🌊 The Malibu Current with Councilmember Haylynn Conrad

📅 June 12, 2026

Hi neighbors,

Malibu is in motion, and there are real ways to be part of it this week. Our recovery keeps pushing forward with new Rebuild Meetings and a fee-waiver deadline that puts money back in rebuilding families' hands. Our library is bringing a bestselling author to town, our crews are out clearing brush ahead of fire season, and our seniors are getting the preparedness night they deserve this Sunday.

Here is where you can plug in, speak up, and make your voice count. Let's get to it.

🏗️ Recovery and Rebuilding

🔹 Two Malibu Rebuild Meetings are on the calendar, starting Tuesday, June 16: The City is hosting community Rebuild Meetings for anyone working through the rebuilding process, with updates on where recovery and reconstruction stand. The first is Tuesday, June 16, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM at City Hall, and a second follows Wednesday, July 15, from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM.

→ 🎯 Why I point people here: Rebuilding is not a solo project, and the families doing it should not have to guess their way through permits and timelines alone. These meetings are where the questions get answered in plain terms, and where the City hears directly what is and is not working. If you are rebuilding, or helping someone who is, this room is for you.

👉 View upcoming Malibu Rebuild meetings

🔹 A real deadline worth catching: the Woolsey Fire Fee Waiver closes June 30: Property owners have until Tuesday, June 30, to get their Planning Department applications deemed complete for the City's Woolsey Fire Fee Waiver Program, which waives certain rebuilding fees for eligible like-for-like rebuilds of a primary residence. Required building permits then need to be pulled by December 30, and owners who already paid eligible fees may even qualify for a refund.

→ ⚡ Why this matters now: This is real money back in the pockets of families rebuilding after Woolsey, and recovery costs add up fast. Deadlines like this one are easy to miss in the middle of everything else, so if there is any chance it applies to you, please look today rather than on June 29.

👉 Apply for the Woolsey Fire fee waiver

📚 Education: A Bestselling Author Comes to Our Library

🔹 Joan Lunden headlines the next Malibu Library Speaker Series on Wednesday, June 17: Journalist, longtime "Good Morning America" host, and bestselling author Joan Lunden joins the Speaker Series for a free talk at 4:00 PM in the Civic Theater at City Hall. She has become a leading voice on health, aging, and caregiving, and her books will be available through Malibu Village Books with a signing right after. It is free, but it does require an RSVP.

→ 💡 Why I love this series: A small city that can bring a name like this to a free library event is doing something genuinely special for residents of every age. Our library has done it again, and I would love to see a strong Malibu turnout. Bring a neighbor.

👉 RSVP for the Joan Lunden talk

🌿 Environment and Wildfire Safety

🔹 Annual weed removal is underway across the city: Our Public Works and Community Services teams have started the City's yearly weed and brush removal on City-owned properties and public rights-of-way. Clearing dry grasses and combustible growth lowers fire risk, keeps emergency access open, and makes the public spaces we all use safer heading into the hottest months.

→ ⚡ Why this matters here: In Malibu, vegetation management is not landscaping, it is fire safety. This is the steady, unglamorous work that pays off the moment conditions turn, and I am grateful to the crews out there doing it.

👉 Read about the annual weed removal program

🔹 A wildfire-readiness evening built for our seniors is this Sunday, June 14: The Malibu Community Long-Term Recovery Group hosts a Senior Wildfire Preparedness Event on Sunday, June 14, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at Duke's Malibu. Expect free expert resources, guest speakers, United Policyholders on hand for insurance questions, and local brigade members sharing preparedness tips, plus light bites and giveaways. It is free, and they ask that you RSVP, by email at info@malibucommunityltrg.org or by phone at 1-805-253-3467.

→ 💙 Why this one stays on my list: Our seniors are often the most at risk when an evacuation order comes, and the most overlooked by plans built for everyone else. An evening aimed squarely at them is exactly the kind of preparedness worth rallying around. If you have an older neighbor, please pass this along or offer them a ride.

