upper limit to estimated project costs; a number in the middle range could be used as a reasonable average; or the low number could be used because actual on-site drilling has supported calculation that led to that estimate.” Whether it’s 800,000 cubic yards of sediment or twice that number, the dam and the sediment are a blockade to southern steelhead, who now have only two short miles of very tainted water to breed. They do not seem to be in the mood. The lower stretches of Malibu Creek are infamously foul and are now the source of tens of millions of dollars in surveys, reports, blueprints, legislation, lawsuits, construction and efforts good and misguided to clean up what was once a beautiful coastal creek. One of the agencies overseeing the health and welfare of Malibu Creek is the Malibu Creek Watershed Advisory Council. Their map entitled Impaired Waterbodies of the Malibu Creek Watershed has an arrow pointing to the lower part of the creek below the dam and lists “NH3, Algae, Se, Al, NO3, NO2, coliform, trash, odor, color” as contaminants. Another arrow pointing to the lagoon lists “eutrophication, coliform and pH.” According to Wikipedia: “Eutrophication is an increase in the concentration of chemical nutrients in an ecosystem to an extent that increases the primary productivity of the ecosystem. Depending on the degree of eutrophication, subsequent negative environmental effects such as anoxia and severe reductions in water quality, fish, and other animal populations may occur.” The steelhead population that was once a thousand plus is down to maybe 20 or 50 fish – with complete die-offs of every swimming thing occurring every couple of years. The most recent was in September of 2009, and a story by Melanie Magruder in the Malibu Times looked back to a similar incident in 2006: The Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains will be meeting this week to discuss its rapid response team’s effort to solve the mystery of the recent sudden decline in Malibu Creek’s fish population, a phenomenon that appears to mirror a similar event three years ago. In 2006, all the visible aquatic life in Malibu Creek between Rindge Dam and Malibu Lagoon died during a three-month period. At the time, conservation scientists attributed the die-off to a combination of high water temperatures, reduced dissolved oxygen, low water flow from the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility upstream, algal growth and the smothering presence of decomposing diatoms (microscopic, one-cell alga). Malibu Creek is toxic, with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Population. According to the Malibu Watershed Advisory Council, there is a population of 90,000 people living in the 105 square mile watershed that feeds Malibu Creek on both sides of the Santa Monica Mountains. Population brings pollution, so the same flow that brings the sand and sediment that creates the wave, also brings a level of pollution that regularly earns F grades on the Heal the Bay Beach Report Card. There is a movie star who lives in Malibu that is famously sexy but also famously, permanently stricken with hepatitis. A fisherman regards Malibu Creek in the same way: sexy, but tainted. Good from far, but far from good.
Malibu Creek anglers circa 1943
ENVIRONMENT Malibu Creek is toxic, with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Population. According to the Malibu Watershed Advisory Council, there is a population of 90,000 people living in the 105 square mile watershed that feeds Malibu Creek on both sides of the Santa Monica Mountains. Population brings pollution, so the same flow that brings the sand and sediment that creates the wave, also brings a level of pollution that regularly earns F grades on the Heal the Bay Beach Report Card. There is a movie star who lives in Malibu that is famously sexy but also famously, permanently stricken with hepatitis. A fisherman regards Malibu Creek in the same way: sexy, but tainted. Good from far, but far from good. I’ve paddled up Malibu Lagoon on a standup paddleboard, carrying mouthwash and hydrogen peroxide in case I fell into the muck. Most tidewaters are ooky anyway, but Malibu Lagoon is ooky plus, although it’s easy to imagine a cleaner, fresher lagoon with hundreds of oncorhynchus mykiss waiting to make a turbo run up the canyon, to the flatlands beyond: breeding pools and movie stars. And speaking of muck, a few years ago I walked the lower part of the river writing an article for the LA Times. The first mile or so leading into the lagoon was the haunted house version of a once proud creek: the current was slow through some nice-looking pools, but it all had a down in the swamps y’all feel to it. Instead of cobwebs growing on antique furniture, most of the creek was being taken over by a green slime of muck. I don’t know the genus and species of that muck, but I had to break through the slime with my boots with every step. I couldn’t see where my feet were going, I didn’t want to fall in, and so I gave up easy on that expedition. The lower part of the creek is strewn with wire and trash and shopping carts and the litter and filth from homeless camps. I walked about a mile of it and it was hard going - physically and emotionally – and gave up. Dead creeks depress me, and Malibu Creek was definitely coughing up blood. Walking back to civilization I stood on the PCH bridge over the lagoon, looking for sign. My heart leapt when I saw a squadron of steelhead-sized fish moving under the bridge: Could it be? But it wasn’t. That promising school was a lost squadron of corbina or something that had washed in at high tide, and couldn’t get back out. They were thick as flies along the sandbar, probably gagging on the fouled water, hungry for bait fish, trapped. More sadness. So the lower creek was a no go, but I wondered what was going on above the dam.
