There is a simple piece of advice given to new medical interns: At the first sign of cardiac arrest, take your own pulse. This fundamental guidance applies to making a judgement about Measure M. The decision does not have to be made by Nov. 4 and shouldn’t be. The arguments for this urgent referendum to avoid the catastrophe of, God forbid, letting the Malibu Bay Company develop its properties as it can under current more restrictive existing zoning regulations, seem, at first blush, to be a “Chicken Little” response. But could it be something more?
Is it coincidence that many of the voices raised in support of the now revealed dubious arguments for Measure S are the same urging precipitous speed on M? Is this a chance to emotionally hype ball fields for the children and community centers for seniors quickly so that these goals can be met, irrespective the consequences of an apparently larger build out of MBC properties than if left to normal process?
Should we trust a City Council which, to make itself feel good, donates money the city needs to the school district, most of it going out of Malibu to Santa Monica? Should we trust a City Council which seems to have forgotten the only reason Malibu became a city was not for ball fields but to stop the establishment of sewers, knowing that once the concept was established the fundamental restraint on development would be gone. Measure M permits a sewer. What was the council thinking, or were they?
Rushing to confirm the negotiation which produced the agreement in Measure M seems vaguely reminiscent of the negotiations between Gray Davis and his bureaucratic minions on one hand and the power companies on the other. Hardly a fair fight and one which left the horriflc consequence of Californians carrying several billions of dollars of deficit and huge electrical bills. The same could be argued of the negotiations between well meaning amateurs and those professionals dedicated to winning and getting the most from their investments, even if it means a little slight-of-hand while later moving on, away from the gridlook surrounding the rather meager ball fields for the children. Hardly a fair fight.
For 20 years the argument in Malibu has been the same. Try to preserve its unique quality as much as possible or turn it into a conventional suburb. People used to come to Malibu to escape suburbs. Let’s take a minute to take our own pulse.
Donald Wrye