Malibu City Council honors The Corucopia Foundation and Malibu Farmers Market for 25 years of service • The Malibu Times

Malibu local William Bema was also honored for assisting with a rescue on Malibu Canyon

The Malibu City Council started its meeting earlier this week and began with three special presentations.

The Cornucopia Foundation and Malibu Farmers Market were honored with a commendation celebrating 25 years of accomplishments in environmental education and community impact. The commendation, signed by Mayor Doug Stewart and presented by Councilman Steve Uhring, was accepted by Debra Bianco, president of the Cornucopia Foundation.

The foundation, co-founded by Bianco, Remi O'Neal, and Denny Milla, was recognized for pioneering hands-on environmental education in Southern California. Bianco shared that this legacy began right in Malibu, on a piece of property adjacent to Malibu High School and Juan Cabrillo Elementary School and preschool, where gardens were cultivated as learning tools. These initiatives made Cornucopia the first to introduce hands-on environmental education programs into schools in Southern California.

"Thank you so much, City Council," Bianco said.

In her speech, Bianco expressed her gratitude to the city, the mayor, and councilmembers, and excitedly announced the next chapter for the foundation: the Malibu Cann Film Festival sponsored by Cornucopia Foundation, Ollo's diamond, Malibu Times gold, and Cece Woods silver. Modeled after the famous Cannes Film Festival, this new initiative will focus on raising funds for animal rescues and sanctuaries, aligning with the foundation's ongoing commitment to giving back.

"So for the next 25 years, we are going to raise money for all those homeless animals, it's getting bigger and bigger," Bianco said. "Thank you, it's been a long time coming."

Malibu local William Bema was also honored for assisting with a rescue on Malibu Canyon earlier this year. On Wednesday, April 3, Tracy VanCura, 63, tumbled about 150 feet down an embankment on a steep, winding section of Malibu Canyon Road. VanCura unfortunately died at the scene afterward. Bema was unable to attend the City Council meeting because he was in Germany, but his family accepted the certificate and thanked the City Council for his recognition.

"William is a very kind boy, I am so proud of him," his mother Marianne Bema said. "It's not the first time he has done something like that, he was also involved in church and helping children."

Bema and his brother Morgan Donnelly were on their way to a game and were flagged down by a few motorists who wereasking for help.

"He just parked his car on the other side and he just went down there, it was really brave of him to do that; I support him alot to do that," Donnelly said.

Bema and his family also presented a gift to the City Council at the meeting.

Councilmember Bruce Silverstein echoed his acknowledgments and applauded Bema and his family for his heroism.

"We owe a gratidute to the parents as well," Silverstein said.

The third presentation was by Fire Chief Drew Smith. Smith presented the 2024 Fire Season Outlook, but also thanked Bema's family for sharing their story.

"That's heroism it really is, that's amazing," he said. "We need those kinds of things in our world today."

Smith gave an update on fire season, live fuel moisture, and the upcoming rainfall season. Smith said the most vunerableareas in the Santa Monica Mountains are Las Virgenes Road and Malibu Canyon.

Smith said fires rarely go unreported in this area in more than 15 minutes.

"We have satellite technology through the National Weather Service; it does heat detection as well," Smith said."Technology is out there to look at when a fire starts, in addition to the active patrolling that we do."

Smith also acknowledged Arson Watch, California Highway Patrol, LA County Sheriff's Department, and now the Community Brigade program.

Smith also reminded the community to know their zone, evacuation practices, and even how to shelter in place.

"We all know what the end result is, so how do we want to deal with it," he said.

Fire Safety Liasons Gabriel Etcheverry and Brad Yocum also provided an update on the mitigation and prevention. So far, there have been 670 hazardous trees removed, 515 total home wildfire assessments in 2024, and four new firescommunities for a total of six. Yocum said the city hopes to utilize goats to do brush clearance at City Hall.

Uhring also acknowledged the benefits of having goats, such as the successful event Malibu West's residents have during summer.

"Next year I'm hoping we can get them here," Yocum said.

The City Council moved on to SB 1297, the implementation of speed cameras, and Deputy City Manager Alexis Brown provided the update on the upcoming milestones. Mayor Doug Stewart thanked Brown for the report and wanted to acknowledge the city for its effort to get the bill signed so quickly.

According to the report, the system will be fully operated and transition from warnings to enforcement by November 2025.

"The fact that we are doing this so quickly is not just a testimony to the quality of our staff working on this, nut noon has done this in California before," Stewart said. "In 2023, six cities were authorized to put their camera systems in, and no one has done so. I think the only thing that has happened is that San Francisco has put in an RFP, and that is from over a year ago. People are already stunned that we have our first RFP out, and the ink is not really dry...think about the fact that every day we don't have these cameras in place; somebody may be involved in an accident due to speeding and either seriously injured or killed. So this has a sense of urgency to this and we appreciate the city staff and everyone involved."

City Manager Steve McClary provided an update on upcoming meetings and events and said the next Caltrans Engagement Workshop is on Wed, Oct. 23, from 6 to 8 p.m. in person at Malibu City Hall. McClary also said the city and Pepperdine will hold a public ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 17, to honor the four students who were tragically killed when they were struck by a speeding motorist on PCH one year ago: Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir, and Deslyn Williams. The vigil will take place at the White Tire Memorial on Webb Way and PCH at 6:30 p.m.

LASD Sheriff's Sgt. Chris Soderlund echoed Bema's recognition and thanked his family at the meeting.

"I was there that day at the crash; I arrived just right after he came back up to the roadway; he was sweaty, covering dirt, twigs, thorns everything, so it takes a special person to breach like that," Soderlund said.

Soderlund gave a brief report on notable incidents and the recent ribbon-cutting ceremony that occured at the Sheriff'sDepartment. On Friday, Sept. 27, The Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriffs Station presented its new "Real Time Watch Center." The real-time systems can allow authorities to monitor private surveillance camera footage if residents or businesses choose to grant the police access to it when requested.

Soderlund also mentioned the recent RV clearance on PCH. With the Coastal Commission's approval, LA County Public Works will install 26 new signs, which will give the Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol an importantenforcement tool. To read more about RV clearance, read the on A1.

Soderlund also said there was a fatality on Sunday, Oct. 13, at Topanga Canyon between a pedestrian and a motorcyclist. Sodurlund said the motorcyclist struck the pedestrian. Authorities arrived on the scene but were unable to revive the victim. Southbound lanes of PCH closed at around 6:30 p.m.

The council received a report on Adopt Resolution No. 24-52 establishing a Code of Conduct for City Officials.

The council had a discussion on why they were adopting the resolution.

"It's a generic document; it's going to last for ages until it gets amended by another city council, it's for all commissions, and it's something that we are long overdue in creating," Silverstein said. "For all those reasons I support it."

The council motioned to adopt the code of conduct. Motion passed.

The last item the council addressed was the Adoption of the 2024 Emergency Operations Plan. The council adopted the resolution.

The next City Council meeting is on Monday, Oct. 28 at City Hall.