Some of the best fishing was reported from the Malibu, probably because a few really good fishermen had the first crack at it on the Rindge estate. Malibu Creek runs up into Malibu Canyon which runs below Malibu Canyon Road. It’s a famously dangerous stretch of road because it’s full of twists and turns and blind corners, and also a gazillion bad drivers and Fast and Furious wannabes. Over the years there have been several incidents of people disappearing off the face of the earth, only to be found months and years later - usually by biologists, counting fish - dead near their cars, which plunged off the road and down 600 feet to the canyon bottom below. Driving along Malibu Canyon Road, it’s possible to stop at several turnouts and get a look at the creek. And it looks promising down there, some beautiful pools and a lot of running water and green trees that look especially good in the fall, because so Cal has fall color too. Malibu Creek comes up out of the Canyon and crosses under Malibu Canyon Road at the Piuma Road bridge. And just after that is the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility. A stream biologist got mad at me when I called Tapia a “major tributary of Malibu Creek,” but that’s what it is, for better or worse. Past Tapia, Malibu Creek winds through Malibu Creek State Park. This was once a backlot for 20th Century Fox who bought the property in 1946. It’s beautiful back there, even now and can look like Montana or upstate New York or Washington State. A lot of movies were filmed back there, during a time when it was prime hunting and fishing property. Clark Gable was a hunting and fishing fool and he appears to have been the real deal. Perhaps Mr. Gable had a bash at some Malibu Creek steelhead – as the run was still healthy in the 1940s. How Green Was My Valley and Planet of the Apes and a lot of famous movies and TV shows were shot along Malibu Creek. There are still remnants of the set for the M.A.S.H TV show which was shot there. When you see Colonel Blake (not Potter) fly-fishing in between helicopter landings – that is Malibu Creek. He did not catch steelhead. Beautiful but tainted. But now, when I drive Malibu Canyon Road or pull over to look down, I imagine a run of steelhead a thousand strong, powering out of the lagoon, racing up the canyon and then cruising into the flats above – going forth and multiplying, and then returning to sea. Beautiful, tainted, doomed, hopeful, historic. I had to have a lash above the dam. I wasn’t even sure it was legal to fish Malibu Creek. In the LA Times I found the Fish and Game Regulation for 1895, and there were limitations on trout fishing, but not steelhead: “Every person who takes catches or kills, or exposes for sale, or has in his possession any speckled trout, brook or salmon trout, or any variety of trout, between the 1st day of November and the 1st day of April in the following year, is guilty of a misdemeanor provided, however, that steelhead trout may be possessed at any time, when taken with rod and line in tide water.” Open season on steelhead at the turn of the last century. What does that suggest? These days the reverse is true. According to Fish and Game regulations, in the Southern District, “All streams except anadramous waters in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara….” are open to trout fishing all year, and that includes “above Rindge Dam on Malibu Creek.” My four-piece Sage case sits by the fireplace, looking forlorn, about as lost in Southern California as snow shoes. It hasn’t seen action since a Bitterroot/Lolo Creek expedition in the summer of 2008, and the same goes for my special-bought, Pro Plan fishing vest, glistening like armor, bristling with forceps, leaders and fly boxes full of bugs collected everywhere from Smithers to Doc Knoll in Paradise Valley. In November, curiosity got the better of me. I went down to Wiley’s Bait and Tackle at Topanga to buy a license. The place has been there since just after the beginning of time, and the woman who runs it now opens at 5:30 in the morning on weekends. A one-day license costs $13.50 and I did the right thing. But I couldn’t imagine Fish and Game spend too much time patrolling Malibu Creek either above or below the dam. Does anyone bother to fish it? I’d never seen a soul.
