Council candidate stumbles on Malibu Mission Statement at debate Play

With the election coming up, how would the four Malibu City Council candidates enforce the Malibu Mission Statement? That was one of the major questions at Sunday's debate hosted by the Malibu Township Council.

Danny Smith was the first to answer, and he said the key would be to restrict the amount of commercial development.

"In terms of commercial development, we have ample space, and in addition to development concerns, adding more commercial space will only increase the for-rent and vacancy signs that we see. One thing that I would like to do is to become more proactive as a city in acquiring lands, you know, reasonably within our means. But this is something that we should do. It's the only way we can ensure that they will be under city control and can be preserved, if that's in their natural state, if that's what we desire."

Incumbent Malibu City Council member Marianne Riggins pointed to the current municipal code and local coastal program, both of which she says protect Malibu's Mission Statement promoting a rural way of life.

"Continue looking to our local coastal program, our municipal code and our general plan. Those outline exactly what can occur in Malibu, and sticking with those as our guiding documents on how we approve anything that's proposed."

Councilman Doug Stewart said variances from the general plan can be used judiciously for very unique circumstances, but the general plan is doing a good job protecting the Malibu Mission Statement.

"I can see somebody saying, oh, I need to be six inches back or a half a foot back from a setback line. That's worth considering. But asking to put a third story on a two-story house — no, that's the kind of stuff that's an automatic no. And as I said, we've got the playbook. You know what to do. Follow the book."

Then Township Council moderator Jo Drummond asked the newcomer, Amir Sam Dubai: what will you do to uphold the vision and mission statements of Malibu? Unlike the other three candidates, Dubai appeared to be unfamiliar with the Malibu Mission Statement, the guiding document for the city's planning.

"Can we repeat the question?"

"What will you do to uphold the vision and mission statements of Malibu?"

"And can we define, for any listeners, what those values are, in the first part of the question, just for anyone who might not be familiar?"

"Do you mean what the vision and mission statement of Malibu is?"

"Yes, just for any listeners that might not be familiar."

The crowd was made up of members of the Malibu Township Council, and the Malibu Mission Statement is near and dear to their heart. They appeared to be dumbfounded that a city council candidate wouldn't know it. The mission statement was then read for Mr. Amir's benefit.

"To me it sounds that the mission statement is already embodied by the Municipal Code and the laws that control and govern in Malibu."

That was Amir Sam Dubai at the City Council debate Sunday. We'll have more from that debate Wednesday.