The hustle that would make the City of Malibu a pathetic public dupe to a blatant cabal of realtors branded Smart Coast is the heinous scheme of perfidious Councilperson Paul Grisanti.
Thankfully it was thwarted for the moment by stalwart councilperson Bruce Silverstein and a discerning Mayor Steve Uhring, who exposed Smart Coast as a thinly disguised lobbyist group on behalf of deep pocketed beach front property owners and attendant realtors at odds with the California Coastal Commission and the environmental community.
The denudation came at a late hour of a recent Council meeting and was marked by the city staff not disclosing in its report that Grisanti is the designated president of the realty ground. When confronted by a resident he declined to recuse himself.
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Grisanti was feebly supported in his refusal by City Attorney Trevor Rusin, councilpersons Doug Stewart and Marianne Riggins, their comments embarrassingly discursive. In other cities Grisanti’s shameless duplicity would have promoted a call for his resignation.
What Grisanti’s hustle involves is his offering the city $1,000 to pay for its membership in Smart Coast while he is still employed; a payment that could be considered a bribe to be the only city in the lobbyist group that includes 29 State realty associations groups, and no doubt to be used as a gullible ruse.
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Not incidentally a principal consultant to Smart Coast is Don Schmitz, well known in Malibu as a crafty expeditor of numerous mega commercial and residential developments, and should have been a red flag.
That the duly constituted municipality of Malibu with corporate status and governmental powers granted by national and state laws responsible to a resident electorate would consider aligning itself with the furtive Smart Coast is shameful and abrogation of basic Democratic principles.
Accordingly, Girsanti‘s ruse should be remembered if he dare attempt to run for reelection next year, and if his pro development stooges, Stewart and Riggins, decide to run again in the election after.
