Farmers Market stalls move across street as showdown looms Play

The Malibu Farmers Market moved a few of its stalls a few feet outside of Legacy Park on Sunday. This comes as the city and the group that runs the Farmers Market are heading to a showdown.

The Malibu city manager has promised to end the flagrant violations of the farmers market city permit to operate in the parking lot at the Malibu Library.

The Cornucopia Foundation, which runs the market, has been in Legacy Park since the construction of the Malibu College building made it impossible to hold the Sunday event on the north side of Civic Center Way. The market was moved into the tree-shaded, much more attractive Legacy Park on the south side of the street.

That land is owned by the city of Malibu, but it has a deed restriction that strictly forbids commercial activity. The Perenchio family, which holds the deed restriction, is not willing to allow Legacy Park to host the farmers market on a permanent basis. But the Cornucopia Foundation has stubbornly refused to move back into the much less attractive parking lot across the street.

Zoning officials reportedly were ready to have sheriff's deputies prevent the farmers market from setting up in the park this weekend. At the last minute, zoning officials were pulled back, as the city said apparently there were problems with the farmers market agreement with L.A. County, which owns the parking lot.

Yesterday, the clothing vendors and other farmers market merchants were not anywhere to be found, and the food vendors were all set up in the parking spaces on the south side of the street. The tables for people to enjoy their meals were in the park, but most of the stalls were not, and there were far fewer vendors selling clothing or jewelry. About a half dozen farmers market stands remained in the park itself.

No comment was available from the Cornucopia Foundation or its longtime director, Deborah Bianco.

Sources at City Hall say it is not negotiable — the Farmers Market needs to be out of the street, out of the park, and in the Malibu Library parking lot. No one from the Farmers Market was on the site for comment Sunday.