Taken from Wikipedia
Malibu is an affluent, beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 12,575. Malibu consists of a 21-mile (34 km) strip of Pacific coastline. The community is famous for its warm, sandy beaches, and for being the home of most movie stars anqd others associated with the entertainment industry. Signs around the city proclaim "27 miles of scenic beauty", referring to Malibu's original length of 27 miles (43 km) before it was incorporated in 1991.
Most Malibu residents live within a few hundred yards of Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1), which traverses the city, with some residents living up to a mile away from the beach up narrow canyons; the city is also bounded (more or less) by Topanga Canyon to the east, the Santa Monica Mountains to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the south, and Ventura County to the west.
Malibu's beaches include Surfrider Beach, Zuma Beach, Malibu State Beach, Topanga State Beach, Point Dume State Beach and Dan Blocker Beach; its local parks include Malibu Bluffs Park (formerly Malibu Bluffs State Park) and the planned Legacy Park,] with neighboring parks Malibu Creek State Park, Leo Carrillo State Beach and Park, Point Mugu State Park, and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and neighboring state beach Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach, that was once part of Old Malibu (before Malibu became a city), and better known as pristine beaches, El Pescador, La Piedra and El Matador.
History
Malibu was originally settled by the Chumash, Native Americans whose territory extended loosely from the San Joaquin Valley to San Luis Obispo to Malibu, as well as several islands off the southern coast of California. They named it "Humaliwo" or "the surf sounds loudly." The city's name derives from this, as the "Hu" syllable is not stressed.
Spanish explorer Juan Cabrillo is believed to have moored at Malibu Lagoon, at the mouth of Malibu Creek, to obtain fresh water in 1542. The Spanish presence returned with the California mission system, and the area was part of Rancho Topanga Malibu Sequit — a 13,000-acre (53 km2) land grant — in 1802. That ranch passed intact to Frederick Hastings Rindge in 1891. He and his widow, Rhoda May Rindge, guarded their privacy zealously by hiring guards to evict all trespassers and fighting a lengthy court battle to prevent the building of a Southern Pacific railroad line. Few roads even entered the area before 1929, when the state won another court case and built what is now known as the Pacific Coast Highway. By then May Rindge was forced to subdivide her property and begin selling and leasing lots. The Rindge house, known as the Adamson House (a National Historic Site and California Historical Landmark), is now part of Malibu Creek State Park and is situated between Malibu Lagoon State Beach and Surfrider Beach, beside the Malibu Pier that was originally built for the family yacht.
In 1926, in an effort to avoid selling land to stave off insolvency, Rhoda May Rindge created a small ceramic tile factory. At its height, Malibu Potteries employed over 100 workers, and produced decorative tiles which furnish many Los Angeles-area public buildings and Beverly Hills residences. The factory, located one-half mile east of the pier, was ravaged by a fire in 1931. Although the factory partially reopened in 1932, it could not recover from the effects of the Great Depression and a steep downturn in Southern California construction projects. A distinct hybrid of Moorish and Arts and crafts designs, Malibu tile is considered highly collectible. Fine examples of the tiles may be seen at the Adamson House and Serra Retreat, a fifty-room mansion that was started in the 1920s as the main Rindge home on a hill overlooking the lagoon. The unfinished building was sold to the Franciscan Order in 1942 and is operated as a retreat facility, Serra Retreat. It burned in the 1970 fire and was rebuilt using many of the original tiles.
Malibu Colony was one of the first areas inhabited after Malibu was opened to the public in 1929 and it is one of Malibu's most famous districts. It is located along Malibu Road, westward of the Pacific Coast Highway, on the opposite shore of the Malibu Lagoon State Beach and adjacent to the Malibu Bluffs Park (former state park). Initially May Rindge kept control of Malibu Beach, allowing a few wealthy Hollywood stars to build vacation homes. Nearly a decade later, money woes forced Rindge to sell the land, and the Colony was born. Long known as a popular private enclave for wealthy celebrities, the Malibu Colony today is a gated community, with multi-million dollar homes on small lots. The Colony commands breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, affording a spectacular coastline view stretching from Santa Monica to Rancho Palos Verdes to the south (known locally as the Queen's Necklace) and the bluffs of Point Dume to the north.
High technology in Malibu: the first working model of a laser was demonstrated by Dr. Theodore Maiman in 1960 in Malibu at then Hughes Research Laboratory(now known as HRL Laboratories LLC). In the 1990s HRL Laboratories developed the FastScat computer code, for frequency domain algorithms and implementation, recognized as perhaps the most accurate code in the world for radar cross-section calculations. TRW built a laboratory in Solstice Canyon without any structural steel to test magnetic detectors for satellites and medical devices.
