Malibu City Council was informed this week that it is time for Malibu’s General Plan Housing Element to be updated and the document reviewed for state certification.

The state of California requires that the city update its housing element document every eight years. However, when the process is set in motion the subject of affordable housing always comes up.

Based on the current numbers the city must  accommodate 115 very low housing units, 73 low, 79 moderate and 174 above moderate income households through June 30, 2014.

However, that does not mean that the city has to built properties to meet the requirement in haste, but does have to show that it has created the zoning to accomodate the numbers.

The updated element must be certified by the state’s Housing Community Development agency. HCD reviews the update, makes comments and determines if it is consistent with state laws and accommodates the targeted number of units which total 441. Malibu’s Housing Element was adopted as part of the city’s General Plan in 1995 and has been amended twice and has not been certified by HCD or comprehensively updated since its adoption.

We will report back with any further updates

If you are interested in purchasing a property or selling a property in Malibu, Pacific Palisades or the surrounding Beverly Hills/southern California area then please contact Judy Kunisaki for professional real estate advice in the Westside Los Angeles area, on 310-317-8396 or via her online contact form on her website.

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Exciting news for Malibu!

Despite concerns by residents and controversy the planned Trancas Market has been given the green light by Malibu City Council.

The Trancas Market is to be located at the intersection of Trancas Canyon Road and Pacific Coast Highway. However the requirements the council demanded for the project include mandatory 24-hour security, the storage of a container on the premises that holds various tools to aid in case of a disaster, and the addition of an easement bordering the highway on the west end of the shopping center that would serve as an emergency access way.

The project will add 25,728 square feet of commercial space to the existing 27,695 square foot shopping center; a new parking lot north of the gas station; a new public parking lot north of HOW?S supermarket and an on-site alternative wastewater treatment system according to the Malibu Times.
The approval by Malibu City Council also includes conditional use permits for two new restaurants, La Spiagga, an Italian restaurant run by the same restaurateur who operates Tra di Noi, and Malibu Diner. The project application also includes a proposal to enhance Trancas Creek by replanting native vegetation along its banks – which is definitely welcome news.

Malibu really is a community on the grow, a city that is always changing and improving.

If you are interested in purchasing a property or selling a property in Malibu, Pacific Palisades or the surrounding Beverly Hills/southern California area then please contact Judy Kunisaki for professional real estate advice in the Westside Los Angeles area, on 310-317-8396 or via her online contact form on her website.

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Malibu City Council has been discussing allocating $1 million to upgrade facilities at the Michael Landon Center.

The development plan to expand the Michael Landon Center, located at the 6 acre Bluffs Park, currently consists of three options. Option 1: Tear down and rebuild the center. Option 2: Construct a second floor structurally independent from the first floor in order to avoid reinforcement of the existing foundation. Option 3: Remove the center’s existing roof and construct a second floor with a new roof, which would cost a minimum of $1.5 million. Both Options 1 & 2 would cost approximately $1.5 million, although option one (the preferred option by the council) could possibly be completed for less.

Therefore it is expected that this will be the option which will be agreed on. Which is exciting news for Malibu and those who use Bluffs Park, the center is a great community asset and is available for rent for functions to all. You can see pictures of the center as it is now here.

We will keep you posted..

If you are interested in purchasing a property or selling a property in Malibu, Pacific Palisades or the surrounding Beverly Hills/southern California area then please contact Judy Kunisaki for professional real estate advice in the Westside Los Angeles area, on 310-317-8396 or via her online contact form on her website.

Subscribe to our blog using our RSS feed. (Click here!)

Judy Kunisaki – CA DRE license 00963582

Malibu City Council has submitted a bid to purchase the 40,000 square foot Malibu Performing Arts Center located on Stuart Ranch Road. However! Not to keep it as a performing arts center but as part of its quest for a permanent city hall.

The council submitted a $15 million bid for the building which will be auctioned June 15 as part of bankruptcy proceedings by property owner Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Malibu. The property is valued at $27.6 million, according to a January 2008 appraisal, so if successful, the city is getting a bargain!

The building, according to a Malibu Times interview in 2001, was purchased by Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Malibu 10 years ago for $7.25 million and is now a fiber optic office unit with recording and sound systems, a 500 seat theater and dance studios. Included with the sale of the property are the fellowship’s assets, which includes all the high-tech recording equipment.

All exciting stuff for Malibu. We will all keep a close eye on this sale.

Being the leading Real Estate company in Malibu, rest assured that we will keep you informed through our blog. Subscribe to our blog using our RSS feed. (Click here!)

If you are interested in purchasing a property or selling a property in Malibu, Pacific Palisades or the surrounding Beverly Hills/southern California area then please contact Judy Kunisaki for professional real estate advice in the Westside Los Angeles area, on 310-317-8396 or via her online contact form on her website.

Malibu City Council is discussing controversial plans to look at introducing a vacation home tax to solve the councils budget crisis.

The council is dealing with a $1.2 million shortfall. City staff at an Administration and Finance Subcommittee’s special meeting on Monday, May 11th recommended the city begin collecting taxes on the short term rentals of private homes beginning July 1. The tax amounts to 12 percent of the rental price of these vacation homes, and would add an estimated $200,000 to the city’s budget.

However, the State may the may decide to utilize eight percent, or $600,000, of the city’s property taxes to go towards its $40 billion budget shortfall, which would further decrease the city’s revenue.

The tax may be called the Transient Occupancy Taxes and may be levied on rental income from private homes leased for 30 days or less. The Malibu Municipal Code allows for such a tax, but the city has thus far only enforced it on hotels and motels. Property owners of the short-term rentals would be required to register with the city and obtain a transient occupancy registration certificate and pay a one time implementation fee of $25.

Other states do already levy tax on vacation properties leased on a short term basis. Florida for instance has an occupancy tax of 10%. Malibu City Council has said that it will work with local Real Estate Companies to help keep them updated on the progress of this Vacation Home Tax.

Being the leading Real Estate company in Malibu, rest assured that we will keep you informed through our blog. Subscribe to our blog using our RSS feed. (Click here!)

If you are interested in purchasing a property or selling a property in Malibu, Pacific Palisades or the surrounding Beverly Hills/southern California area then please contact Judy Kunisaki for professional real estate advice in the Westside Los Angeles area, on 310-317-8396 or via her online contact form on her website.

The long running and hotly debated Malibu La Paz Project is finally starting to be considered by the Malibu City Council who have hinted at its approval.

The project is split into different plans which would make way for a new commercial district with amenities for local residents as well as a new city hall to replace the current aging location.

However, the council has just gone back to the developer in a landmark discussion and asked for another plan to be drawn up to include a waste water facility instead of a new city hall – this heightened acknowledgement of the plans and developer has been noted by some as a hint that the plan may receive approval from the city council itself and be given the green light to start construction soon.

With the recent discussions changing the focus into more of a “public benefit” analysis the developer has been asked to resubmit their plans and to include other facilities such as landscaping through to Legacy Park, underground parking and golf/pedestrian routes for residents.

If you are looking at relocating to Malibu or the surrounding Westside area then please contact Judy Kunisaki for professional Real Estate advice in the area. Judy’s wealth of experience in Westside real estate is an asset for both buyers and sellers. Contact her through her website: www.judysellswestside.com or by calling the office on   310-317-8396  .