Editor’s note:  The KBUU Newscasts were on hiatus Friday and Monday, due to station business at the NAB convention in Las Vegas.  We are catching up with some delayed needs items.

Malibu Traffic Camera Revenue Will Add $1.7 Million To City’s Income

Malibu will make about 1 point 7 million dollars per year from its automated speed traffic cameras … money that will cover the expense of hiring CHP units in the city. 

In fact … there will be about a half million dollars per year left over for other PCH safety projects.

But 60 percent of the car owners who get the automated tickets won’t pay the full fines …

Instead … they are expected to pull the poverty card and pay reduced fees or participate in community service in lieu of paying the fines.

That’s the estimate from a company that appears to have won the contract to build and operate the system..

The city estimates that it will take in 4 and a half million dollars per year by writing almost a quarter million tickets on PCH.

The automated speed radar cameras will write tickets to car owners whose vehicles get clocked violating the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour.

So with the 4 and a half million coming in … and reduced fees But with that estimated 40% fine collection rate, annual revenue is estimated at approximately $4,543,520 per year. 

The city says anticipated revenue will be more than sufficient to offset the annual contract amount that is not to exceed $2,801,751. 

Surplus revenue derived from the program must be used for traffic calming measures on the Pacific Coast Highway .. according to the state law that gave Malibu and five other cities the rest authority to use automatic cameras.

The proposed contract with a traffic management company, which will actually install and operate the cameras, goes before the city council next Monday.

Agoura Hills Commission OKs Safety Plan Some Fear Will Gridlock Kanan Road Fire Exit From Malibu

An emergency plan for fire evacuations was approved by the Agoura Hills Planning Commission last week.

And despite the fact that the plans envisions closing Kanan Road to traffic heading towards the 101 freeway … under some fire scenarios … officials there sought to assure residents of the Santa Monica Mountains …. south of the 101 … that they would not be affected.

Many people south of the 101 were not buying it … and they plan to further oppose the plan when it goes before the Agoura Hills city council. 

The Agoura Hills Planning officials said they are merely providing additional housing units to comply with state laws aimed at relieving California’s housing crisis. 

At the Agoura Hills planning commission meeting last week … board members took great pains to say they were not approving an evacuation plan.

Rather … they said they were approving a planning document to allow additional housing along Kanan Road near the 101 Freeway … as required by state law. 

Commissioner Bruce Stein said the plan will be safe … because it will use sheriff’s deputies to implement reverse lane flow on Kanan Road to get more cars to the 101 Freeway a fire. 

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“It is recommendations to be implemented or potentially implemented by the incident command, which would be the fire department or the sheriff.

“And I just want to make clear that they are the agencies that ultimately make that decision. 

“Because it’s not up to the city … it’s up to incident command whether the counterflow measures actually get implemented based on the situation of the emergency.”

Residents of the Santa Monica Mountains south of Agoura Hills were having none of that. 

They said there were not enough deputies to handle both evacuations and traffic control in the last big fire … the woolsey Fire of 2018.

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“That seems extremely reckless .. a reckless disregard for our safety … to allow additional development for the roads that we have very limited options of getting out.

“Kanan is it.

“There is no other choice..”

The Agoura Hills traffic engineers admit, that Kanan Road will be jammed during an evacuation.

But they say that can be handled by using contraflow … having traffic streaming to get to the 101 use lanes in the opposite direction

They envision four lanes of traffic coming down from the north … plus three lanes of traffic coming up from Malibu and the mountains to the south … to reach the 101. 

Just how all of that would cram onto the freeway onramp lanes at the traffic lights … which do not have generators … has not been explained. 

Residents like Nick Tabb questioned that. 

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“I understand that the (traffic engineering) model is saying that it could support that, but I think that any risk at all should be avoided, especially for the people who are already here.” 

The city planners in Agoura Hills voiced confidence in their traffic counts …

They show only 900 cars would come up Kanan from Malibu in an emergency evacuation of our city.

Resident Eddie Klein has lived in Agoura Hills for 30 years … and said this studies are disproven by history.

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“The Woolsey fire evacuation was one of the scariest things I ever had to undergo in my life. 

“We were stuck.

“We couldn’t move. 

“We couldn’t go down Kanan!” 

At the Agoura Hills planning commission meeting … resident after resident pointed to the history of the fire eight years ago, and said the roads were jammed then..

“I the 2018 Woolsey wire wildfire Keenan was in gridlock.

“A wildfire starting in our adjacent hills will have over 10,600 cars leaving at once (in Agoura Hills). 

“Your evacuation analysis cannot conclude Kanan is safe.”

But the Agoura Hills planning commissioners unanimously approved the safety element for the city’s general plan.

They stressed that this is just a planning document for development … not an evacuation plan.

And they emphasized that the sheriffs department and fire department would never approve a road closure in an emergency.

So … they recommend that Agoura Hills comply with a state housing law that requires more housing up there next to the already-overcrowded interchange of the 101 at Kanan.