BY STEVE WOODS
LOCAL
MEASURE R MAY BE DOWN... BUT NOT OUT! BY STEVE WOODS Malibu City Attorney Christi Hogin reported from a July 10 City Council meeting that in a closed session meeting prior to the regularly scheduled meeting, there had been one reported action involving the case of The Park at Cross Creek and the Malibu Bay Company versus the City of Malibu involving the citizen initiative Measure R . The Council voted unanimously to seek a petition in the Supreme Court to review the decision by the Court of Appeals. The decision cast quite a shadow over the regulation of chain stores and restricts the ability of voters to control planning in a new and different way, so we will ask the Supreme Court to look at those two things.” With only a meager city budget allocated up to $75,000 for efforts to appeal Measure R, the city has spent just over $55,000 on the appeal. Christi Hogin and her law firm will not object to draining the city of the last of those remaining taxpayer funded allocations, but another judicial loss will not be a feather in her law cap. While Malibu citizens voted in a landslide to enact Measure R in 2014 , Ex Police Commissioner and developer Steve Soboroff filed suit in a Court of Appeals to challenge the measure’s constitutional merits only to be agreed on by one of his LA City Hall golfing acquaintances, Superior Court of California Judge James Chalfant,in December 2015. Although out of town developer Steve Soboroff now has the right to break ground and build his unwanted shopping mall in the heart of the Civic Center ,(that he hopes will draw out of towners to a sea side shopping destination),he could be taking a risk if the Supreme Court agrees with the will of the people’s rights to control and restrict unwanted or unneeded commercial gentrification. Soboroff could be ordered to cease and desist or go back to planning for changes of his multi million dollar investment. Question is, will he gamble and break ground before the Supreme Court has the final word? Steve Soboroff’s shopping mall project plans and deceptive campaign tactics to defeat Measure R have not been well received by many of us in this community who resent his desire to enrich himself while knowing that his unwanted shopping mall will further increase our traffic gridlock nightmares and erode our quality of life so that non residents can have a ‘Rodeo Drive’ Shopping Mall Destination by the Sea . Although some legal experts don’t give high hopes for the measure to succeed, we have seen in recent national news that Supreme Courts continue to have a history of overturning lower court decisions.
Soboroff could be ordered to cease and desist or go back to planning for changes of his multi million dollar investment. Question is, will he gamble and break ground before the Supreme Court has the final word? During public comments, two long time adversaries spoke. Realtor Paul Grisanti chastised the council for wasting valuable city funds to defend Measure R, while long time local and lawyer Ted Vail congratulated the council’s unanimous decision to defend the measure. He said this case is not only important to Malibu, but it is also important to dozens of other cities like Del Mar, Ojai, Coronado, Solvang, Carmel ,Calistoga, Pacific Grove, Sausalito and San Juan Bautista, that have adopted similar ordinances in order to preserve its small town character from overdeveloped generic commercialism. If this case were to lose in the Supreme Court, other cities could lose their ability maintain the communities desire to shape local planning or place limits and restrictions that would other wise erode small town charm into generic urban blight.Ted said that these other cities could be in trouble and recommended other cities like Del Mar to file an Amicus Brief, which can expand the significance of the appellate court decision. The Supreme Court tends to look at a bigger picture and not only reviews policy but examines precedents that have been set by other cities.
The 2014 initiative restricted chain stores and required voter approval of large development projects. Under the terms of Measure R, the City Council had to prepare a specific plan for every proposed commercial or mixed-use development in excess of 20,000 square feet and submit it to voters.
May Lady Justice have the scales tipped in favor of the Democratic majority.
