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Malibu Takes Aim at Paparazzi
May 9, 2008, 10:27 AM PDT 
Malibu -- City officials say their celebrity-rich costal town has been overrun by paparazzi who camp out at the city's few shopping centers and follow celebrities down Pacific Coast Highway. They're now seeking legal counsel to help tame the constant media circus.In the last few years, merchants have complained about paparazzi blocking store entrances and staking out restaurants and Malibu's multiplex movie theater. Brad Pitt placed a massive tarp around his beachfront mansion to foil photographers. Recently, dozens of photographers swarmed pop star Miley Cyrus during a trip to a Cross Creek Road shopping center, forcing bystanders aside to get their shots. Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich said Thursday that she'd asked Ken Starr, dean of the Pepperdine law school, to convene a group of experts in the media and legal community to help draft a city ordinance that might include "buffer zones" at certain locations as well as a possible tax on the paparazzi. "We're coming up on another summer season. Let's hope we are not in store for another tsunami of paparazzi," Ulich said. "Maybe they will think twice before shoving a camera in your face." Ulich said residents are particularly concerned because paparazzi are hanging out near local schools and following celebrities home after they pick up their kids. Malibu has been an out-of-the-way playground of the rich and famous for decades. But in recent years it has it become a destination for the photographers. Frank Griffin, co-owner of a Los Angeles-based photography agency, said the tipping point occurred two years ago when Britney Spears made the seaside town her home. She was famously photographed driving with her toddler on her lap on Pacific Coast Highway -- images that sparked a tabloid firestorm. She moved to Studio City but the paparazzi never left -- in part because they discovered how many stars live there, including Pierce Brosnan, Mel Gibson and Barbra Streisand. "They are like crows on a telegraph line, just rows and rows of them," Griffin said of the photographers. "They thought this is nice and comfy: 'I have my Starbucks, the taco stand and can even go surfing.' Who wants to sit in the Valley in 104 degrees?" City officials say one way to regulate the photographers is to tax celebrity photos taken in the city, however, they acknowledge that might not be legally possible. "They get thousands of dollars for these photographs," said Ulich. Earlier this year, Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine proposed an ordinance to create "a safe zone" around celebrities or others who were subjected to swarms of photographers at residences, in the streets or facilities, however, the ordinance has not gained much support. Malibu's legal fight may also face similar resistance. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca apparently agrees with LAPD Chief William J. Bratton's argument that no new laws are needed to deal with the paparazzi problem. Malibu currently contracts with the Sheriff's Department to provide police services. Peter Eliasberg, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said he is concerned that efforts to target the media, including the paparazzi, would infringe on 1st Amendment rights. "I hope that Dean Starr and the committee recognize existing laws are sufficient to address the problem," Eliasberg said. "The courts allow a variety of legal remedies, both civil and criminal. To the extent that there's problems, it's an enforcement problem not a lack of laws problem." Copyright © 2008, KTLA
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