👉 RSVP for the Senior Wildfire Preparedness Event

🎨 Around Town: Art That Protects the Coast

🔹 A thank-you to the artist behind Malibu's storm drain art: This week I wanted to recognize @artbyswain for the creativity poured into our storm drain art project. Painting these everyday catch basins turns dull concrete into something that actually teaches, a visible reminder that what flows into a Malibu storm drain can reach the ocean and the protected waters along our coast.

→ 🎯 My take: Public art like this is small and mighty. It beautifies a corner, sparks a conversation, and nudges all of us toward keeping pollutants out of the drains and off our beaches. Witnessing how art can educate, empower, and inspire is one of the better parts of this job.

👉 See the storm drain art post

🏛️ At City Hall

🔹 The Council met Monday, June 8: Our regular second-Monday meeting convened at 5:30 PM at City Hall. Public comment is the part of this work I value most, so to everyone who showed up or wrote in, thank you. If you missed it, the full agenda, materials, and recording stay available through the Agenda Center.

→ 🎯 Why I flag it every time: The record genuinely moves when residents weigh in. If a topic matters to you, that room is where it gets decided.

👉 Browse City Council agendas and materials

🔹 Coming up: Planning Commission on Monday, June 15, and Council again on Monday, June 22: The Planning Commission meets next on Monday, June 15 at 6:30 PM in the Council Chambers, and our next Regular City Council Meeting is Monday, June 22 at 5:30 PM. Both run in hybrid format, so you can join in person or from home, and agendas post ahead of time.

→ 💡 Why I share the schedule: So much of our local policy starts in these rooms long before it reaches a headline. Knowing when they meet is the first step to being heard in them.

📅 What's Ahead and How to Plug In

🔹 Sunday, June 14, 4:00 to 6:00 PM: Senior Wildfire Preparedness Event, Duke's Malibu

🔹 Through Sunday, June 14: Caltrans Palisades Fire repairs continue on PCH and Topanga Canyon, generally weekdays between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Give yourself extra time and ease off through the work zones.

🔹 Monday, June 15, 6:30 PM: Regular Planning Commission Meeting, Malibu City Hall (hybrid)

🔹 Tuesday, June 16, 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM: Malibu Rebuild Meeting, Malibu City Hall

🔹 Wednesday, June 17, 4:00 PM: Malibu Library Speaker Series with Joan Lunden, Civic Theater at City Hall

🔹 Friday, June 19: Juneteenth. City Hall is closed for the holiday, a day to reflect on freedom and the work still ahead.

🔹 Saturday, June 20, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM: Household Hazardous and E-Waste Drop-Off, Malibu City Hall upper parking lot

🔹 Monday, June 22, 5:30 PM: Regular City Council Meeting, Malibu City Hall (hybrid)

🔹 Through June 26: "Two Points of View" art exhibit, Malibu City Gallery at City Hall

🔹 Tuesday, June 30: Deadline to apply for the Woolsey Fire Fee Waiver Program

🔹 Through July 10: Nominations open for the 2026 Malibu Surf Legend Award

👉 Browse the full Malibu city calendar

🏛️ Get Involved: Malibu's Commissions

🔹 Want to plug into one of Malibu's 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

🐝 One Last Thought

Every item in this newsletter is a door you can walk through. A rebuild meeting where your questions get real answers. A fee deadline that could put dollars back in your pocket. A free library night that brings the wider world to our doorstep. Crews and a senior preparedness evening getting us ready before fire season. And art on a storm drain that reminds every passerby how our streets connect to the sea.

So pick one and jump in. Come to a meeting, RSVP for the talk, catch the fee deadline, or bring an older neighbor to Sunday's event. Don't just watch from the sidelines. This is your city, and your voice makes it stronger.

If something here sparked a thought, hit reply or write to me at hconrad@malibucity.org. And if you know someone who should be getting these, please send it their way.

👉 Follow me on Instagram

See you around town, 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