Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety And Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Malibu officials warn of red-flag winds, coordinate PSPS, tout housing-element approval and PCH safety steps
Summary
City staff warned of an active red-flag wind event and impending public-safety power shutoffs, described generator and evacuation readiness, and announced the city’s sixth-cycle housing element was certified Dec. 3; officials outlined PCH safety projects including speed cameras and roundabout design funded by LA Metro.
City staff told the Malibu City Council on Dec. 9 that the city is on watch for heightened wildfire risk and public-safety power shutoffs and is coordinating preparedness steps with county and state agencies.
An Assistant City Manager alerted the council that a red-flag warning covers the coming days and that Southern California Edison was preparing to shut down specified circuits. “We are in a high fire situation right now through Wednesday evening,” the Assistant City Manager said, urging calm and explaining the city’s backup generator capacity and emergency-lighting limits.
Staff described contingency steps: emergency generators staged for tactical deployment, coordination with Caltrans on traffic-signal battery backups, closure of some parks during the wind event and a plan to activate the emergency operations center if needed. City staff also said the city has agreements and standby crews ready to deploy generators to intersections if Caltrans equipment fails, while noting legal liability and immunity trade-offs for any municipal deployment.
On planning matters, staff announced that on Dec. 3 the California Department of Housing and Community Development certified Malibu’s sixth-cycle housing element, a milestone staff said met state deadlines.
Public works updates included progress on PCH safety work: completion of conduit boring, pending installation of signal equipment and expected signal synchronization in 2025; an RFQ for temporary roundabout designs at El Matador State Beach and Encinal Canyon Road funded by LA Metro; and anticipated deployment of speed-camera programs next year pending regulatory steps.
Councilmembers discussed regional coordination for PSPS response and requested staff return with options for maintaining powered intersections, generator siting and community access to cooling/charging locations while power is out.
