City Council Backs Plan for Malibu Ferry
The 3-2 vote makes Malibu the last city on the "Blue Highway" route to sign on.
July 30, 2026
Malibu will officially support a passenger ferry at the Malibu Pier, after a divided City Council voted 3-2 last night to send a letter backing the Pier-to-Pier project's concession application to California State Parks.
The vote makes Malibu the last of the coastal cities along the [proposed "Blue Highway"](https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2025-09-03/essential-california-santa-monica-malibu-ferry), a route running from the Malibu Pier to Santa Monica, Marina del Rey, Redondo Beach, San Pedro and Long Beach , to endorse the service. It's also the only one to split over it: Mayor Bruce Silverstein and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Uhring voted no.
The resident-led project would run 149-passenger catamarans between the Malibu and Santa Monica piers in about 30 minutes, at a fare of roughly $50. Special-event runs could begin possible as early as this fall and regular service is expected to start in early 2027.
Much of the two-hour debate [centered on SB 79](https://calmatters.org/housing/2026/04/sb-79-implementation/), the new state housing law that took effect July 1 and allows dense residential development near qualifying transit stops. Silverstein, a lawyer, argued the statute's plain language covers "a ferry terminal served by a bus," and warned the city couldn't take its support back once given. The city's outside counsel said state guidance suggests a private ferry wouldn't qualify, but conceded there are "no guarantees" under the untested law.
Councilmember Doug Stewart's amendment threaded the needle, adding that the letter is sent "with the understanding that SB 79 will not apply."
Supporters pitched the ferry as an evacuation asset after the Palisades Fire trapped residents on PCH, and a return to old Malibu (a Caltrans-run ferry [briefly shuttled residents around a landslide](https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-retrospective-pch-20160807-snap-story.html) in 1979).
"It's not the Titanic. It's Dunkirk," resident Michelle Shane told the council.