LOCAL
APPELATE COURT SAYS MEASURE R DOESN’T MEASURE UP BY ELISABETh JOHNSON Malibu voters passed Measure R in 2014 in an effort to place certain limitations on developments and chain establishments within the city. The Measure R initiative was described as the “Your Malibu, Your Decision Act.” However, on June 21, 2017, the California Court of Appeals for the Second Appellate District affirmed an earlier trial court’s decision and concluded that “Measure R exceeds the initiative power and is illegal.” Under Measure R, the Malibu City Council is required to prepare a specific plan for every proposed commercial or mixed-use development that exceeds 20,000 square feet. Once that specific plan is approved by City Council, the plan must be placed on the ballot for voter approval. City Council is not permitted to take any action until the proposed development is either approved or denied by voters. Additionally, Measure R restricts formula retail establishments, meaning those that have ten or more retail locations in the world and satisfy at least two other conditions including offering a standardized selection of merchandise or menu; implementing a standardized color scheme; using of standardized décor, façade, layout or signage; owning and using a service mark or trademark; and requiring employee uniforms. However, formula retail establishments may obtain a conditional use permit (“CUP”). A CUP is an alternative to the aforementioned requirements and may be issued when the city finds that a particular formula retail establishment does not “impair the city’s unique, small-town community character by promoting a predominant sense of familiarity or sameness, with consideration for all existing formula retail establishments.” Once a CUP has been issued by city council, that CUP remains valid upon change in ownership of the business or change in the ownership of land or any property attached to the land. Developers of proposed projects, The Park at Cross Creek and Malibu Bay, brought a complaint in trial court seeking to have Measure R declared facially invalid. The Park and Malibu Bay alleged that Measure R subjects administrative acts to a public vote. In other words, The Park and Malibu Bay argue that when the city prepares the specific plan required by Measure R, which is then placed on the ballot, the administrative processes that take place at city hall are hindered and administrative power and responsibilities are delegated to voters. Referendums and initiatives that hinder administrative processes have not fared well in previous court decisions. The trial court found that Measure R did, in fact, exceed the scope of the initiative power. Local citizens are ensured the right to initiative and referendum in the California Constitution and that right relates directly to the legislative power, meaning the power to make laws. However, the initiative and referendum power is not absolute, especially when it infringes on the powers of the executive (in this case the City of Malibu) or the judicial branches. The court explained the rationale for this rule by stating: “to allow the referendum or initiative to be invoked to annul or delay the executive or administrative conduct would destroy the efficient administration of the business affairs of a city or municipality.” Thus, the court’s underlying message regarding Measure R was that the initial ballot proposition was legal, but the provisions that the measure created were not allowed to slow down the efficiency of the administrative processes at city hall. The court stated that “[t]here is a difference between, on the one hand, voter approval of a specific plan and, on the other, requiring a city council to prepare a specific plan and report, to hold a public hearing about the specific plan and report, and then requiring the plan to submitted to voters for approval.” The Park and Malibu Bay also alleged that Measure R created an illegal CUP. The trial court held that Measure R created an illegal CUP, because it was “establishment specific and did not run with the land.” This simply means that the decision of whether or not to issue the CUP relates to the characteristic of a particular business and does not relate to land use. Because of this, the trial court declared that Measure R was facially invalid and enjoined the city from enforcing it. In making its decision, the appellate court focused on the difference between a CUP and a condition. A CUP does not attach to the person, but, rather, attaches to the land. The appellate court noted that “a condition regulates the person rather than the land, improperly turning a CUP into an ‘ad hominem privilege rather than a decision regulating the use of property.’” The court illustrated this principle when it specified, “Starbucks is not a land use. ‘Coffee shop’ or restaurant is the land use.” Interveners in the case and proponents of Measure R say, “if the City is unable to consider the identity of the particular restaurant or retail shop seeking a CUP in a particular neighborhood, it will be unable to ensure a diverse group of businesses exists to meet the needs of residents and visitors . . . .”
22601 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, CA. 90265
ANDREW MCDONALD
AMCDONALD@THEAGENCYRE.COM 310.903.1893
BARRIE LIVINGSTONE
BARRIE.LIVINGSTONE@THEAGENCYRE.COM 310.779.0310
23146 MARIPOSA DE ORO SERRA RETREAT
4 BEDROOMS | 4 BATHROOMS | 4,700 SQ. FT. | 28,000 SQ FT LOT Contemporary ranch style meets rock-n-roll in this 4,700 SF. four- bedroom, four-bath fully renovated home on a flat 28,000 SF. lot with grand main living area with a soaring 22-foot ceiling overlooking the pool and garden. A formal dining and living room flank the entry hall. Large master suite with a fireplace and floor-to-ceiling doors and windows facing the pool. Alfresco dining in the gazebo by the pool and adjacent to the putting green. In its class, truly one of Malibu’s finest offerings. OFFERED AT $6,900,000 www.23146MariposaDeOro.com
ANDREW MCDONALD
AMCDONALD@THEAGENCYRE.COM 310.903.1893
BARRIE LIVINGSTONE
BARRIE.LIVINGSTONE@THEAGENCYRE.COM 310.779.0310 An international associate of Savills I THEAGENCYRE.COM
27400 PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY ESCONDIDO BEACH
