MALIBU—The Malibu City Council voted on June 12 to have the Planning Commission start holding its meetings in a hybrid in-person and remote format starting July 17, as result of low COVID-19 conditions in Los Angeles County Los Angeles County.

The city of Malibu reported in a news release that The Planning Commission meetings will follow similar procedures as the City Council meetings, which started holding hybrid meetings as a pilot program on March 27. The hybrid format allows the public to watch or give public comment both in-person at Malibu City Hall and virtually via Zoom. Malibu’s other Commissions, Committees and Boards will continue meeting virtually.

Planning Commission meetings will take place at Malibu City Hall, located at 23825 Stuart Ranch Road, and will simultaneously be held remotely using the Zoom Webinar tool. Members of the public can make public comment during the meetings either in-person or in the remote meeting.

The City Council and staff discussed the impact of the hybrid meeting pilot program for the City Council effecting logistics, staffing, technology and budgetary resources, and public participation. The hybrid meetings have been conducted pursuant to state law (AB 361), which was passed during the pandemic in 2021, allowing local government bodies to hold public meetings remotely during a state of emergency, or if necessary to protect public safety.

Viewing and commenting instructions will be included in Planning Commission meeting agendas and posted on www.malibucity.org/agendacenter. To sign up to receive notifications by text message or email whenever an agenda is posted, amended or cancelled for the Planning Commission or any other city body, visit www.MalibuCity.org/News, scroll down to Agenda Center, and select the desired meeting body.

Written comments may be sent to the Planning Commission at PlanningCommission@MalibuCity.org. The city will continue to broadcast Planning Commission meetings live on Malibu City TV Channel 3, and live and on-demand on the website at www.MalibuCity.org/TV  and the City’s YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/user/CityofMalibu/videos.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), any member of the public who needs special assistance to participate in an in-person meeting at Malibu City Hall may contact Environmental Sustainability Director/Building Official Yolanda Bundy at 310-456-2489, ext. 229. Notification 48 hours prior to a meeting will enable the city of Malibu to make reasonable arrangements to ensure ADA accessibility to the meeting.

Requests to show an audio or video presentation during a Council meeting should be directed to Media Analyst Alex Montano at 310-456-2489, ext. 227 or amontano@malibucity.org by 12 p.m. the day of the meeting.