DECEMBER 8, 2000: BILL MILLER REALIZES A LIFELONG DREAM AND OPENS A LONG-ISLAND STYLE DELI – MALIBU KITCHEN
SEPTEMBER 2002: MALIBU VS. THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION
Too long a story to even synopsize here. When the city of Malibu delayed finalizing a required Local Coastal Program, the California Coastal Commission tried to force one on Malibu. Manifesting its own destiny is why Malibu became a city, and the conflict was in court until Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made three new appointments to the Coastal Commission in 2004, which resulted in an agreement between Malibu and the Coastal Commission in August of 2005 to hammer out an LCP that was agreeable on both sides.
SEPT. 12, 2002: LAIRD CONNECTS FROM SECOND TO THE PIER ON ONE TO THEM NEWFANGLED STAND-UP PADDLE BOARDS
All 12-feet-7-inches of Laird Hamilton and Gabrielle Reece move into Latigo Canyon i 1997, and Hamilton used local waters to experiment with this new training and wave-riding technique: standing up on a big board and paddling. In 2002, Laird goes public with stand-up paddle surfing during a big south swell at First Point. He paddles out with an American flag and rides waves from Second Point through the pier.
NOVEMBER 2003: MEASURE M DEFEATED IN A REFERENDUM
Want to start a war? Get a dozen Malibu politicians in the same room, ask about Measure M, and then duck! Way, way, way too long of a story to detail in less than book length, but essentially, to vote against Measure M was to limit development in Malibu. A yes vote would have allowed what many considered an unacceptable level of development. Measure M lost, and that led to the purchase of the Chili Cook-off site and Legacy Park.
NOVEMBER 2003: LARRY ELLISON PLAYS MALIBUNOPOLY
“My son first wanted to go to Standford, which I though was OK. The weather is pretty good, and it’s a fairly short drive to the beach. But it wouldn’t be as good as, let’s say, Pepperdine, which is in Malibu. And he said ‘Dad, what about the education?’ I said, ‘Clearly, I failed as a parent.” – Larry Ellison, quote found online.
One of the world’s richest men has family that likes Malibu, so Larry Ellison comes to town and buys large chunks of it. Various reports have Ellison buying “five beach properties for as much as $65 million” or “$15 million for what few people would call a large house – 1,600 square feet. But the property has 65 feet of beach frontage.” It is the David Foster home featured on Princes of Malibu: “Ellison bought that 22-acre property for slightly more than $20 million.” According to Britain’s The Independent, Ellison “cast his eye on a couple of restaurants sitting a little forlornly on the northern end of Carbon Beach. He snapped up the Pier View Cafe’ for $9 million, and the adjacent Windsail restaurant for $18.5 million.”
FEBRUARY 2004: THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD PROTECTS THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS
According to www.malibucomplete.com: “The Santa Monica Mountains Regional Water Quality Board passed new, more restrictive requirements regarding wastewater treatment, horse stables and agricultural runoff. The effect, critics charge, is to practically push horses and agriculture out of the Malibu mountains to make way for large, expensive mansions.”
APRIL 26, 2004: NEW CITY COUNCIL: JEFF JENNINGS, KEN KEARSLEY, PAMELA CONLEY ULICH, SHARON BAROVSKY AND ANDY STERN
OCTOBER 2004: BRITNEY SPEARS MOVES TO MALIBU
Through her Love Shack Trust, Britney Spears pays $6.3 million for a 7,400-square-foot home in Serra Retreat. According to the alltopmovies.net website: “A bar in every room was too over-the-top for the average potential buyer in that price range – not to mention the lavish poolside bar built over what once was the tennis court.”
The paparazzi plague in Malibu seemed to peak after the arrival of Spears. They would park outside both entrances of Serra Retreat and sometimes there would be more than a dozen soul-patched paparazzi racing through the streets, chasing her various vehicles, some of which were sent out as decoys while she slipped out unnoticed.
More to come in Part 4 of For the Love of Malibu.
A beautiful day in sunny Southern California. Make it count!
