MSN_021419

6 | February 14, 2019 | Malibu surfside news news
malibusurfsidenews.com
Malibu city council
City amplifies its price gouging protections
Michele willer-allred,
Freelance Reporter
Multiple reports of price
gouging activity in Malibu
since the Woolsey Fire
have prompted the City to
strengthen its laws, while
also coordinating with the
Los Angeles County District
Attorney to prosecute
violators.
On Monday, Feb. 11, the
Malibu City Council unanimously
adopted an ordinance
amending the City’s
Municipal Code prohibiting
price gouging in the
city during a local state of
emergency declaration.
The council also amended
the code to increase protections
against price gouging
and subject violators to
administrative penalties.
The ordinance is intended
to strengthen an existing
urgency ordinance, approved
by the council on
Dec. 4, by extending state
law protections against
price gouging in the city.
According to state law,
businesses cannot increase
the price of vital goods and
services by more than 10
percent within 30 days of a
declared emergency.
City Attorney Christi
Hogin said that since the
City adopted its original
ordinance, it has received
multiple reports of alleged
price gouging activity,
which are currently being
investigated in coordination
with the County Department
of Consumer and
Business Affairs and the
District Attorney’s office.
“Given the sudden, acute
need for housing within
the city, both transient
and long-term in nature,
these amendments will enable
City officials to better
protect the victims of the
Woolsey Fire, by facilitating
the prosecution of bad
actors and by enabling
immediate action against
predatory conduct,” Hogin
wrote in a staff report.
The amendments approved
by the council include
a definition of “rental
price” that clarifies the
baseline price used to evaluate
price increases, and
captures new properties on
the market. Rental prices
for the properties are limited
to 160 percent of the
fair market rent established
by the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
The proposed amendments
also clarify that the
City’s protections against
price gouging extend to
all types of rental housing,
regardless of the length of
the lease, and subject violations
to the City’s administrative
penalty provisions.
Hogin warned that violators
are subject to administrative
and criminal
penalties, though the only
mechanism for the public
to get prosecution on price
gouging is to file a complaint.
Hogin explained the
definition of price gouging,
noting that it has to be
something completely out
of line.
“If you see something
that’s a few hundred dollars
more a month than you
would’ve expected, that’s
not price gouging,” she
said.
Councilman Skylar Peak
emphasized that City officials
don’t want to “meddle
in the market, but we very
Round it up
A brief recap of action from the Monday, Feb. 11
meeting of the Malibu City Council
• The council unanimously approved the
introduction of an ordinance amending the
Local Coastal Program and allowing the City to
modify standards and procedures to facilitate the
rebuilding of structures damaged or destroyed
by the fire. Regulations for temporary housing,
allowing removal of certain native trees, and
allowing changes to onsite water treatment
systems were included.
• The council unanimously approved adding the
Point Dume Nature Preserve parking improvement
project along Cliffside Drive to the City’s capital
improvement project list for this fiscal year.
The City expects to enter into a reimbursement
agreement with Friends of Point Dume and Astani
to fund the project.
• City Manager Reva Feldman announced that the
public comment period for a new trail proposed
by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation
Authority, to connect Murphy Way with the current
Escondido Falls Trail, has been extended until April
4. The study is available at mrca.ca.gov/about/
land-use-planning-documents/.
much so want to protect the
residents that live here, and
we don’t want price gouging
to occur.”
Peak offered a hypothetical
example of price gouging,
such as if you had a
home for rent for $10,000
a month before the fire, and
raised it to $20,000 a month
after the fire.
Peak also urged residents
to contact the City or District
Attorney’s office if
they suspect price gouging
in the community.
Planning Commissioner
John Mazza, who spoke at
the meeting, said that he
sees evidence of inflated
rental prices throughout
the city, citing rental listings
that reach as much as
$150,000 a month. Mazza
said he wants the council
to ban short-term rentals,
which inflate profits. The
move also would free up
housing for locals, he said.
More Malibu residents
opt in to country’s debris
removal program
In an update on the fire
debris removal program,
City officials noted that, as
of Feb. 11, 288 applications
had been submitted and
240 approved for the optin
program offered by Los
Angeles County and the
California Department of
Resources Recycling and
Recovery.
Residents whose properties
were impacted by the
fire have until this Friday,
Feb. 15, to choose between
opting in or out.
About 488 residential
structures were destroyed
in the fire and another 100
damaged, according to statistics
provided by the City.
Craig George, environmental
sustainability director
for the City of Malibu,
said that CalRecycle commenced
debris removal in
the Point Dume residential
area, as well as around
Malibu High School since
those are “priority areas.”
George reminded the
council that CalRecycle is
expecting to increase the
total number of teams in the
field doing debris removal,
and said that residents can
expect to see a lot more
trucks on the highway.
“[The teams] are very
conscientious about not
disturbing whole neighborhoods,
so they really plan
out where they’re going to
go,” he stressed.
George noted that the rest
of the applications received
so far are being processed.
Another 120 applications
have been submitted
by residents who are opting
out of the state-sponsored
debris removal program,
with 55 permits issued so
far. Residents planning
to complete independent
debris removal must still
meet requirements set by
the state and county.
George anticipates the
rest of the opt-out permits
to be approved in the next
couple of weeks.
He also predicts a “surge”
in applications at the Feb.
15 closing date for the Cal-
Recycle program, but also
admitted that there will be
property owners who do
nothing.
At the end of the closing
date, George said City
staff plans to review all
the applications and begin
comparing them against
addresses and a physical
survey of destroyed homes.
George emphasized that
an abatement program
would be costly to the City,
so he hopes people choose
to opt in.
“I know there’s a lot of
trepidation by some people
that don’t want to have
their foundation removed
[if opting in], and that’s understandable,”
he said.
George stressed that the
City is not requiring the
home’s foundation to be
removed, and that people
can have their foundation
investigated to prove that
it’s viable.
George said in talking
with officials in other jurisdictions
that experienced
large-scale fires, such as
Thomas Fire and Tubbs
Fire, they are “amazed”
with how far ahead of
schedule the Woolsey Fire
is in terms of the debris removal
process, compared
to where they were.
“It is a process,” George
admitted. “Unfortunately,
it does take time, but we’re
finally rolling and expect
this can be done in the next
couple of months.”
City Manager Reva Feldman
said the City is working
with the Los Angeles
County Fire Department,
which has agreed to open
a one-stop shop in Malibu
staffed with an official to
review and approve plans
to rebuild properties.