Celebrity anecdotes abound: Cat Stevens had his famous near-death experience there in 1976, when he nearly drowned while he was swimming. The accident led him to embrace Islam in 1977 and change his name to Yusuf Islam. Actor Martin Sheen was named honorary mayor in 1989.[22]
Incorporation: in 1991 most of the old Malibu land grant was incorporated as a city to allow local control of the area (as cities, unlike townships, are not subject to the same level of county government oversight). Prior to achieving municipal status, the local residents had fought several county-proposed developments, including an offshore freeway, a nuclear power plant, and several plans to replace septic tanks with sewer lines. The incorporation drive gained impetus in 1986, when the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved plans for a regional sewer that would have been large enough to serve 400,000 people in the western Santa Monica Mountains. Residents were incensed that they would be assessed taxes and fees to pay for the oversized sewer project, and feared that the already-capacity Pacific Coast Highway would need to be widened into a freeway to accommodate growth that they did not want. The Supervisors fought the incorporation drive and prevented the residents from voting, a decision that was overturned in courts.
The city councils that were elected in the 1990s were unable to write a Local Coastal Plan (LCP) that preserved enough public access to satisfy the California Coastal Commission, as required by the California Coastal Act. The state Legislature eventually passed a Malibu-specific law that allowed the Coastal Commission to write an LCP for Malibu, thus neutering the city's ability to control many aspects of land use. Because of the failure to adequately address sewage disposal problems in the heart of the city, the local water board ordered Malibu in November 2009 to build a sewage plant for the Civic Center area. The city council has objected to that solution.
Malibu Bluffs Community Park and Malibu Bluffs Recreation Area The former Malibu Bluffs State Park ownership changed hands in 2006 after the California Department of Parks and Recreation transferred the park's 93 acres (380,000 m2) control to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, They established the Malibu Bluffs Recreation Area, an Open Space Preserve of 90 acres on the bluffs between the Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Road, directly opposite Pepperdine University and Malibu Canyon Road. The 100-foot bluffs rise above Amarillo Beach and Puerco Beach across Malibu Road. Five public stairways (which adjoin private property) lead down to the shoreline from the base of the bluffs. The trails begin from the spacious lawns in Malibu Bluffs Community Park
The Malibu Bluffs Recreation Area surrounds the six-acre Malibu Bluffs Community Park, whose 10-acre (40,000 m2) parcel the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy sold to the city. It consists of the Michael Landon Community Center, baseball diamonds, and soccer fields. Home of the Malibu Little League (MLL), once the largest youth team sports organization in Malibu. (That honor was wrested in the 1990s by Malibu AYSO, a youth soccer organization that shares park space (practice fields).) For over 20 years, the State Parks had tried to kick out Malibu Little League's baseball diamonds and tall baseball fences, with the intention of returning the land to its native wetlands and vegetation. A rider to a California state law was written specifically in the 1950s to allow baseball, with its attendant field accoutrements, to continue being played in the state park. Several generations of Malibuites worked to keep Malibu Bluffs Park for baseball and soccer.
Malibu Legacy Park Project
Adjacent to the Malibu Country Mart was a vacant, 20-acre (81,000 m2) plot of land owned by billionaire Jerry Perenchio and sold to the City of Malibu in 2005 with strict deed restrictions prohibiting any further commercial use.
The City at this site is building Malibu Legacy Park. The City hopes that a state-of-the-art water treatment plant already built will use stormwater runoff that accumulates at the park, making it into an environmental cleaning machine that will end the City's stormwater pollution contribution to Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon, and the world-famous Surfrider Beach. The Malibu Legacy Park Project responds to critical issues: (1) bacteria reduction by stormwater treatment, (2) nutrient reduction in wastewater management, (3) restoration and development of riparian habitats, and (4) the development of an open space area for passive recreation and environmental education. In addition, the Project will be linked by a “linear park” to neighboring Surfrider Beach, Malibu Pier, Malibu Lagoon, and Malibu Bluffs Park.
The park is located east of Webb Way, and between Civic Center Way on the north and PCH to the south. It was the site of the annual Labor Day Weekend Kiwanis Club Chili Cook-Off from 1982-2009 (the fair will be moved to nearby streets and parking lots in 2010, the city says). Further back, it was agricultural land, planted in geraniums, other flowers and vegetables by the Takahashi family since 1924.
Geography
Malibu is located at 
34°1′50″N 118°46′43″W / 34.03056°N 118.77861°W / 34.03056; -118.77861 (34.030450, -118.778612).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 261.5 km² (101.0 mi²). Thus, Malibu is one of the largest cities in California and the United States in terms of land and water area. 51.5 km² (19.9 mi²) of it is land and 210.0 km² (81.1 mi²) of it is water (the city boundaries extend three miles (5 km) into the ocean). The total area is 80.32% water. Malibu has a population density of 632.9 persons per square mile of land area.
Malibu's dry brush and steep clay slopes make it susceptible to fires, floods, and mudslides. Poor grading practices and over-irrigation or leaking pipes exacerbate the tendency for landslides.
