Wireless Communication Facilities Ordinance Update

project status

Updated 1/7/21 - The City is currently in the process of updating its Wireless Communication Facility Ordinance. On December 16, the City held a virtual public workshop to solicit comments from the community on a draft ordinance and desired outcomes. In addition, the City will be releasing an online survey to obtain additional input from members of the public. The City published a Notice of Planning Commission Public Hearing for January 19, 2021. However, in order to incorporate public comments into the draft ordinance, staff is recommending the hearing be delayed to February 1. This meeting is the first of a series of public meetings to review the proposed ordinance update which will include a Planning Commission Meeting and City Council Meeting.

project overview

In 2016, the City Council directed staff to update the City of Malibu Wireless Communication Facility (WCF) Ordinances ("Ordinance"). The City’s WCF Ordinance is contained in Malibu Municipal Code (MMC) Chapter 17.46 and Local Coastal Program Local Implementation Plan Section 3.16. The Ordinance update attempts to address issues that residents, City staff, and wireless communications applicants have experienced during the process of proposing and siting new facilities, including existing facility upgrades throughout the City. City staff wishes to establish a transparent permitting process for WCFs and adopt other processing time rules. In addition, the code update is also necessary to bring the City’s Ordinance into compliance with federal and State laws that have been enacted since the adoption of its original ordinance in 2003.

Project Timeline

A timeline of the project starting in November 2020 is provided in the Project Timeline  (revised 12/24/20). For information regarding past meetings, visit the Community Meetings & Public Input section below. 

The first step is to evaluate the City’s existing Ordinance, all relevant regulatory documents, federal and State laws, and public comments received to date. After this step, a public workshop will be held to provide an overview of the existing City Ordinance, federal and State regulatory frameworks related to wireless issues, and the basics of wireless communication facilities. Input will be solicited from the community on a draft ordinance and desired outcomes.

On December 16, 2020, the City held virtual public workshop to solicit public comment prior to developing a draft of the Wireless Communication Facility Ordinance. To watch the meeting and to view meeting materials, visit the Community Meetings and Public Input section below. 

City staff is currently preparing a draft of the ordinance which will be released for public comment and presented to the Planning Commission prior to the City Council consideration. These meetings will be public and online attendance is encouraged.  This process will occur concurrently with the public review process of the CEQA document. 

Urgency Ordinance 

On Wednesday, December 9, 2020,  the City Council held a Special Meeting and adopted an Urgency Ordinance, as amended, to regulate the permitting of wireless facilities in public rights-of-way and adopted  a resolution to establish design and development standards and standard permit conditions for wireless facilities in public rights-of-way. For more information on the Urgency Ordinance, please review the agenda and staff report online and the City's final action. 

submit comments

Comments on the ordinance may be submitted to Adrian Fernandez via email at AFernandez@malibucity.org or mail to: City of Malibu Planning Department, Attn: Adrian Fernandez, 23825 Stuart Ranch Road, Malibu, CA 90265.

notifications

To be notified directly of important information regarding the WCF Ordinance Update, including public hearings and meetings, email the Planning Department at psalazar@malibucity.org  or call 310-456-2489, ext. 245.

Community Meetings & Public Input

resources

WCF