1 BEDROOM | 1 BATHROOM | 700 SQ FT | SQ. FT. LOT One of four front row ocean view poolside units in the famed Holiday House, designed by modernist architect Richard Neutra. Single story with no unit above or below. Significantly renovated with no expense spared. This private, gated, 10-unit bluff side location has expansive ocean views with an oceanfront pool and sundeck, a private walkway to Geoffrey’s restaurant and private gated access to Escondido Beach steps. Don’t miss this -it’s as rare as oceanside condos get in Malibu. OFFERED AT $1,590,000 www.Holidayhouse108.com
ANDREW MCDONALD
AMCDONALD@THEAGENCYRE.COM 310.903.1893
BARRIE LIVINGSTONE
BARRIE.LIVINGSTONE@THEAGENCYRE.COM 310.779.0310
An international associate of Savills I THEAGENCYRE.COM
21564 ENCINA ROAD TOPANGA
4 BEDROOMS | 4 BATHROOMS | 3,100 SQ. FT. | 24,677 SQ FT LOT Topanga living at its finest. four-bedroom, four-bath contemporary style farm house. Private with spectacular views in PO District. Perfect for entertaining. Gated drive, two-bedroom, two-bath main house with two guest suites on lower level, each with a 3/4 bath. Separate pool house and office with views. 1928 horse stable, fully renovated in 2013. 3,100 SF of indoor living (buyer to verify). UV filtered pool with passive evaporative heaters. Mature landscaping laden with fruit trees/gardens. SOLD $150,000 OVER ASKING www.21564EncinaRoad.com
ANDREW MCDONALD
AMCDONALD@THEAGENCYRE.COM 310.903.1893
BARRIE LIVINGSTONE
BARRIE.LIVINGSTONE@THEAGENCYRE.COM 310.779.0310
An international associate of Savills I THEAGENCYRE.COM
ENVIRONMENT
SACRED OCEAN STewARDSHIP
An Interview with Mark Armfield, eco-warrior and green buiding pioneer
PC: LYON HERRON
“ what do you call a FLood? An abundance of water supply ready to be caught, cleaned and available to quench the world ’s thirst.”
On a recent summer day, I met with lifelong Malibu resident Mark Armfield at Westward Beach to learn more about his early connection to the ocean, nature and sustainability. In 1960, Armfield moved to the unpopulated terrain of Point Dume. He was six years old at the time, riding bareback (and barefoot) on a horse named Sugarfoot throughout the Point. His father William Armfield, a veterinarian, instilled in him a love of animals and the environment. Nature continues to be a place he goes to for solace, inspiration and to be with the land and Great Spirit that connects us all. Armfield’s father, whom he speaks of with profound respect, taught him “you can do no wrong when you follow nature...do you know why son? ...because it is natural”. These wise words have guided him as President/CEO of Armfield Design & Construction and as Founder and Chief Visionary of the non-profit RainCatcher, dedicated to healing communities by providing clean water in the developing worlds using affordable and sustainable solutions. Armfield has been involved in sustainable and green building since the 1980’s. Current projects include water management; bluff preservation, watershed restoration, rainwater harvesting and catchment designs around the Malibu area. Armfield served three terms as President of the Malibu Association of Contractors, and on behalf of this association, he received the prestigious Malibu Dolphin Award for outstanding achievement and goodwill for the community. As President, he and the Association built 18 charity projects, from new school parks and theatres to new classrooms. Armfield is also the recipient of the Certificate of Congressional Recognition for outstanding and invaluable service to the community from the United State Congress, as well as numerous other awards and recognition from the State of California. He has also served as Director of Malibu Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of Governmental Affairs for the City of Malibu, Member of the Malibu City Business Round Table and Member of the City of Malibu Sustainable Building Committee. Still young at heart and still blazing new trails, Armfield prepares to pass the torch on to the next generation… The Local: I am always interested in how someone begins their love affair with nature and even more interested in those that put that passion into action, how did all this begin for you? MA: I grew up at a time in Malibu that was bucolic, riding my horse from Little Dume to Big Dume, surfing with my buddies, delivering the Evening Outlook paper and hearing my mom ring the cowbell for dinner. My parents taught me as a boy that Malibu belonged to the Chumash (who lived on this land up to 15,000 years ago.)I grew to have my own direct experience with this sacred truth and to honor my stewardship of the ocean and land that I love. Really, we are all stewards, it all belongs to the Great Spirit – from the sacred ocean to the open fields and Malibu’s 3,000-foot peak, to the pristine sea life and the indigenous animals that roam this incredible landscape. It’s not ours; we’re not the locals – they are… The Local: Beautifully said… you have over three decades of experience in sustainability; share some specific projects you have worked on relating to our oceans. MA: My company is working on restoring the watershed throughout the Santa Monica Mountain range, which directly benefits and heals the ocean. We deal with water management, bluff preservation, onsite property water retention, rainwater harvesting, catchment systems and several innovative sustainable designs. All of this is great for our town and the ocean. We can protect the watershed by building sustainable properties that recycle their water. We install clean septic systems that are used for drip irrigation, which prevents run-off to the ocean. I want to extend that to the rest of the world as well. It’s about the heart – that’s everything. It’s what makes people serve our planet and each other. Additionally, we strive to use indigenous and sustainable products in our projects. Construction can have a tremendously negative impact on watersheds and the natural ecosystems – we have to be part of the solution. We build high-end, custom homes, which are a long-standing miracle and blessing in my professional life, but it doesn’t stop there. I want to leave the least impact on the land as possible.
