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Health & Fitness

27 MILES OF SCENIC BEAUTY (NOT SHOPPING)

When my wife and I first moved to Malibu 22 years ago, as we came in from LAX, we drove past a sign saying '27 MILES OF SCENIC BEAUTY, not '27 MILES OF CORPORATE SHOPPING'.

 Before Malibu, we lived in NYC, where we had pretty decent shopping. In our 22 years, we've never once felt cheated by our shopping options. We can buy clothes, food, even hardware and if we need anything else, we can drive 25 minutes across the hill to Westlake, or 35 minutes to Santa Monica, or in a pinch, we  buy it from Amazon.

We've traveled a fair amount and everywhere we go, people are excited about the name Malibu. No one has ever said, " It sounds like it a great place to live if only they had better shopping." People come here for the beauty of this special place, for mountains, the ocean, and a laid back healthy lifestyle not for the presence of national retailers.

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 Some people say, "Well, we owe it to the people who visit here to provide them with a better, more varied retail experience". Really? Again, I've never heard anyone complain, unless it was about finding a good, affordable place to eat and an affordable place to stay. 

Cities, like people, have different characters: they can't and shouldn't all be the same. If you need great shopping, there's NYC, Rodeo Drive, San Francisco, Newport Beach, Paris, Milan. You don't go to Jackson Hole, Woodstock, Big Sur or Malibu and complain about the shopping; that's not what makes those places special. I've never heard anyone, visitor or Malibu resident, say they'd been to, let alone bought anything at, Silver Threads, Lanvin or Missoni.  

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 I've heard people say that the supporters of the Retail Ordinance are the same 100 or 200 people you see at every meeting, and that they don't represent the majority of Malibu residents.  I disagree. I think it's the spokespersons for the retail center landlords who don't represent the feelings of the majority of Malibu residents. If they want to check the pulse of the city, get out of Broad Beach, the Colony, Nobu, Nikita and Mr. Chow and gspend some time at Paradise Cove Mobile Home Park, the Pt. Dume Club, Lily's Cafe, Bank of Books, Diesel, the Trancas Dog Park, and Malibu High School, and mingle with Malibuites who live here full-time. 

At these meetings, you hear a lot of talk in favor of letting 'the market' decide, as it 'the market' whatever that is, is the sole arbiter of what is fair, and just and good for a community. Polls suggest that 'the market' hasn't worked in a lot of areas, like the healthcare, education or happiness, but here's a way it can work: If the owners of retail centers aren't happy with the profit generated under a retail ordinance, they can use 'the market' to find buyers who are willing to 'take less'.

Some opponents of the retail ordinance have expressed concern for the dire consequences and the waste of resources that will result if the ordinance is adopted and lawsuits are filed in opposition. If that concern is genuine, there's a simple solution: Don't sue anyone. Be content with a decent profit and not the whole cake. Be willing to take less. Corporations, investment groups and even 'the market' aren't abstract forces without thoughts or consciences; they are made up of people who can, and should choose to make decisions based on principles that advance the good for all of us. Think win-win, and stop the bullying, because that's what the constant threats of legal action are, it's using force and power to get your way. We discourage our kids from resolving conflict that way, so why isn't that good enough for us?

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