Carbon Beach, Paradise Cove, Escondido Beach, Surfrider Beach, Broad Beach, Pirate's Cove, Westward Beach, Zuma Beach, and Trancas are places along the coast in Malibu. Point Dume forms the northern end of the Santa Monica Bay, and Point Dume Headlands Park affords a vista of stretching to the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Santa Catalina Island. Directly below the park, on the western side of the point, is Pirates Cove, named for rumrunners during prohibition who liked the secluded beach for offloading their cargo. Because of its relative seclusion, Pirate's Cove was previously used as a nude beach, but because nudity is now illegal on all Los Angeles County beaches, nude sunbathers are subject to fines and/or arrest. On the eastern side of the point is "Little Dume", a surf spot which is accessible only by an unmarked trail below Wildlife Drive which has a locked gate. Surfers often paddle out from Paradise Cove to the area when the waves are breaking.
Like all California beaches, Malibu beaches are technically public land below the mean high tide line. Many large public beaches (Zuma Beach, Surfrider Beach) are easy to access, but such access is sometimes limited in some of the smaller and more remote beaches. Some Malibu beaches are private, such as Paradise Cove, which charges an entrance fee to keep the crowds at bay. Although access to most all Malibu beaches can be obtained after a bit of a walk, the issue of expanded public access is continuously addressed and debated by the City. Many Malibu homeowners favor limited public access expansions to some beaches, claiming that many visitors are less likely than residents to respect the beaches or private property.
Education
Schools
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District serves Malibu with three elementary schools: John L. Webster Elementary School (grades K-5, located in central Malibu), Juan Cabrillo Elementary School (grades K-5, located in northwestern Malibu's Malibu Park district), and Point Dume Elementary School (grades K-5, located in northwestern Malibu's Pt. Dume district).
Private schools include: Calmont Our Lady Of Malibu (Catholic), Colin Mc Ewen High School, New Roads, and St. Aidan's School.
Malibu High School (MHS), a nationally-ranked school, provides secondary public education for both middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12). MHS is located in the northwestern region of Malibu.
Pepperdine University, a private college affiliated with the Church of Christ, is outside Malibu city limits and is located in central Malibu, north of the Malibu Colony at the intersection of the Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Canyon Road. Malibu is also served by Santa Monica College, a community college in the neighboring city of Santa Monica to the south, as well as another community college, Moorpark College in the city of Moorpark to the northeast.
Library
Malibu Public Library, a 16,530 square feet (1,536 m2) branch of the County of Los Angeles Public Library, is in the Malibu Civic Center Complex. The branch has an adult reading area, a children's reading area, a 125 person meeting room, and free parking. The library opened in 1970. Prior to 1970 residents were served by a bookmobile.
Arts and culture
Getty Villa, an art museum that is part of the J. Paul Getty Museum, is located just outside the city limits in the adjacent Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. It is owned and operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, which also oversees the Getty Center in West Los Angeles. The Museum at the Getty Villa houses Getty's collections of antiquities, sculptures, art pieces and cultural artifacts of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria.
The Malibu Art Association, a non-profit organization to foster the arts in Malibu produces shows, demonstrations and workshops for its members, and offers art for public display throughout the community.
The Malibu Arts Festival is held annually on the last weekend in July by the Malibu Chamber of Commerce.
The Malibu Garden Club holds an annual garden tour of private, residential gardens.
Malibu High School offers musicals every spring and instrumental and vocal musical concerts every winter and spring.
Montgomery Art House for Music and Architecture (MAHMA) offers classical music concerts held in a house designed by Eric Lloyd Wright, grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Smothers Theatre of Pepperdine University's Theatrical Drama Department offers concerts, plays, musicals, opera, and dance.
Tourist attractions
The Malibu pier near the famous Surfrider Beach Malibu's beaches are the main attraction, with Zuma Beach drawing over 800,000 visitors over Labor Day Weekend in 2007. Surfrider Beach, adjacent to the Adamson's House and Malibu Lagoon, with its long waves draws a steady beach and surfer crowd.
California State Parks provide horseback, hiking and mountain biking options in Malibu with ocean, mountain, and canyon views.
Pacific Coast Highway is popular with road cycling enthusiasts for its vistas.
A few chartered buses filled with tourists pass through Malibu infrequently. Unlike Beverly Hills or Hollywood, Malibu's celebrity homes are often in remote locations, inaccessible by bus.
Adamson's House, the unused homesite of the 19th century original owners of Malibu, the Rindge Family, draws some visitors.
In late June 2008, the Malibu Pier reopened after $10 million in renovations.
There are several shopping centers in the Malibu Civic Center area including the Malibu Country Mart and the newly-opened Malibu Lumberyard. The Malibu Civic Center is well known for being frequented by paparazzi and tourists looking to catch a glimpse of local celebrities.