YOU CAN NEVER TAKE THE WRONG TURN WHEN YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT PATH.
ENVIRONMENT The Local: Which brings us to the subject of your work with RainCatcher*, can you describe what the mission is and how you got involved? * Note: RainCatcher has helped educate and bring awareness about clean water to over a million people, saving and changing lives and has also helped the Navajo Nation in the four corner states. MA: A few experiences led me to this. In 1969, at the age of 15, I had a frightening experience with contaminated water while in Mexico and was hospitalized and sick for several months. Then in 1990, a trip to India changed my life. I came back with the awareness that every 20 seconds children under the age of five die from effects of unclean water. It was on the airplane ride home that I realized I would never be the same. I saw so many children in need , and I was determined to help people, to find a real solution for everyone. I realized then that my mission is “that nobody gets left behind, and nobody is forgotten” – THIS is the torch I want to pass on to the next generation.
NOTHING BELONGS TO US. WE ARE STEWARDS OF ALL LIVING THINGS. THE EARTH AND THE OCEAN INCLUDED. The Local: Who do you think is the biggest water waster? Do you buy into ‘Cowspiracy’ (the documentary about animal agriculture)? MA: I don’t get political. I love flying under the radar. I love just getting the job done and I don’t like to get stalled. I like to do the thing that I feel in my heart is right. From my perspective, contaminated storm water runoff is one of the biggest water wasters. I always state, “what do you call a flood?”... An abundance of water supply ready to be caught, cleaned and available to quench the world’s thirst. “Therefore, there is no water shortage in this world if we are able to fulfill the new innovative philosophies of water supply. However, you can do your part. For me, it’s like a mission because of the compassion I had as a kid. When I went to India, Thailand, and China I got an education seeing so many children suffer. In this country at the turn of the century, we built an infrastructure. But there in the developing countries, (I don’t like to say Third World Countries, I like to call them developing countries. I feel I honor them more that way) these people go without a lot, but you’ll see more smiles on their faces than you will on people that have the external luxuries. Happiness is an inside job and it’s not about the outside stuff. It doesn’t take a guru to figure that out. Life is an inside job. Nothing belongs to us. We are stewards of all living things, the earth and ocean included. My mission is to be a good steward and to pass that stewardship on to the next generation... raincatcher.org, armfielddesign.com
Mark Armfield with his father William Armfield, a local veterinarian, at the site where they built their home on Point Dume in 1959.
POINT DUME: In all her glory, circa 1898.
PC: LYON HERRON
LOCAL
AS THE WORLD TERNS
BIRD WATCHERS ARE FLYING HIGH WITH GOOD NEWS AT THE MALIBU LAGOON BY STEVE WOODS Great news for the endangered Snowy Plover at the Malibu Lagoon: it can now be said that Snowy Plovers have officially fledged young in LA County for the first time in almost 70 years. Both the endangered Snowy Plover and the Least Terns are nesting next to Malibu Lagoon and continue to be the BIG news. Snowy Plovers haven’t nested anywhere in Los Angeles County since 1949 in Manhattan Beach. Least Terns have nested for decades in the Venice Beach/Playa del Rey area, but the Santa Monica Audubon has NO prior records at ALL of their nesting at Malibu save for a single attempt in 2013. This was one year after the completion of the Malibu Lagoon Restoration Project when the one pair left after crows ate their eggs. The California Least Tern is an endangered migratory shorebird that nests on our beaches within a limited range from northern Baja California to San Francisco Bay. The smallest of the Tern species, Least Terns need pristine untouched, sandy areas for nesting and depends on natural estuaries, lagoons, and other open water areas for hunting small fish. Terns nest incolonies, which helps them work together to defend nests and chicks from predators such as American Crows, Gulls, cats, and snakes. Dog tracks have been spotted inside of the fenced off area. Dogs are also a deadly nuisance and are prohibited to be on the state property or the county beach. Today the protected fenced-off area of the beach near the lagoon is a frenzy of unprecedented bird life and bird watchers are witnessing a live National Geographic wildlife show of newborn Plovers and dozens of squawking Least Terns. The smaller Plovers are harder to see and hear as they are hiding in the piles of driftwood, dried kelp and native beach plants. The Least Terns are easily seen chasing off rival mates and constantly making flights into the Lagoon to retrieve an instant fish to bring back to their mate or new born chicks.Several times I watched the male or female come back with a fish for it’s partner and trade jobs sitting on an egg while the other flew off for what seemed like an unlimited fish supply from the lagoon and restored channels,returning with small fish . Not only were these two species present but many other species were seen preening, resting or fishing along the shores of a full lagoon. With billions of young newborn fish sheltering in the native plants there were also hundreds of large Mullets jumping out of the water and splashing in every direction. Most of the bird species seemed to have an unlimited supply of fish, including the resident family Ospreys who opted for the bigger jumping Mullets. I keep wondering if any of the reported endangered Steelhead will be speared by the great Blue Herons Snowy Egrets or the new family of Osprey.
