Rain May Return To Malibu This Morning, And Again Thursday Night

It’s not over … scattered rain squalls are still possible in Malibu … as heavy rain hit Malibu yesterday afternoon.

Buit there were remarkably few problems,. 

Rockslides …. again … in the canyons and on the mountains. 

Rocks damaged cards on Malibu Canyon Rod near the tunnel 

Malibu rain totals (last 24 hours / storm total):

Boney Mtn – .1.24 / 6.44

Lechusa Beach – .85 / 4.53

KBUU Trancas – 1.10 / 4.20

Pepperdine – .1.16 / 5.29

Malibu Cyn Tunnel – .1.34 / 5.67

Saddle Peak Lodge – .1.49 / 5.82

Upper Las Flores Cyn – 1.13 / 5.21

Carbon Beach – .75 / 4.02

Big Rock Mesa – ..63 / 4.22

Topanga Cyn FS – .1.41 / 6.34

Palisades Fire Zone – .72 / 4.51

Agoura Hills – .84 / 5.73

Calabasas – .89 / 5.52

The low pressure system behind all this rain is not done with us yet.

Remanant rain … swirling around a low pressure system now centered over Barstow … could bring more ration in quick bursts this morning.

There is a 90% chance of rain today… not much … scattered showers … but there could be up to a half inch. 

Malibu got soaked yesterday afternoon.when another band of showers passed through.

More than an inch of rain fell yesterday … in the Malibu Civic Center area. 

Several cars were damaged last night by fallen rocks on Malibu Canyon Road.

There were also reports of rocks fallen on Kanan Dume Road.

At sunrise this morning … roads were clear. 

The next storm is on track to bring widespread rain Thursday or Thursday night … with some showers on Friday. 

The computer models are all over the place in terms of possible rain amounts, intensities, and impacts.

But it looks like this next storm will not be nearly as wet as what we had last weekend.

But the mountains are soaked … and it will less rain than usual to get significant runoff or mud and rocks on the roads. 

Damage At City Hall Caused By Water Seeping In From North Patio

Malibu City Hall got drenched over the weekend … when water from the heavy rain seeped into the multipurpose room used by the Senior Center. 

An adjacent kitchen on the ground floor also got squishy carpet.

City spokesman Matt Myerhoff says the water came in under the doors from the patio … but there was no roof leakage. 

Fans are running in the Multipurpose Room and Senior Center to dry out the carpeting.

It may take all week.

As we reported yesterday … senior center activities have been moved up to Bluffs Park.

And tonight’s parks and recreation commission meeting will shift over to the city council chambers in the same building.

Myerhoff says that other than the soaked carpet being dried out … there was no other damage requiring repairs.

Correction:  Malibu Does Not Use Genasys Software To Warn Of Emergencies

KBUU’s news report made an error earlier this week.

This was in the report about the “Company That Supplies Malibu Evacuation Software (being) Sued For An Alleged Deadly Failure In Altadena.”

The story was correct … about the lawsuit against Genasys … which is used by the county government to trigger emergency alerts or evacuation messaging.

And while the county government does use Genasys in the hills above Malibu … here in the city … the city does use the Genasys maps and evacuation zones. 

The city government uses Everbridge, a completely different platform, to push out disaster notifications and evacuation alerts.

Through Everbridge, the City of Malibu can send simultaneous, targeted messages via Cell phone calls … Text messages … Landline calls or emails.

City manager Candace Bond tells KBUU that she understands how the confusion may have arisen.

Malibu residents are sometimes instructed by the city to look up their evacuation status using the Genasys App system operated by the county. 

But the City wants to ensure that people understand that the lawsuit referenced in the Altadena case does not relate to Malibu’s emergency notification tools or processes.

KBUU notes the error and corrects it. 

Birdview Ave House, Detested By Neighbors, Wins Plannng Comm OK

The Planning Commission last night approved plans for a controversial new house on Birdview Avenue… 

Th proposed house is a teardown and rebuild … it would be single story and less than the mandatory eight limit of 28 feet qt the top of the pitched roof.

