Malibu’s weekly Farmers Market was being held at the Malibu City Hall parking lot Sunday, after permitting issues scuttled its prior set-up at Legacy Park, officials said.
“Good morning Malibu!! The Sunday Malibu Farmers Market is on up here at Malibu City Hall parking lot with a temporary permit, open today, 10 AM to 3 PM!” the city posted Sunday morning on X. “Come on down, the weather is beautiful. The vendors are excited to welcome you and the city is happy to have found a solution to ensure the farmers market can take place to serve the community! Thank you Cornucopia Foundation! Have a great day, Malibu!”
On Friday, city officials announced that they had ordered the operator of the Malibu Farmers Market to immediately cease operations at Legacy Park, citing unresolved concerns over public safety, parking and compliance with the market’s permit.
The market had moved to Legacy Park from its originally approved location at the Los Angeles County Library parking lot on Civic Center Way.
City officials said they had worked with the market operator to allow operations to continue at Legacy Park while attempting to find a safe and compliant long-term location, but the park was never designed or approved to permanently accommodate the market.
Concerns over the temporary location include public safety, limited parking, access to neighboring businesses and compliance with the market’s conditional use permit, according to the city.
Officials said those concerns have become more significant during the summer, when increased visitor traffic adds vehicles and pedestrians to the Civic Center area.
Market vendor vehicles and booths occupy nearly 40% of the available public parking in the Civic Center area, reducing parking available to visitors and customers of nearby businesses, according to the city.
“This is not about shutting down a farmers market that our community values,” City Manager Joe Irvin said last week. “We have worked to make the current arrangement work, but we also have a responsibility to protect public safety and ensure city requirements are applied fairly.”
Irvin said the city wants the market to return to its approved location on the county-owned lot.
“The city has offered to host the market in an approved location outside of City Hall while its permanent license is processed by L.A. County,” Irvin said.
Officials said the city remains supportive of having a farmers market in Malibu and would continue working with the operator toward securing a properly permitted location.