Malibu Town Council Prevails

It was one o clock in the darkest of mornings, but the sun broke through on Monday night’s City Council meeting when it became apparent the Malibu Township Council appeal deep sixing the proposed engorged motel compromising the ocean bluffs in mid city PCH was going to prevail.

Going down to a rare defeat was the deep pocketed commercial venture of an out-of-town developer fronted by the haughty local mercenary duo of Burdge and Associates Architects and reportedly infamous facilitator and right-wing columnist of the Malibu Times, Don Schmitz.

It had been expected that the optimism of the here-to-fore debilitated Township Council facing the willful hidebound Council majority staged by a supercilious Paul Grisanti would crash, no match for the development team’s sweetheart liaison with a compromised city’s Planning Department.

But the Township headed by a keen Jo Drummond had done her homework, and produced a compelling pinpoint presentation, exposing the developer’s proposal as an environmental, traffic, building and zoning code violation disaster.

And it was backed by a parade of concerned residents, previous lone voices in defense of the city’s noble Mission and Vision Statement, now orchestrated in a convincing chorus of heartfelt comments, in contrast to the self-conscious testimony of the pro development speakers.

It also apparently swayed the previous cautious conservative stances of councilpersons Doug Stewart and Marianne Riggins, in the past handmaidens to Grisanti, but now with some trepidation open to the argument of the appellant Township.

Their questions concerning the project’s design were refreshingly piercing, and welcomed.

No matter how convoluted the direction of a biased interim city counsel, Trevor Rustin, Stewart and Riggins voted with a persuasive Bruce Silverstein, at his lawyer’s best, and, a clearly sympathetic Mayor Steve Uhring.

It was a night to remember.