The controversial Agoura Hills safety plan goes on to their city council … later this spring.

5 More Chain Stores To Open In Downtown Malibu, Some Commissioners Not Happy

Five more chain stores are going to open soon at the new shopping center … on Civic Center Way at Cross Creek Ranch.

The stores are Birkenstock … Brandi Melville … Malbon Golf … Restoration hardware … and The Shop By Wheat.

This is not exactly a group of mom and pop shops … noted some members of the Planning Commission. 

Marni Kamins noted that the shopping center is zoned for community commercial … and that is supposed to be stores that serve the local community. 

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“I don’t know how the Ranch got approved to be built and all that office space in the mall and retail.

“I don’t know how it got approved because now that I’m on the commission and I read the LCP and I see what is supposed to be in Malibu.

“This ordinance was created to make Malibu essentially keep its real character. Keep the smalltown feel. Keep local businesses.

“Keep it from becoming just sort of like anywhere luxury beach town, USA.”

And Kamins says the ordinance is failing to do that. 

Last night … the planning commission got a report on what’’s happening … at the new mall.

But two unhappy commissioners were told this was not up for a vote … it was a a report on how the city staff was approving policy that was set by a city council years ago,

The assistant city attorney said no appeal was possible … b

But commissioner John Mazza said the chain store leases can be appealed to the California Coastal commission. 

Mazza Again Skipped Over As Planning Commission Chair

A rather routine and familiar Mallbu political contest reran last night … with Skylar Peak once again defeating John Mazza.

It was yet another decision by the Planning Commission majority to pass over John Mazza, who said he wanted to take his turn to be chairman of the powerful Malibu Planning Commission.

It was yet another 3 to 2 vote … similar to the over-and-over-again 3 to 2 votes at Planning. 

No surprise … the new nameplates were already printed. 

One of the votes against Mazza was Elizabeth Riddick.

She and Mazza have often clashed over the past year … as she chaired the Planning Commission and Mazza objected to various issues.

Last night … she was once again the swing vote against Mazza rotating into the chair. 

But she said this:

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“John adds such history and such depth, and always speaks his mind .  

“And he always brings poignant details to subject matter …  takes the time to research everything deeply … and I know really really cares about Malibu.

“And that has nothing to do with you being chair being not chair and you know we welcome your input. 

“And that has nothing to do with you know being chair being not chair and you know we welcome your opinions and your voice and I’m glad you’re strong and your voice them but we as a group make decisions together.”

But those words of praise came after a vote to bypass Mazza … again … from rotating in as chairman of the commission.

Voting for Mazza were Marni Kamins and Mazza.

Voting for Skylar Peak were Riddick … Drew Leonard and Peak.

Planners OK Nearly 75% Of Fire Rebuild Requests

Malibu City planners have approved just about three in every four of the planning applications submitted by fire victims from the last big fires. 

With about 750 homes destroyed … homeowners have been granted 308 approvals of conceptual plans.

The delay … is getting the exact construction plans submitted to the city … for approval of the exact construction plans.

That is for the most recent fires … the Franklin and Palisades disasters.

And fo the Woolsey Fire of eight years ago … when 450 houses were burned down in Western Malibu … just over half of those houses have been rebuilt and moved in to. 

About three quarters of those Woolsey-destroyed houses have building permits issued.

And about half with certificates of occupancy.

State Judge Says Feds Must Follow State Law At Oil Platforms

Now what???

That’s there question after a state judge rule that a Texas oil company cannot steamroll over stat environmental laws and restart oil pumping from can offshore field 60 miles up the coast from Malibu/

The pumping has already started. 

A Santa Barbara County judge has ruled that Sable Offshore Oil is prohibited form umping oil until it adheres to all state and local regulations.

The judge noted that nothing in the federal Defense Production Act allows a company to violate state laws. 

And the judge pointed to two other similar federal court decisions.

Tell that top the president …. And to the Texas oil company.

They say they have already begun pumping opiul from Santa Barbara to a Chevron refinery near L A X … via. Pipeline that goes thru Bakerfield.

SpaceX And Coastal Commission Reportedly Settle Over Elon Musk

SpaceX and the California Coastal Commission say they have settled Elon Musk’s lawsuit over rocket launches up the coast from Malibu. 

Musk had filed a lawsuit challenging the Coastal Commission’s authority 

accused the commission’s board members of opposing the rocket launches because of its “naked political discrimination” against billionaire CEO Elon Musk.

The commission regulates coastline development in California ,… and it wants SpaceX to obtain a coastal development permit.

The commission also voted to oppose a U.S. Air Force proposal that would have increased the number of annual Falcon 9 rocket launches the company could perform from 36 to 50. 

The Air Force ultimately overrode the objection and the rocket launches continued, according to court records.

The coastal commission members attacked Elon Musk’s political beliefs when they turned drown the SpaceX permit. 

We don’t now how things were patched over .

The settlement is sealed until it gets approved by a court.

News of an out-of-court settlement was reported by law360.com .