City officials want Ken Starr to go after the paparazzi.

Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich says she has asked the former White House independent counsel, now dean of the Pepperdine University law school, to convene a group of media and legal experts to help draft a city ordinance limiting the activities of celebrity photographers. She envisions local laws that create "buffer zones" between paparazzi and their celebrity targets or taxes celebrity photos taken in the city.

"Maybe they will think twice before shoving a camera in your face," Ulich said.

Several calls seeking comment from Starr, best known for his probe of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, were not immediately returned.

Malibu, with its deep canyons and twisting coastline, has for decades been an out-of-the-way playground for the rich and famous. But in recent years it has become a hot spot for photographers jostling to get a shot of such tabloid staples as Britney Spears, Brad Pitt or Pamela Anderson.

Merchants have complained about photographers staking out shopping malls and restaurants, sometimes forcing bystanders aside to get their shots.

Ulich said residents are particularly concerned because paparazzi are hanging out near local schools and following celebrities home after they pick up their kids.

Earlier this year, Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine proposed an ordinance that would create "a safe zone" around celebrities. He put the idea forward after Spears was swarmed by cameramen as she was taken from her home to a hospital. Police officials have cautioned that no new laws are needed to deal with unruly photographers.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, whose department provides police services for Malibu, agrees that current laws are adequate, spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

"We believe the laws on the books are sufficient to deal with anybody that violates them, whether it's driving inappropriately or reckless, obstructing movement, battery whatever it is," Whitmore said.

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