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Haylynn Conrad Newsletter — October 2, 2026
🌊 The Malibu Current with Councilmember Haylynn Conrad
📅 October 2, 2026
Hello, Malibu,
Stand anywhere along our 21 miles of coastline and you are only seeing half of this city. Just past the surf line, beneath the same swells that have been battering us all month, there is another Malibu: kelp forests, eelgrass meadows, and rocky reefs that took the Palisades Fire's ash and runoff as hard as any hillside did. This week I shared my latest op-ed in The Malibu Times making the case that our rebuild cannot stop where the sand begins. And on Monday night, your Council matched that urgency on land, unanimously declaring a citywide local emergency to get ahead of what forecasters now say could be the strongest El Niño since 1950.
So this issue runs from the ocean floor to the dais: an underwater rebuild, an emergency declaration, real movement on the pier at last, and roughly 100,000 reasons to slow down on PCH. Here is the rundown.
🌊 Environment: The Rebuild Below the Waterline
🔹 What lives above also lives below: My op-ed, "Rebuilding Malibu must include the ocean," ran in The Malibu Times, and I shared it again this week because the message matters more every day. After every major fire, the first rains carry ash, sediment, and contaminants off our burned hillsides and into the Pacific, and scientists studying the aftermath of the Palisades Fire have found dramatic losses in our giant kelp, eelgrass beds, and fish populations. The Malibu Project, a nonprofit founded by Malibu residents after the fires, is now working with the Vantuna Research Group at Occidental College and The Bay Foundation on a local restoration effort modeled on the Palos Verdes Reef Restoration Project, where roughly 53,000 tons of quarry rock placed across 40 acres of seafloor helped fish biomass climb by about 369 percent, and kelp reestablished itself within 18 months. As a surfer, and as the mom of a surfer who will be riding these waves long after I am gone, this one is personal for me.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: Kelp forests are the rainforests of the sea. They shelter hundreds of species, absorb carbon, improve water quality, and help buffer the very coastline we are fighting to protect this winter. Recovery should not stop where the sand begins.
→ 🌱 Want in: This restoration work is resident-driven, not a government program, and if you would like to learn more or get involved, email me and I will connect you directly with the people doing it.
🚨 El Niño: One City, One Emergency, One Winter to Get Ready
🔹 Council declared a citywide local emergency Monday night: The item arrived at our September 28 meeting scoped to the Serra Retreat neighborhood, where fire debris and sediment have Malibu Creek spilling toward homes even in light rain. I made the motion to take it citywide, because I did not want to single out one neighborhood when forecasters put the odds of a very strong El Niño above 90 percent, with a 75 percent chance it exceeds every El Niño since 1950. The declaration lets the City move faster on purchasing, permitting, and creek clearing, and strengthens coordination with county, state, and federal partners. The Army Corps of Engineers approved creek work within a day of our Community Development Director's request. One honest caveat: the declaration does not put the City to work on private property. If you own a home near a slope, a creek, or the sand, now is the time to clear gutters and drains, review your evacuation plan, and, along the coast, consult a qualified engineer.
→ 💡 What this means: The Council must review this emergency at least every 60 days, so you will keep hearing about it from me, with specifics, until the rains have come and gone.
👉 Register for emergency alerts
🔹 Tuesday's workshop was the first of a series: The City's El Niño Preparedness Community Workshops kicked off September 29 in the Council Chambers with our Community Development, Public Works, and Public Safety teams joined by Caltrans. If you missed it, the session was recorded for later viewing, and more workshops are coming as winter approaches.
👉 Read the workshop announcement
🔹 The pier finally has a plan, a contract, and a timeline: State Parks has completed emergency repairs to Malibu Pier, replacing and repairing deteriorating pilings above and below the waterline, and has awarded a contract for the full structural rehabilitation of the ocean end, work projected to take about 18 months. Since September I have been demanding exactly this, in print and at the dais: a plan, a timeline, and honest public updates. We now have movement on all three. I am not declaring victory until the whole pier reopens, but this is what pressure, applied politely and relentlessly, looks like. Next door, crews have sandbagged the eroding lawn at the Adamson House and prepared its historical artifacts for quick evacuation if water intrudes.
