





Malibu may not conjure images in anyone's mind of a small town full of family-owned businesses, but maybe that's just because most of us don't live there. A group of Malibu residents—led by All in the Family star/When Harry Met Sally... director Rob Reiner—are fighting to maintain the 'Bu they know and love by kicking chain stores to the curb, says the Malibu Times. The charge is being led by Save Malibu, a group of residents concerned that Malibu's "[small-town] character stands to be destroyed by massive new commercial developments." These are just the latest Malibu residents intent on pretending that they live in a bucolic country town instead of a place where even mobile homes are listed for millions of dollars. A similar initiative (pushed by a group called Preserve Malibu) that would have imposed a no-chain rule on the area around Malibu's civic center was struck down last summer. The ballot initiative they've filed ("Your Malibu, Your Decision Act") would make it so that any major shopping center development, commercial, or mixed-use building over 20,000 square feet would have to be individually approved by voters. It would also create a 30 percent limit on the number of chain stores (defined as a store that has more than 10 locations) that are permitted to operate in Malibu. Existing developments would be grandfathered in and the law wouldn't apply to "grocery stores, banks, real estate offices, gas stations, movie theaters, post offices, drug stores, medical offices and low-cost overnight hotels and motels." What's left? High-end boutiques.

· Rob Reiner Group Proposes Initiative to Curb Chain Stores in Malibu [MT]

· Malibu Worried About Its High-End Boutique Problem [Curbed LA]