In last week’s edition, Dr. Harris once again signed a letter full of inaccurate accusations. He needs to find a new source. I do agree with him that “it is wrong to mislead and blame others for one’s mistakes.” That is exactly what is going on here. Keep in mind that three votes are required to pass anything by the City Council. Two council persons cannot “insist” on anything. Dr. Harris claims that I and Carolyn Van Horn had “insisted” on zoning the Civic Center area commercial. While I was on the council-preceding the April, 1994, election-the Civic Center area was zoned “specific plan” with no other designated zoning. Nine months after I left the council, in November, 1994, the city attorney recommended that the “underlying zoning” be assigned to Civic Center properties. Subsequently, during the City Council General Plan mapping hearings late in 1995, commercial zoning was allocated to Civic Center parcels. I did not participate in these decisions as I did not come back on the council until April, 1996. Jeff Jennings should recall this as he was on the council during that time. Another example! Dr. Harris stated in a previous letter that the Coastal Commission LCP promoted hotels for the Civic Center and Paradise Cove. Hotels are only allowed in CV-2 zoning. The Adamson hotel parcel is the only vacant CV-2 site in Malibu. City Council minutes show they voted to add recreational uses to the CC, CV and CG commercial zones (all found in the Civic Center) on July 24, 1995. The Paradise Cove zoning is the same as our General Plan with only the restaurant site zoned CV-1. The derogatory letters printed in the last month have been incorrect. Probably others that appear in this edition-too late to rebut before the election-will follow that pattern. Before you believe an accusation, ask the accuser for proof of his statements.
Walt Keller