🌊 The Malibu Current with Councilmember Haylynn Conrad

📅 July 10, 2026

Hello neighbors,

The State of California just said something about Malibu that every one of us helped earn. This week, our city was named to California's 2026 Fire Risk Reduction Community List, official recognition from the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection that Malibu is doing the hard, unglamorous work of reducing wildfire risk. After the fires this community has endured, seeing that work acknowledged at the state level means more than a line on a list.

It caps a stretch that already had plenty of heart. Last Saturday, golf carts, classic cars, and neighbors on foot filled Point Dume for the 27th annual parade as America turned 250, and the picnic at Malibu Elementary afterward was this town at its best. Thank you to every volunteer who made the morning happen, and to everyone who helped keep our beaches and PCH safe and clean through a very busy weekend.

Below you will find what that state recognition actually gets us, a milestone in our rebuild, a big night for local art at City Hall this evening, and one deadline that closes today. Let's dive in.

🌿 Environment: State Recognition That Pays Off in Grants and Insurance

🔹 Malibu is on California's 2026 Fire Risk Reduction Community List: The Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has included Malibu on its statewide list recognizing communities with comprehensive wildfire risk reduction strategies, from emergency planning and vegetation management to defensible space and close coordination with fire agencies. The designation took effect July 1 and runs for two years.

→ ⚡ Why this is bigger than a plaque: This listing gives Malibu priority standing for CAL FIRE prevention grants and state funds, and it can help improve insurance opportunities for homeowners, because insurers must consider community-level prevention efforts. For a city where insurance has become one of the heaviest burdens families carry, that is real leverage, not just recognition.

→ 💙 Who earned it: You did. Every property owner who cleared brush, every volunteer, every commissioner who sat through a preparedness workshop, and the staff who turned our After-Action Review into changes on the ground, from the Merlin Circuit undergrounding to the goats grazing the hillsides above Big Rock. The state noticed because the work is visible.

👉 Read about Malibu's FRRCL recognition

🏗️ Economic Recovery: The Rebuild by the Numbers

🔹 Nearly 270 families are now on the road home: The City's latest rebuild snapshot shows 269 property owners have started the rebuilding process, 342 planning approvals have been granted, 900 building permits have been issued across debris removal, repairs, and reconstruction, and 77 rebuilding permits now allow construction to begin. Behind every one of those figures is a family closer to their own front door.

→ 💡 What the numbers do not show: Malibu's steep terrain, coastal setting, and geologic hazards make rebuilding here more complex than almost anywhere, which is why the City has streamlined reviews, expanded digital plan checks, and kept the Rebuild Center staffed for drop-ins. If you have not started yet, you do not have to figure it out alone. Call (310) 456-2489, ext. 400, or stop by.

→ 🎯 My commitment: I will keep sharing these numbers as they grow, because momentum is easier to sustain when the whole community can see it. The next Malibu Rebuild Meeting is Wednesday, July 15, from 12:30 to 2:00 PM at City Hall, and it is open to anyone navigating the process.

👉 See the full rebuild progress update

🏛️ Community Engagement: Papers Go Out Monday for the November Ballot

🔹 The Council nomination period opens this Monday, July 13: If running for one of the two City Council seats on the November 3 ballot has been on your mind since I mentioned it last week, this is the week thinking becomes doing. Packets go out in person at the City Clerk's counter inside City Hall, July 13 through August 7, and if an incumbent does not file, the window extends to August 12. To schedule an appointment to pull papers, email City Clerk Kelsey Pettijohn at KPettijohn@MalibuCity.org or call 310-456-2489, ext. 228. One practical note worth knowing early: before raising or spending a single campaign dollar, candidates must first file a Declaration of Intent and FPPC Form 501 with the Clerk.

→ 💡 Why the details matter: Good candidates sometimes stumble on paperwork before voters ever hear their ideas. Get the forms right in week one and the rest of the campaign is yours to run.

