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Fishing Report by Jim Matthews
HESPERIA LAKE: Big catfish continue to be landed along with limits of fish averaging 1-0 to 4-0. There have been nine catfish over 30-0 landed in the last two weeks. The best bite continues to be on the mealworm and marshmallow combo, a nightcrawler and marshmallow combo, shrimp, or mackerel.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Local landings were worried. It was nearing the middle of July and still no sign of the migratory sand bass and barracuda that are staples for local boats and their passengers.
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"The public input on this project was extensive," said Hayden Sohm, Malibu sector superintendent for California State Parks, part of the Department of Parks and Recreation and owner of the pier. "The overwhelming consensus was to bring back the pier as a recreational destina tion, and introduce enough commercial tenants to help stimulate local business. Malibu is not like other pier communities--namely Santa Monica, Manhattan or Redondo. Business owners are wedged in by the mountains and the sea, and urban sprawl is neither feasible nor desired."
In response to bids for tenancy sent out in January 2003, several local businesses have been tapped by the state to negotiate for the five on-pier pads. Mo's Restaurant, a moderately priced eatery in Toluca Lake, has set up shop in an 850-square-foot space on the inland portion of the pier.
The sunny outdoor patio has become a popular stopover for weekend motorcyclists, but owners Bruce Hecker and Jay Sadofsky are negotiating for the larger, two-story bar/cafe space at the pier's north end. If that deal were struck it would open up the space taken by Mo's for a second Zuma Jay Surfboards location.
The deals are still being negotiated, but for Zuma Jay owner Jefferson Wagner, whose store is a few hundred yards south on the Pacific Coast Highway, setting up shop on the pier would be a homecoming of sorts.
Wagner is a partner in the pier's main concession group, Malibu Pier Partners. Bradley Ogden, celebrity chef and co-owner of the popular Bay Area eateries Lark Creek Inn and One Market, is also a partner--and he is negotiating for a pier lease for the site of the shuttered Alice's Restaurant.
Reviving a destination
The pier anchored a stretch of Malibu (from the Chumash Indian word for "where the surf pounds loudly") for 50 years before "Gidget" made it internationally famous.
It was built in 1904 by the Rindge family, which bought the 13,000-acre Rancho Malibu in the late 1800s, and was designed as a modest landing to offload supplies for construction of a private railroad.
The Rindge clan made upgrades in the 1930s that included the pier's leasing to various sport fishing concessions. Mackerel, perch and halibut drew Depression-era visitors by the thousands.
Public activity diminished on the pier during World War II, and in 1943, William Huber purchased the pier from the Rindges, reaping the rewards of a post-war housing boom that kicked off a period of recreational and commercial uses at the site. Huber built the pier's existing structures in 1946.
"The deck was paved in the '50s," said Sohm. "There were bars and restaurants, and bait and tackle shops for sport fishing. It was the summer gathering place."
After the Huber family sold the pier to California State Parks in the early 1980s, it fell into disrepair, eventually closing for more than a decade prior to the restoration.
In rekindling its interest in the pier, Sobm said, California State Parks took pains to pattern its restoration after the look established by Huber, down to the choice of paint and sidings on the buildings.
"We replaced 75 percent of the pilings, added structural bracing and new decking and rails for safety," he said. "In 2003, we renovated all the buildings. We retained the original Malibu Tile in some structures. Malibu Tile was produced locally in the 1920s and is extremely collectible. It's a big draw for tourists."
The work on Malibu Pier was backed by $ million from a 1980s county bond offering, as well as State Park funds.
Banking on appeal
Sohm expects to finalize the leases, which will run for 20 years, in about a month. Lease rates will range from 3 percent to 15 percent of annual revenues, based on type of business.
Final interior build-out of all four structures on the pier, representing 7,000 square feet of rentable space, should top out at $2 million.
The rent is steep, said Sadofsky, but he doesn't mind.
"You're paying a higher percentage than say an urban retail district, because the land comes with a built-in customer base," he said. "'It won't be hard to make a concern on the pier profitable, as long as the rents are reasonable. Obviously you can't make a go of it if you're paying 25 percent of your revenues back to the state.'"
When the deals are in place, Sohm said he expects the 780-foot pier will house a bait and tackle shop, watercraft rentals, a bar/cafe with outdoor deck, an upscale restaurant, a beach retail shop and a small surfing museum.
Given Malibu's geography, parking is the biggest challenge. State Parks provides 97 spaces next to the pier and the Malibu Inn, a restaurant and music venue across PCH, has expanded its lot to approximately 60 spaces.
Impact on nearby homeowners, meanwhile, is mixed. "One guy is so excited," Sohm observed, "he made sure the new rock wall he built abutting the pier matches our design. Others are upset about construction noise and increased activity. The pier has been dormant for a long time, and the residents need to understand that it is, first and foremost, a public facility. At the same time, we can't rub development in their faces. That's really the story of Malibu--slow-growth versus pro-growth. This pier has to be common ground for everyone."
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