But it would be right up against the permissible setback line from the next door neighbors.

This house is strongly opposed by those neighbors … and nay the anti-development lobby in Malibu.

But … the plans are still in compliance with all city rules.

Planning Commission members said they were powerless to vote the project down … 

John Mazza 

BIRDVIEW MAZZA 71693

“In my opinion, you can’t force anybody to do anything unless they’re out of compliance.

“So we put a provision in here. It goes to city Council. That’s the point I was trying to make earlier. 

“It gets decided whatever we do here.

“You know I hate to be the guy doing it … but on the face of it … they meet the code.”

It was a unanimous vote in favor of the house. 

Another planning commissioners … Marni Kamins

BIRDVIEW KAMINS 71694 

“I just want to add, that I feel really feel for the neighbors …

“But just ethically, to block a compliant house is just something we can’t do.”

The house on Birdview Avenue will likely be appealed to the city council.

Riddick Sworn In As New Planning Comm Chair

In other action last night … Elizabeth Riddick was elected as the next planning commission chair by her fellow commission members.

It was a 4 to 1 vote … with John Mazza on the losing side of yet another 4 to 1 vote. 

He voted for Marni Kamins. 

Mazza was selected as the vice chair … on a unanimous vote.

Giant, Illegal County Radio Tower Goes To City Council Dec 17

Last September … the city Planning Commission approved a compromise with LA County over the gigantic red radio antenna … an illegal structure that towers over the Civic Center like a red and white candelabra. 

LA County agreed to paint the monstrosity a neutral color … and chop off the top 20 feet to so to bring it down to the 75 foot height limits.

Now … the. Malibu Township Council has filed an appeal of the Planning Commission  decision … with the city. 

There will be a special city council meeting on December 17th to hear the matter. 

The protest … claims that the Planning Commission did not have the evidence on its side when it approved the compromise. 

It claims that the sheriff’;s department radio repeaters on the tower will be dangerous to passersby …

The city’s principal planner … Tyler Eaton … says the appellant’s claims are not substantiated by the preponderance of evidence in the record. 

In a report filed yesterday … the planner says there tower will comply with applicable FCC technical guidelines on radio frequency energy. 

In fact … the city staff says the 2025 Palisades Fire shows that the county sheriff and fire department’s radio traffic needs better coverage. 

The sheriff’;s department has said  it cannot open its new Malibu substation until radio coverage in the Civic Center area is improved.

And the report says there have been two public hearings on the proposed project and sufficient time for the public and the planning Commission to deliberate over the matter.

The Planning Commission hearings were fair, impartial, and all of the evidence has been evaluated by the City.

The Malibu Township Council’s appeal had 25 items in it … and the county refuted each of them in a lengthy response. 

Now … it’s up to the city council to make a decision. 

That meting has been crammed in tot he council’s crowded schedule… for December 17th at 4 in the afternoon.

US Army Corps Of Engineers Prides Itself On Removing 2.6 Million Tons Of Fire Debris

The U S Army Corps of Engineers has released a self-examination of its huge debris removal ion Malibu … Pacific Palisades …and Altadena.

The debris removal job was done in September … nearly four months ahead of schedule. 

The Army is still working to restore the debris staging sites, so they can be returned for community use.

In just six months, more than 9,500 properties were cleared, removing more than 2.6 million tons of debris.

The big boss says “The nation can be proud of their U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the work we have done in LA.”

Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly says the LA fire response … quote … “have brought out the best among us.”

They say that a high priority was placed on community engagement, including face-to-face interactions with residents through recovery centers, community meetings and walkthroughs of their properties.

The Army reports that its contractor teams prioritized the recovery of sentimental items, whenever possible.

In one case, crews recovered a police badge that had belonged to a veteran and longtime officer — a priceless heirloom that his son feared was lost forever,.

In another case … a boy’s grandfather’s coin collection was found and returned to him.”At a news conference at Altadena’s main library,