Least Tern Parent guarding a beloved endangered egg (Photo :Chris Tosdevin 7-9-17)
Goofy looking...yes, but at least a surviving Least Tern chick (J. Waterman, Malibu 6-25-17)
During the recent full moon, high tides, and high surf, the ocean was washing over the berm and threatening to wipe out the nesting areas,but volunteers from State Parks, the Los Angeles Audubon and dedicated bird watchers filled hundreds of sand bags in a successful attempt to save the nesting areas from being washed away. In years past, these extreme high tides have devastated other nesting attempts, so kudos to the hard work of these nature lovers.This nesting area is also the area that a group of surfers from the Malibu Lagoon Action Committee want to manually and unnaturally breach the berm by digging a channel in an attempt to improve wave quality and protect the Adamson House, which is also discussed in this issue of The Local. Please come down with your binoculars and telephoto cameras and witness this historical and unprecedented awesome frenzy of wildlife but do not enter the fenced off area.
Now-juvenile Snowy Plover ‘Littledude”, Malibu (Photo : Grace Murayama 7-07-17)
LOCAL
MALIBU SURFRIDER PLAZA:
PLANNING STAFF ENTERTAINS AN 80 FOOT RETAINING WALL BY LESTER TOBIAS In Malibu, regulations pertaining to retaining walls and landform alteration (grading) have created a firewall to overdevelopment that most architects understand, accept, and to which we develop inventive, approvable solutions. Generally, site retaining walls are limited to a maximum of two, six foot retaining walls spaced three feet apart. If a retaining wall is part of a building, it is limited to one, twelve foot tall retaining wall. Theoretically, one could utilize a twelve foot retaining wall for the structure, and two, six foot tall site retaining walls for a maximum of twenty four feet of retained earth. Grading is limited to 1,000 cubic yards. There are workarounds to the strict interpretation of these rules, but for the most part, architects must respect the natural grade when designing structures in Malibu. These workarounds are essential in Malibu, but they must be reasonable and justifiable. The Malibu Surfrider Plaza, adjacent to Casa Escobar and Aviator Nation, ignores workarounds and requests for reasonable relief. Instead, the design shows an unbridled disregard for both the spirit AND letter of the code. In order to significantly increase the size of the building and the amount of parking that would otherwise be allowed, the submittal has proposed a single, 77 foot tall retaining wall, running across the width of the property, and the export of roughly 20,000 cubic yards of grading. These variances would allow a 7,700 square foot structure and 81 parking spaces. For reference, earlier submittals for this parcel have suggested that the existing site can handle a 4,500 foot structure with about 31 parking spaces without variances. To date, there are three perplexing occurrences. The first is why would an owner and architect familiar with the code submit such a design. The second is why has the project been allowed to proceed through the Environmental Review Board Hearing and Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Phase. What is most perplexing is that Senior Planner Adrian Fernandez has seemingly deemed the project viable. This sends a confused message to the Malibu design community. The planning department has always moved in the direction of reducing the size of structures built on slopes, reducing the amount of grading, and resisting the development of large building pads on sloped parcels. If this Negative Declaration is adopted, 25 years of ever-tightening restrictions would be thrown out in order to approve a project that needs a retaining wall 6 1/2 times taller that what is allowed and earth removal 20 times over what is allowed. Approvals have consequences. One can only imagine what other commercial property owners along that stretch of PCH would begin to contemplate. From their perspective, this would be a great variance. A 70% increase in building size and almost tripling the amount of parking means more customers, more cars, more “traffic”.
