(The following was addressed to Councilman Andy Stern) We are not angry with you, and I trust that you are not angry with us. We are not employed by BHP Billiton, and we have no axe to grind other than the interests of the residents of Malibu. Nevertheless, we believe that, as a Realtor, and a City Councilman, you have a conflict of interest. This conflict can be explicit, but it is also implicit every time you vote on an issue that has an impact on Malibu real estate (and what doesn’t). Explicitly, you must recuse yourself on specific real estate/planning issues, such as the Nassimi property building permit, which renders you ineffective as a City Councilman. Implicitly, every decision you make that involves real estate has a bearing on your real estate sales career. We believe that you must make a decision as to which function is most important to you, select that one and give up the other, City Council or real estate, but not both.
Obviously, we believe that the same conflict can and does exist in the Planning Department. How is it that the Nassimi building permit received such resounding criticism from local neighbors in Malibu Park, both in the original instance and in an appeal (the building is grotesquely large, grandiose, fails to comply with more than a few Malibu code requirements and is out of keeping with the entire neighborhood), but nevertheless was approved by the Planning Department? The existence of this conflict of interest causes concern, perhaps even when there should be none.
We therefore suggest that you consider which course of action you would prefer, change of career, or resignation from the City Council, and that you would recommend similar action for the Planning Department staff.
Erwin E. Schulze
Bonnie L. Schulze