Let us not kid ourselves, Malibu is in a crisis mode. The latest events with the Coastal Commission should leave us all with the notion that this body, which is an unconstitutionally created legislature, judiciary and police force (as at least one trial court has already found) has as its goal the conversion of our city into a state park. I fear that unless we take action, it damned well may succeed. When Ken Weiss of the Los Angeles Times wrote his last broadside for the Commission in his article about the LCP coffee klatch, it was nothing more than that or a therapeutic exercise since the commissioners didn’t even have the scintilla of courtesy to listen to many of the speakers. He noted that the reasons the Legislature lateralled this football to the Commission was that it was tired of being lobbied by the constituency.
I note that the chair of the Commission and others will soon be hosting a special event for Mr. Burton, president pro tem of the State Senate, which can be attended by anyone with a spare few thousand dollars of walking around money. I doubt that I will be invited and have even greater doubts that, if invited, I would attend. The point is that there are only two institutions which can corral the Coastal Commission, the courts and the dollar.
We are in an election year and my computer tells me that members of our community donate generously to the very legislators who don’t want to be lobbied and who want the Commission, for want of a better world, to simply screw Malibu. The first round of this battle should be financial. Dry up the donations well and see if they come calling. Those who attend the Burton event are encouraging the very abuse that this community is receiving. Mr. Burton’s policies may well appeal to many, some of them are well thought out, but I’d suggest that to financially support them at this time may result in changes to our community that are drastic and undesirable.
I have more to say about the beach access easement issue but that deserves a separate letter. Let’s all see if the dollar gets their attention.
Todd M. Sloan