On Sunday, August 23, the Malibu Farmers Market put up its tents in the south parking lot at Malibu City Hall. The week before, it had been in Legacy Park. The week after, it was back on the Los Angeles County lot beside the Malibu Library on Civic Center Way, where it had spent most of its life.
That made three locations in three Sundays. Before that summer, the market had already moved between the library lot and Legacy Park three times since 2023. The market has never chosen its own address. Each move came from a document covering land owned by someone else: a County lease, a construction schedule, a park restriction, a disaster staging order, an expired license.
A market that has always been a tenant
The Cornucopia Foundation was founded in 1998 by Malibu residents Debra Bianco and Remy O'Neill to focus on environmental education and sustainability. It started the farmers market two years later, partly to pay for those programs.
The tenancy problem began early. According to The Malibu Times, the market stopped running for a while in 2005, once it was decided that it needed more City permitting and a lease agreement with Los Angeles County. Cornucopia brought it back on County-owned land in the Civic Center near the library. LA Magazine puts its run on the library lot at more than 16 years.
Three public bodies have a say over where the tents go, and each one controls a different piece of ground.
| Site | Who controls it | What governs the market's use |
|---|---|---|
| Malibu Library lot, Civic Center Way | Los Angeles County, with Santa Monica College's Malibu campus next door | A County license, which expired in May 2026 |
| Legacy Park | City of Malibu | Restrictions on the park that bar commercial activity, plus the market's Conditional Use Permit |
| City Hall south lot | City of Malibu | A one-day temporary use permit, good for August 23 only |
Every move since 2023 traces back to one of those three rows.
How a temporary park setup lasted three years
Construction of the Santa Monica College Malibu campus, along with other activity on the County property, cut down the space the market had on the library lot. The market was then allowed across Civic Center Way to Legacy Park as a temporary arrangement. The Malibu Times reports that the park setting proved popular with shoppers and vendors, but Legacy Park was never approved as a permanent home.
The order of events matters here:
- 2023. SMC campus construction moves the market to Legacy Park.
- 2024. The market goes back to the library lot for a short stretch.
- January 2025. After the Palisades fire, it returns to Legacy Park.
- May 2026. Cornucopia's County license for the library lot expires.
- August 21, 2026. The City orders the market to stop operating at Legacy Park immediately.
- August 23, 2026. The market spends one Sunday at the City Hall south lot.
- August 30, 2026. The market returns to the library lot.
The 2025 step explains why the arrangement lasted so long. The Malibu Times reports that the County used the library lot for disaster staging after the fires. Cornucopia told County officials its return was held up while the lot served that purpose, including use by the National Guard, and that sandbags and related materials had only recently been cleared away. For more than a year the original home was simply unavailable, so the temporary site stayed in use.
The paperwork gap that came to a head in August
The County lot became usable again just as the market's right to use it ran out. Correspondence reviewed by The Malibu Times shows Cornucopia sent documents to the County on July 16 and followed up on July 21 and July 28. On July 29 the County replied that because the old license had lapsed in May, a new one was required, and that standard processing could take up to 60 days or longer.
The City had its own deadline running. City Manager Joe Irvin told The Malibu Times that formal enforcement started in mid-July. The market was told to leave Legacy Park by about August 1, and the City later let it stay through August 22. Irvin listed three concerns: the restrictions on Legacy Park, public safety where booths sat exposed to vehicle traffic, and consistent enforcement. He said he enjoys the market personally and that the City's action was about the location, not about whether Malibu should have a farmers market. The City's announcement said vendor vehicles and booths took up nearly 40% of public parking in the Civic Center area, and KTLA reported the parking concern as well.
Mayor Pro Tem Steve Uhring told the same paper that he had worked with Bianco on a revised site plan that he believed the County, the City and Bianco had all approved, and that "she's been aggressively trying to make that move." Irvin said some site plan changes were still outstanding, which he described as moving a row of tents from one parking aisle to the side of the building to keep emergency vehicle access clear. The Malibu Times summed it up this way: the parties disagreed less about where the market should end up than about whether every condition for its return had been met, and what should happen in the meantime.
One Sunday at City Hall
On August 20, the City approved a temporary use permit for one market day, Sunday, August 23. The market would use the south lot at City Hall and shoppers would park in the north lot.
The two sides saw that day differently. City spokesman Matt Myerhoff told the Los Angeles Times that the market was a success and that "everyone went home friends." Bianco told the same paper that at least 30 to 35 vendors didn't come. She described the site as "way up a hill" with less foot traffic, and said the switch came on very short notice.
Five days later, the City posted a news flash announcing that the market would return to the County lot at the Malibu Library on Sunday, August 30, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The City said it had worked with the Cornucopia Foundation, County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath's office and Santa Monica College to make it happen, and it thanked Bianco by name.
Where things stand heading into late October
The market has been back at its longtime spot since August 30. The state's directory of certified farmers markets, current as of October 1, 2026, lists it at 23555 Civic Center Way at Stuart Ranch Road with Debra Bianco as manager.
That listing is not a long-term guarantee, though. The last County position on the record is the July 29 email saying a new license was required and still under review. Bianco told The Malibu Times that the County had offered week-by-week Sunday approval while the longer-term paperwork was finished. The paper said it had not obtained that County communication itself. No public announcement since then has said a new long-term license was issued. The market is back on the library lot, but the paperwork that would keep it there hasn't been publicly finalized.
For a Sunday visit this week:
- Where: the Los Angeles County lot at the Malibu Library on Civic Center Way, listed by the state at 23555 Civic Center Way.
- When: the market's own site says Sundays, rain or shine, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., which matches the City's August notice. The state directory lists 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., so check the market's site before you go.
- Worth combining: two nearby openings from this year. Hank's Organic opened at 22601 Pacific Coast Highway, in the former PC Greens space, after more than three years of permitting, fire delays and construction. It's open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. BEAMS, the Tokyo-founded clothing and lifestyle company, opened a weekend-only shop at 23710 Malibu Road on August 7. It's open Fridays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., per The Malibu Times.
The market's Conditional Use Permit, the County license and the site plan with its emergency-access lane will decide whether the tents stay on Civic Center Way. If the location changes again, expect the City's news flash page to post it first, as it did on August 28.
Brian is a lifelong Malibu resident, and he follows the land-use details behind changes like this one. If you live near the Colony and want to know what's happening around Civic Center Way, or how changes there affect your own property, reach out to the Brian Merrick Team. Work With Brian.