However, in an era where the residents of Malibu are already negatively impacted to an unbearable degree by these same three metrics, especially along this particular stretch of the PCH, should we not be engaging with the planning department and Senior Planner Fernandez and asking “WTF?!”
WELLNESS Hormonal imbalances affect millions of people…could you be one of them? Is your energy low, are you irritable, stressed, tired or anxious, have you noticed changes in your libido, are you not sleeping well enough, do you have loss of appetite and or weight gain? If so...read on! An early indicator of hormonal imbalances is skin blemishes (acne). Hormones are the chemical messengers in your body that regulate all aspects of life. Some examples include estrogen, testosterone, adrenaline, and insulin. They all have a number of important roles in the body and when even slightly out of balance, they can cause a myriad of health problems.
BALANCING ACT By Diana Nicholson
Hormones are produced by various glands including your thyroid, adrenals, pituitary, ovaries, testicles, and pancreas. Imbalances are common; however, their treatment normally includes the use of synthetic hormone replacement. This leaves people dependent upon prescription drugs and at higher risk of side effects like osteoporosis, stroke, anxiety and reproductive issues. Finding natural ways to balance your hormones can be a simple yet effective solution. My first suggestion is to adjust what you’re putting in, and on your body… toxins can be endocrine disruptors, and the elimination of them can play a major role in almost every aspect of good mental, emotional and physical balance. Making a few lifestyle changes can achieve results. Natural treatments such as an anti-inflammatory diet, and meditation to alleviate stress, help to reduce symptoms. Eliminating toxic kitchen, skin, hair and body care products are also a good place to start. Many conventional skin care products are made with potentially harmful chemicals (DEA, parabens, propylene glycol and sodium lauryl sulfate… etc.). Instead, use pure organic products with natural ingredients sourced from the earth. Beam Wellness Company targets these specific issues with a skin balancing facial serum called ‘BEING ELIXIR.’ It is made with known hormone balancing ingredients. While it’s hydrating and remarkably skin firming, it doesn’t impede the skins natural ability to breathe and has an added bonus of lifting your mood. In ancient times there was a practice used in repairing pottery called Kintsukuroi… filling the cracks with gold. Let’s fill the cracks of our BEING with gold. BEING ELIXIR is a product developed by my daughter Nicole Calandra. As co-founder of Beam Wellness, I can confidently say that this product is something you won’t want to miss! I would not typically promote my own product but this is one created and developed by my daughter who had her own adversity with hormonal imbalance. It works! There are also well-proven theories that the clothes you put on your body are just as important as what you put in your body. Look for companies like H&M and Benetton that are part of the detox catwalk. And although Urban Outfitters sells clothing with toxic chemicals, they place notices at the checkout counter as to which products contain harmful toxins. Another company to take a look at, Vibrant Body Company, produces a bra for one of the most important parts of a woman’s body. It’s a wireless bra that contains no toxins in the foam, fabric, and dyes. It’s also one of the most comfortable bras you will ever wear! Something else to be aware of is the use of plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Using glass or stainless steel containers eliminates the toxic effects of BPA. You can also switch from Teflon pans to stainless steel, ceramic or cast iron, which will reduce the amount of chemicals making their way into the food on your table. Consistent exercise (high-intensity interval training) that’s well suited for you reduces stress and getting the right amount of sleep (7 – 8 hours) all contribute to your hormonal balance. And, while every body is different, there are many tried, tested and proven healthful ways to adjust your balancing act!
Beam Wellness Company targets these specific issues with a skin balancing facial serum called ‘BEING ELIXIR.’ It is made with known hormone balancing ingredients. While it’s hydrating and remarkably skin firming, it doesn’t impede the skins natural ability to breathe and has an added bonus of lifting your mood. beamwellnesscompany.com @beamwellnesscompany
Diana Nicholson Health and Wellness Editor, Fitness Expert Dedicated to Educate Support and Empower www.diananicholson.com -Diana Nicholson Health Coach/Pilates/Yoga/Gyrotonic diananicholson.com 310-429-1513
B R E A K F A S T
COME TRY OUR NEW BREAKFAST AND LUNCH ADDITIONS.
D I N N E R
L U N C H
CATERING LARGE OR SMALL Full service, customized ready to eat trays. Call for quotes.
C A T E R I N G
23750 PACIFIC COAST HWY, MALIBU, CA 90265 (310) 317-1444 OLLOMALIBU.COM