Planning Commissioners John Mazza and David Brotman went toe-to-toe Monday night in a battle of wills over a new formula retail ordinance that could be an alternative to Measure R. Measure R is expected to be struck down in courts on April 5.
Commissioners were tasked with reviewing and either recommending or denying recommendation of the ordinance, before moving it before city council. With Mazza’s departure, the item will be moved, likely to the April 4 meeting.
“This smacks of blackmail and I don’t appreciate it,” Brotman said.
Mazza had the upper hand in the confrontation, as only three commissioners were in attendance at the meeting, narrowly making a quorum. A quorum is the minimum number of voting members who must be in attendance to make a meeting legal — without Mazza, the meeting would have to end.
Mazza moved to have the ordinance hearing moved to the end of the meeting, to allow commissioners to hear the other items before he made his abrupt exit. Brotman stood his ground.
“We have responsibilities here, to the community and to the city council,” Brotman said.
“As far as I’m concerned, I won’t be blackmailed,” Brotman continued. “And if Mr. Mazza wants to create a situation where citizens are denied the right to have their hearing, after waiting much time, then I guess that’s what he’ll do, and I think it’s awful.”
Mazza then gave his reasoning. “I am doing this because 60 percent of the citizens of Malibu voted for a particular ordinance,” Mazza said. “They need the input of the full planning commission, and not just a rump session.”
Chair Roohi Stack voted to allow the item moved to the end of the agenda, so other items could be heard.
City Attorney Christi Hogin, who did not attend the meeting, spoke to The Malibu Times on Tuesday about the events of Monday night and the role of the planning commission.
“[Planning commissioners] are not policy makers. Yeah, they do a great procedural role, they do a great job helping [set policy],” Hogin said. “In the end, the city council makes legislative decisions, because they are accountable to voters and that is how a democracy works.
“By using a procedural trick and leaving the room, John Mazza has become the Mitch McConnell of Malibu.”
U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ken) is currently vowing to hold up Senate hearings on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee until after presidential voting in November.
“This is Measure R, essentially. It’s a big deal,” Mazza told The Malibu Times Tuesday, when asked why only a quorum of three was needed to hear the other items on the agenda. Those items included two single-family residences and an informational item about the former Beau Rivage property.
“Because they were all pretty simple items,” Mazza continued. “None of them were controversial. I don’t think there’s a huge deal about whether your deck is five feet this way or five feet that way, but an ordinance is a law that affects the whole city. That’s a big deal.”
“The city council wanted our comment on an ordinance that was a million dollar battle … The judgement’s going to be given on April 4. What’s the hurry? That’s my opinion.”
To Hogin, it’s more about planning commissioners doing their role.
“You suit up, you show up and you play the position that you’ve been assigned, and that’s teamwork,” Hogin said. “So I was disappointed, but it is what it is.”
She later added that absent commissioners could have submitted comments for the public record, if they had wished.
“This is a recommendation, so if the missing members had an opinion about the replacement ordinance, they could have simply sent an email to the council and made it in the public record and everybody would know,” Hogin said. “We’re looking for everybody’s best thinking on this.”
The proposed ordinance, written by city attorneys, includes some differences from Measure R, including the definition of “formula retail” and not needing a conditional use permit (CUP) for each formula retail tenant. The new ordinance required planning commission clearance for formula retail use but not a unique CUP.