🔹 Respect the water this weekend: Swell from Hurricane Rachel is forecast to arrive Sunday, October 4, landing on beaches already carved up by a month of tropical surf. The severe erosion hazard at Point Dume has not gone away, exposed pilings and steel included, so give damaged areas a wide berth and check with lifeguards before entering the water.
👉 Read the coastal repairs rundown
🚦 PCH Safety: 100,000 Reasons to Slow Down
🔹 The speed camera warning phase has moved to November: A quick update to what I told you last week. The City has delayed the start of the 60-day warning period from late September to November to finish installation adjustments and complete a traffic study of speed limits in eastern Malibu, which affects the Carbon Canyon and Tuna Canyon camera locations. Here is the number that should stop you cold: during just nine days of preliminary testing, September 16 through 24, the cameras recorded about 100,000 speeding violations across four locations, with 86 percent in eastern Malibu. The cameras are only gathering data for now, so a flash does not mean a ticket. But if you are waiting for an envelope in the mail to change your habits, you are missing the point. Sixty of our neighbors have died on this highway since 2010. Slow down now, especially on school mornings.
👉 Learn how the speed cameras work
🚒 Public Safety: National Honors, and New Eyes on the Hills
🔹 Malibu CERT is officially one of the best in the nation: The National CERT Association honored our Community Emergency Response Team with its "Team in Action" award, recognizing the volunteers' extraordinary service through the Franklin, Broad, and Palisades fires. These are your neighbors, trained and showing up when it counts, and I could not be prouder of them. The current free training course wraps up with final sessions Tuesday, October 6, and Thursday, October 8, from 5 to 8 PM at the Malibu Library, and future courses will be announced. And to everyone who came out to the Safety Resource Fair at City Hall last Saturday, and to the staff and volunteers who ran it: thank you for treating preparedness like the community project it is.
🔹 An AI-powered fire camera now watches Corral Canyon: ALERTCalifornia, the UC San Diego network of nearly 1,300 cameras and sensors statewide, has installed a new camera above Corral Canyon using technology from Microsoft's AI for Good Lab, backed by a 5 million dollar Microsoft commitment. These cameras often flag a fire start before the first 911 call comes in, which means more time for crews and more warning for you. Early detection will never replace preparation, but I will take every extra minute technology can buy this town.
🛍️ Economic Development: Cones This Fall, Backbone for Decades
🔹 Fiber construction begins this month: Crews are starting work on roughly 8,000 feet of underground fiber connecting City Hall and our traffic signals along Civic Center Way, part of a 38-mile regional network funded through Measure M with no new taxes. Expect construction activity on portions of Malibu Canyon Road, Webb Way, Stuart Ranch Road, and Civic Center Way through December. Faster, more resilient communications for public safety and traffic operations is worth a season of orange cones, and I will say so every time I drive past them.
👉 Read the fiber project story
🔹 Keep your Sunday ritual, and add a stop: The Farmers Market runs this Sunday, October 4, from 10 AM to 3 PM at the Malibu Library parking lot on Civic Center Way. While you are out supporting local, remember our pier businesses too: the Malibu Farm Pier Cafe stays closed during the rehabilitation, and the Ranch at the Pier shop has temporarily relocated to the Malibu Cabana near the pier entrance. They stuck with Malibu through a hard year. Let's return the favor.
👉 Browse City business resources
📚 Education & Youth: The Students Took Their Seats
🔹 The Youth Commission opened its school year Thursday: The Harry Barovsky Memorial Youth Commission gaveled in its first meeting of the year on October 1 at City Hall, and that room is where student opinions become recommendations that actually reach the Council dais. If there is a young person in your life with strong views about this town, and I have yet to meet one without them, tell them to watch for the next agenda and come add their voice.
🔹 Fire Prevention Week starts Sunday: October 4 through 10 is national Fire Prevention Week, and this year's focus is safe charging for the lithium-ion batteries in our phones, scooters, and e-bikes. In a town like ours, the dinner-table version is simple: know your evacuation routes, charge devices safely, and make sure every member of the household, kids included, knows the family plan.
→ 🎯 My take: We ask Malibu kids to love this place. Giving them real responsibility, whether that is a commission seat or the family go-bag checklist, is how they learn to protect it.