🔹 Council is back in Chambers that same evening: Our regular meeting is Monday, July 13, at 5:30 PM, hybrid as always, so you can join in person or from home. The agenda posts beforehand, and public comment is open to every resident.

👉 Get election dates, forms, and voter information

🌞 Education and Wellness: July Is Park and Recreation Month

🔹 A full month of reasons to get outside: July is Park and Recreation Month, and our Community Services Department has packed it with ways to play: CineMalibu Movies in the Park at Malibu Bluffs, Learn to Swim lessons at the community pool, senior luncheons, wellness workshops, and sunset hikes at Charmlee Wilderness Park. This year's theme celebrates the power of parks to connect us, and the department is inviting residents to share their own #MalibuMoments along the way.

→ 💙 Seventeen summers in, I am still learning this town outdoors: From AYSO fields to horseback trails to the water itself, so much of what bound my family to Malibu happened in our parks and open spaces. If your summer needs a fresh idea, borrow one from this list. The sunset hike is hard to beat.

👉 Explore Park and Recreation Month programs

🎨 Around Town: Tonight at the Gallery, and a Deadline at Midnight

🔹 "Carving Canvas" opens tonight at 6:00 PM: The Arts Commission's free opening reception is this evening at the Malibu City Gallery at City Hall, celebrating local artists inspired by our surf and skate culture. After tonight, the show stays on view through August 21, with free admission the whole way. With the new skate park barely three weeks old, the timing could not be better.

→ 🎨 An easy yes for your Friday: Come for an hour, meet the artists, and see Malibu through their eyes. Supporting local creative work is one of the simplest ways we keep this town's identity alive.

👉 Get details on the opening reception

🔹 Today is the final day for Surf Legend nominations: After weeks of reminders, the window for the 2026 Malibu Surf Legend Award truly closes today, Friday, July 10. If a name has been sitting in the back of your mind, send it in before the day gets away from you.

👉 Nominate a 2026 Malibu Surf Legend

🏛️ Get Involved: Malibu's Commissions

🔹 Want to plug into one of Malibus commissions? Planning, Parks and Recreation, Public Safety, Public Works, Arts, and the Harry Barovsky Memorial Youth Commission all meet monthly at City Hall, and every one welcomes public comment. So much of our local policy actually starts in these rooms, and if serving on one has ever crossed your mind, the application is open year-round.

👉 Browse upcoming commission meetings and agendas

👉 Apply to serve on a commission or committee

📅 Dates to Know

🔹 Friday, July 10: Final day to submit nominations for the 2026 Malibu Surf Legend Award.

🔹 Friday, July 10, 6:00 PM: "Carving Canvas" opening reception, Malibu City Gallery at City Hall. On display July 13 through August 21.

🔹 Monday, July 13: Nomination period opens for the two City Council seats on the November 3 ballot. Packets available at the City Clerk's Office through August 7.

🔹 Monday, July 13, 5:30 PM: Regular City Council Meeting, Malibu City Hall (hybrid).

🔹 Wednesday, July 15, 12:30 to 2:00 PM: Malibu Rebuild Meeting, Malibu City Hall.

🔹 All July: Park and Recreation Month programs, from movie nights at Bluffs Park to sunset hikes at Charmlee.

👉 Browse the full Malibu city calendar

🐝 One Last Thought

Recognition is a funny thing. The state list our city joined this week will never be as visible as a parade, and it will never draw a crowd like a gallery opening. But it represents thousands of small, faithful acts: brush cleared before anyone asked, meetings attended on ordinary Tuesdays, plans revised until they were right. That is how a community protects itself, quietly and together, long before the smoke ever comes.

So keep going. Clear the next hillside, pull nomination papers if you have been called to serve, and bring someone you love to the gallery tonight. If there is something you think the Council should see or hear, write me anytime at hconrad@malibucity.org. Your notes shape more of this work than you know.

👉 Follow me on Instagram

Onward together, Malibu.

Together, we're building a community and better future that works for everyone. Thank you for staying connected!

Haylynn Conrad
Councilmember, City of Malibu
hconrad@malibucity.org