Unscientific Poll to Be Used in Drafting of Chain Store Ordinance

More than 50 Malibu residents and business owners took part in an interactive poll Thursday as part of an effort to define parts of a draft ordinance that would limit what chain stores can open up shop in the Civic Center area.

The non-scientific poll, which is confidential, was taken by about 55 people with wireless polling devices at Malibu City Hall.

In November, the Malibu City Council voted to direct city staff to draft an ordinance to require a conditional use permit for any new chain businesses in shopping centers with more than 10,000 square feet in the Civic Center area.

Before the meeting got underway, a handful of residents asked that non-residents identify themselves to get a sense of the accuracy of the polling.

"Why can't we just ask for everyone who is a resident of Malibu to raise their hand so we feel comfortable?" former Malibu mayor Pamela Conley Ulich said, and others agreed.

The organizers, including Pete Peterson of the Davenport Institute of the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, Associate Planner Joseph Smith, and Planning Director Joyce Parker Bozylinski, declined the request, stating that a survey will be placed on the city's website and will contain the same questions.

The results of Thursday night's polling and the additional survey will be incorporated into a draft ordinance and presented to the Planning Commission and the City Council for further consideration and modifications. The ordinance could reach the planning commission as early as Jan. 22.

The questions in the poll came from similar ordinances in other cities, according to Smith.

The poll helped define a number of criteria and the unofficial results showed that:

• About 70 percent of those surveyed said they are current Malibu residents.
• The majority felt the total number of nearby chain stores and the gross square footage should be used as criteria for the conditional use permit.
• Most felt that the most important "subjective" criteria for the Planning Commission should use is to make sure the "proposed intensity of the use is appropriate given the other uses that exist on the site and adjoining sites."
• Some prefered requiring existing chain stores that expand seating by 10 percent or square footage by 250 square feet to apply for a conditional use permit.
• Most felt that landlords should not be exempt from the ordinance if the space is not filled after several attempts to obtain a conditional use permit.
• Most felt a business should be defined as a chain store if it had as little five or as many as 13 other locations. 
• About half agreed that some stores should be exempt, including grocery, pharmacy, gas stations, insurance, real estate and banks.

The meeting then shifted to defining the meaning behind a "community serving business," which is needed before the Malibu City Council can consider a separate ordinance that would put limits on the percentage of chain stores that can make up a shopping center.

Between 10 to 15 participants got up and left at that point, some saying they felt the meeting was worthless.

The remaining participants split up into small groups and came up with adjectives that define "community serving business."

They came up with the terms: regular household use, convenience, necessities, proximity to home, resident (verses visitor serving), daily use, local employment, community involvement, unique local character and affordable basic goods.

During a subsequent poll, the participants voted "resident serving (verses visitor serving)" as the top adjective, followed by "unique local character," "affordable basic goods," "regular household use" and "community involvement."

Susan Stiffelman of Malibu said she appreciated the exercise.

"I went out of my way to find people I had did not know before," Stiffelman said.

She said that she invited several business owners who stood on the sideline to join her group.

"I was disappointed some of the members of the business community sat on the sideline," she said.