🗳️ City Hall: The Community Lands Conversation Keeps Moving
🔹 Monday was not only about storms: The Community Lands Project review also came to the dais on September 28, carrying this summer's survey results and the future of five city-owned properties totaling more than 61 acres. As one of the two ad hoc committee members, I can tell you that every concept in that room started with resident input, and the conversation about what happens next deserves your continued attention. The full replay and record are posted through the Agenda Center, and next steps will post on the project site as staff brings items back. We return to the dais for our next regular meeting on Monday, October 12, at 5:30 PM.
👉 Explore the Community Lands project
🏛️ Get Involved: Decisions Favor the People in the Room
🔹 Two commissions meet in the next six days: Planning convenes Monday evening and Public Safety on Wednesday, and if this week's emergency declaration proved anything, it is that resident testimony moves this city. It was neighbors speaking up about Malibu Creek that put storm readiness on the agenda in the first place. All six of our commissions, Planning, Parks and Recreation, Public Safety, Public Works, Arts, and the Harry Barovsky Memorial Youth Commission, meet at City Hall, welcome public comment, and shape policy long before it reaches a Council vote. The application to serve is open year-round, and this winter of all winters, we could use your hands.
👉 Browse upcoming commission meetings and agendas
👉 Apply to serve on a commission or committee
📅 Dates to Know
🔹 Sunday, October 4, 10 AM to 3 PM: Malibu Farmers Market, Malibu Library parking lot, Civic Center Way. Hurricane Rachel swell also arrives Sunday, so use extra caution at the beach. Fire Prevention Week runs October 4 through 10.
🔹 Monday, October 5, 6:30 PM: Planning Commission Regular Meeting, City Hall Council Chambers.
🔹 Tuesday, October 6, and Thursday, October 8, 5 to 8 PM: Final sessions of the free CERT training course, Malibu Library.
🔹 Wednesday, October 7, 5 PM: Public Safety Commission Regular Meeting, City Hall.
🔹 Monday, October 12, 5:30 PM: Regular City Council Meeting, City Hall (hybrid), agenda posting at the Agenda Center.
🔹 Thursday, October 15, 6:30 PM: Community workshop on the state-led Malibu Creek Ecological Restoration Project, covering creek debris removal and the long-term plan for Rindge Dam, at the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District on Las Virgenes Road, just north of Mulholland.
🔹 Looking further out: The Planning Commission meets again Monday, October 19, at 6:30 PM, followed by the Parks and Recreation Commission on Tuesday, October 20, at 6:30 PM, the Arts Commission on Tuesday, October 27, at 9:30 AM, and the Public Works Commission on Wednesday, October 28, at 3:30 PM, all at City Hall. The Youth Commission, fresh off its October 1 session, posts its next agenda at the Agenda Center. Legacy Park hosts Nature Walk and Storytime on Wednesday, October 21, at 10:30 AM, and a Native Plant Giveaway on Sunday, November 8, at 9:30 AM.
🔹 Ongoing: Sea Level Drive remains closed under an evacuation order while repairs continue. Severe erosion hazards persist from Westward Beach Road into Point Dume State Beach, with Westward Beach Road and the Point Dume lot still closed and the beach reachable on foot from the Zuma side. PCH work zones continue with reduced speeds, overnight lane closures near Tuna and Ratner beaches, and doubled fines. Speed cameras are in testing mode, with the warning period now set for November: a flash is not a ticket, but please drive like it is.
👉 Browse the full Malibu city calendar
🐝 One Last Thought
Eighteen months. That is how long it took the kelp at Palos Verdes to rebuild its forest once someone finally gave it a foundation, and it is roughly how long the pier's rehabilitation is projected to take now that a contract is signed. Recovery has a speed, and we set it by how early we start and how stubbornly we stay with it, whether the patient is a reef, a pier, a creek, or a whole town staring down a historic winter.
This week, Malibu started early on almost everything. Keep that going: clear your drains before the first storm does it for you, claim a seat at Monday's Planning Commission or the October 12 Council meeting, and if there is a slope, a storm drain, or a stretch of creek near you that worries you, I want to hear about it before the rain does. Write me at hconrad@malibucity.org. I read every note.
See you by the water, Malibu.
Haylynn Conrad
Councilmember, City of Malibu
