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malibusurfsidenews.com news Malibu surfside news | July 27, 2016 | 7 Malibu Parks and Recreation Commission Bluffs Parkland designs to head to coastal commission Eric Billingsly Freelance Reporter Recent changes to the City’s Integrated Pest Management program, an update on the Malibu Bluffs Parkland project, and improvements to the Dial-A-Ride program were a few of the topics discussed at the City of Malibu Parks and Recreation Commission meeting on July 19. Round it Up A brief recap of other Parks and Recreation action July 19 •The multi-purpose field at Malibu Bluffs Park is currently being re-seeded, and will reopen to the public on Aug. 14 •A majority of the City-sponsored summer camps for youth have exceeded camp participant minimums •The City Council recently authorized the city manager to execute the amendment with Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District to extend the 2013-2016 joint use agreement for an additional three-year period •The City of Malibu Parks and Recreation Commission will be going paperless as of the beginning of August 2016. Malibu Bluffs Parkland Over the past few years, the City of Malibu Parks and Recreation Commission has been tasked with developing a Park Master Plan for 83 acres of undeveloped open space adjacent to Malibu Bluffs Park, 10 acres of developed space at the existing park and 1.75 acres of vacant land known as the Crummer Property. “We have an incredible opportunity to create a park in the center of our community that can fulfill a shortage of amenities for all of our community,” said Carl Randall, chair of the City of Malibu’s Parks and Recreation Commission. In 2013, the City Council approved a five-year land use agreement with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, transferring maintenance and operations responsibilities for 525 acres of the Cityowned Charmlee Wilderness Park for the 83 acres of undeveloped open space, according to the City’s website. The agreement allows the City to access the property in order to assess the feasibility of developing recreational facilities on the site. The City has since hosted focus groups, multiple public meetings and sent out public surveys to gather community input on the Malibu Bluffs Parkland project. Based on that input, officials worked with consultants to create a draft master plan. The current plan includes adding a dog park, skate park, aquatic center, additional sports facilities, open space, trails, amphitheater, basketball courts and space for large community events, according to Randall. The next step is to gain approval from the California Coastal Commission. Malibu City staff recently met with staff from the California Coastal Commission to get initial feedback on the plan. As a result of the meeting, the draft plan will also likely include more emphasis on education about sustainability practices and the Chumash people, the original inhabitants of the Malibu area. City Manager Reva Feldman will meet with California Coastal Commission staff on Aug. 23 to review updates to the plan. “We are under the jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission and have to find a park design that makes all parties happy,” Randall said. Dial-A-Ride changes In an effort to expand the City of Malibu’s Dial- A-Ride service, the City recently sent out a survey to people who use the program and those registered with the Malibu Senior Center. Survey responses led to three proposed changes, including: increasing service hours for trips within Malibu until 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; increasing the number of one-way trips within Malibu people can use each day to three; and allowing users to go into Santa Monica service areas for nonmedical purposes. The expanded Dial-A- Ride services are expected to take effect at the beginning of September, said Theresa Odello, recreation coordinator with the Malibu Senior Center. But the changes still need to be approved by the Malibu City Council. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority funds the program with Proposition A transportation dollars. The City of Malibu Dial-A-Ride program is a transit system that serves people ages 60 and older and those with disabilities who are residents of Malibu. It currently provides low-cost transportation, ranging from $1 to $4 one way, for trips within city limits and for medical appointments outside of Malibu. “The Dial-A-Ride program really serves seniors [and those with disabilities] in the Malibu community, many of whom are unable to drive and those who want to be safer and choose not to drive,” Odello said. There are currently 400 registered users. Integrated Pest Management On June 27, the Malibu City Council directed Parks and Recreation staff to immediately discontinue the use of pesticides on all City-owned parks, roads and properties, said Kristin Riesgo, recreation manager for the City of Malibu. City officials want to establish an earthfriendly management policy, she said. “We always try to practice earth-friendly pest management at all of our parks,” Riesgo said. “This is just a way for the City Council to formally direct staff to no longer use pesticides. In the past, we’ve used pesticides minimally and have not used them at all in our parks since February 2016.” The Malibu Parks and Recreation Commission will work with the Environmental Sustainability Department to draft an Integrated Pest Management program that includes the City Council’s new requirements. CemetEry From Page 4 ing its list of requirements for a complete application violates the provisions of the PSA.” Planning Director Bonnie Blue said in an email that because the proposed cemetery and memorial park has never been proposed before, “the standard submittal checklist doesn’t account for the special characteristics” of that type of project. “We try our best to anticipate everything we will need on the front end, but sometimes an applicant’s revised submittal raises new questions, especially when it’s a type of project we’ve never seen before,” Blue said. In a May 16 email to Fernandez, the law firm stated that a 30-day period during which the City had to respond to the developer’s most recent project application had elapsed, automatically deeming the application “complete as a matter of law.” Blue said the City typically does not issue a formal completeness letter until an environmental review is completed. That review is the next step in the process for the cemetery project, she said. The City created a landing page last week with information about the project, which is currently “under review,” according to the page. While the New York Post article claimed that Weintraub said the cemetery and memorial park would be up and running in 2018, that may not be the case. Patricia Salazar, senior administrative analyst for the planning department, said the City still has to approve various discretionary entitlements to “facilitate development of the proposed project.” Councilwoman Laura Rosenthal told the Malibu Surfside News that “people can like concepts,” but as it stands, the project has not come before any committees, there have been no votes and she hasn’t seen any plans for the project. “There’s a lot of uncertainty,” Rosenthal said.