Did it ever occur to anyone that all the protesting and law suits are what has caused this mess up at Trancas? It’s a Lunita deja vu. There were only supposed to be six homes built. After a long hard fight, thanks to the folks who claim to “protect Malibu’“ we ended up with 32 condos. It isn’t Dan Bercu’s fault that we are now going to end up with a shopping center, way bigger and uglier than he planned. It’s the people who relentlessly fought this project who are to blame for the loss of the nursery and garden center and the pending development. Shame on them!
Dan’s center was going to be low density, rustic and charming. Dan bent over backwards for this community, drastically reducing his plans, donating the Riders and Ropers property, spending over a million dollars on revisions without having made one single penny. Like most of the men in this community, Dan is a businessman, trying to make a living. He tried to improve his community. He wanted mom and pop shops, a book store, local restaurants and a much needed hardware store. Dan is a great guy, with a conscience and a heart of gold. Little did he know the so-called protectors would rip his dream to shreds, leaving us all with our worst nightmare. He must feel horrible! I doubt the new owners care about our way of life or the garden center, or they would have kept Dan and Dan’s plans. Bye-bye rustic and charming.
On a personal note, I can identify with Dan. I and others worked tirelessly on getting a simple park (Trancas Park) completed for the community and it took a ridiculous 10 years because of all the fighting from community members who didn’t want change. Unlike Lunita and Dan’s center, the park saga had a happy ending.
Justine Petretti