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# Malibu council sends parking ordinance back for a broader rewrite
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/malibu-council-sends-parking-ordinance-back-for-a-broader-rewrite/
- Published: 2026-08-27T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-27T15:59:59.000Z
- Author: Maaz Alin
- Tags: Government & Politics, Malibu

The Malibu City Council voted Monday unanimously to hold off on adopting a new parking-enforcement ordinance, instead sending it back to city staff with instructions to expand the measure to cover every public and private parking lot within the city.

The vote came on Ordinance No. 538, which staff had recommended the council introduce on first reading. As drafted, the ordinance would have authorized the city's Parking Enforcement Team and Volunteers on Patrol to issue citations at a handful of publicly owned off-street lots, including the Los Angeles County-owned Malibu Library parking lot, [Malibu](https://www.smdp.com/malibu-nears-completion-of-pch-speed-safety-cameras-launches-public-outreach/) Bluffs Park and Las Flores Park.

Rather than advance that narrower version, council members said they wanted the ordinance to reach as many lots as possible. "Why don't we just make this apply to every single public parking lot, private or public, within the city limits," Mayor Bruce Silverstein said, adding that the city could then work out whether individual lot owners would post the signs required for enforcement.

The measure relies on California Vehicle Code Section 21107.8, which allows local governments to extend traffic and parking enforcement to off-street lots that are open to the public, provided signs are posted at the entrances. Luis Flores, the city's public safety manager, told the council the change would let parking officers work alongside the Sheriff's Department to address problems in lots where the city currently has no authority to write tickets.

Flores said the Malibu Library lot has drawn RVs, abandoned vehicles and people cooking inside their vehicles late at night, raising fire risks. The ordinance was tied to the city's strategic goal of reducing homeless encampments. Under the measure, the city's oversized-vehicle rules — with escalating fines of $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second and $500 for a third — could be enforced in the covered lots.

Much of the discussion focused on repeat offenders. Councilmember Steve Uhring pointed to one RV whose owner, he said, has spent much of his time parked on Civic Center Way and the rest in the library lot. Flores said the man had been towed on numerous occasions, incarcerated and released, and had paid off his citations while continuing to return. Councilmember Haylynn Conrad said the city had ordinances on the books yet could not stop the RV from shuttling between locations. "This is extremely frustrating for all of us," she said.

A representative of the [Sheriff's Department](https://lasd.org/malibu-lost-hills/?ref=smdp.com) told the council the ordinance would strengthen an enforcement tool tied to vehicle registration. Drivers must clear outstanding parking citations to renew their registration each year, the representative said, and vehicles whose registration has been expired for six months can be towed. Asked whether deputies would patrol the lots if private owners posted signs, the representative said they would.

Councilmember Steve Uhring urged staff to write the strongest version possible. "Let's make it as strong as we can," he said, adding that the problem had persisted for years and that more force behind the measure would leave the city better off. He said he did not object to a delay of a week or two.

Councilmember Marianne Riggins pressed staff on cost, seeking assurance the program would not become a drain on the city. "As long as we break even, that's all," she said. Flores said the added enforcement would be handled under the city's existing parking-enforcement contract, which was recently extended for three years and expanded to include another patrol vehicle and officer, so no new appropriation would be required.

The push to broaden the ordinance created a procedural hurdle. Under the vehicle code, the city must give affected lot owners 10 days' written notice before the rules can take effect on their property. Staff had published a hearing notice in the Malibu Times on Aug. 6 but had not notified individual owners. A staff member cautioned that notifying every parking lot owner in the city would take time and could push adoption past the Sept. 14 meeting originally targeted for a second reading.

Silverstein moved to continue the item to the soonest meeting at which staff could provide the required notices. The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.

Council members also asked that the revised ordinance direct the city manager to reach out to private lot owners and other public agencies, encouraging them to post enforcement signs and grant the city authority to issue citations on their property.

Interim City Attorney Trevor Rusin said the ordinance would not disturb existing requirements that some shopping centers provide public beach parking under their coastal development permits, which the city can enforce separately.