The Malibu City Council moved to overhaul its facility fee waiver approval process Monday, delegating significantly more authority to the city manager in an effort to reduce the council's workload and streamline approval of recurring community events.
The council provided direction on Draft Policy Number 53, which would replace 2018 guidelines that had become outdated as fee waiver requests grew substantially in recent years. The policy will return to the council for final approval on the consent calendar.
Under the new framework, the city manager could approve fee waivers up to $10,000 for new events that meet established criteria, and up to $75,000 for recurring events previously approved by the council. The limits are designed to eliminate most routine waiver requests from the council's agenda while maintaining oversight of the largest community events.
"So I'm not coming to you every meeting requesting fee waivers," Community Services Director Kristin Riesgo told the council, explaining the policy's primary goal.
The change comes as fee waivers have increased dramatically. The city waived $222,640 in facility fees in fiscal year 2024-25, more than triple the $68,556 waived in 2021-22. In 2023-24, the city waived $159,638 in fees, and in 2022-23 the amount was $98,805.
The original 2018 guidelines allowed the city manager to approve fee waivers, but as requests grew in frequency and value, management became uncomfortable with the level of authority. That pushed most waiver requests to the City Council for approval.
"The frequency of fee waivers was coming in quite rapidly, and the comfort level that management had approving these was a little uncomfortable," Riesgo said.
Councilmember Bruce Silverstein led much of the discussion, questioning why certain provisions from the 2018 guidelines were excluded from the proposed policy and suggesting specific dollar thresholds for delegated authority.
"I thought it was a great concept that we're taking it off City Council's plate if these are relatively minor, and hit these bases," Silverstein said, referring to established eligibility criteria.
The council debated appropriate financial limits, considering that some long-standing community events carry substantial costs. The annual Christmas Tree Lot, for example, involves a fee waiver worth approximately $55,000, while Veterans Day runs about $5,500. Little League field use costs roughly $30,000.
The Chili Cook-Off, a multi-day event, requires waiving between $80,000 and $90,000 in fees — making it the most expensive regular waiver and one the council wanted to continue reviewing despite the new delegation of authority.
"I can see a potential in the future Council not approving the chili cook off," Silverstein said, noting increasing complaints about the event while acknowledging the council isn't near that point yet.
Mayor Marianne Riggins and Councilmember Steve Uhring supported giving the city manager more authority for established events.
"If it's an event that's taking place in the past, manager can approve it," Uhring said. "If it's something new, bring it back and take a look."
Councilmember Haylynn Conrad raised concerns about the city's permitting process potentially driving away community events, citing the Arts Association's recent decision to hold its Art-a-Palooza event in Agoura Hills instead of Malibu.
"I asked, why not in Malibu? You're the Malibu Art Association. And they just said, it was just too hard to get, you know, a permit," Conrad said. "I do think we lose some community events to just, we waive the fees, but then we also have an onerous and cumbersome process."
The proposed policy establishes clear eligibility criteria, limiting waivers to nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies and city co-sponsored events. It excludes commercial events, corporate gatherings, family or social gatherings, and programs that provide no community benefit.
The council also directed staff to eliminate a proposed quarterly approval process. Instead, the city manager's approved waivers would be reported to the council on a "receive and file" basis, requiring no action unless concerns arise.
Silverstein proposed modifying language to change "programs or events that provide no community benefit" to "little or no community benefit" to prevent applicants from circumventing the rule with minimal public offerings.
The policy would maintain an application process requiring organizations to demonstrate community benefit, financial need and experience coordinating events. Applications would be reviewed quarterly according to a set schedule, with deadlines falling months before planned events.
The revisions continue a broader council trend toward operational efficiency. Earlier in the same meeting, the council increased the city manager's general purchasing authority to account for inflation and streamline procurement processes.