On April 28, I attended the City Council meeting, which was devoted primarily to the Forge Lodge issue. I was struck by the difference in demeanor and behavior between the pro-development and pro-environment sides. The pro-development side (a lot of whom seemed to come from out of town) were noisy, intrusive and generally disrespectful of speakers presenting views which differed from their own. Twice they had to be admonished by the mayor for booing and hissing. The pro-environment people on the other hand were respectful, quiet and polite.
Another obvious difference between the two factions was in the content of their testimony. The pro-development crowd spent most of their time on testimonials stressing what a wonderful couple the Forges were. These character assessments had nothing whatever to do with the proceedings and contributed in large part to keeping us all there until after midnight. Furthermore, the behavior of the Forge “supporters” belied their testimony and reflected badly on the couple they were attempting to support. The pro-environment people on the other hand presented factual, thoughtful information relevant to the proposal at hand.
It became clear during the evening that trying to categorize this massive “development” as a bed-and-breakfast was stretching credibility to the extreme. It’s obviously a hotel. Hence it was reassuring to witness Mayor Kearsley’s courage to stand up in the face of the lodge’s abusive supporters and request that, to reduce the volume of the project, each unit be cut from the absurdly large 680 square feet to a more appropriate 480 square feet, still plenty big enough. I also credit Councilmembers Barovsky and Stern for supporting this motion.
However, further surprises were afoot! In a blatant display of skullduggery, the project’s architect slipped a note directly to Councilmember Jennings to declare that 480 square feet would not allow him to maintain a two room suite for each unit. So what? Where in the bed and breakfast manual does it state that such units must be suites and not rooms? Unfortunately, the council voted to reconsider and 100 feet was added back on to each unit. Also unfortunate was the way in which Mr. Barsocchini’s note was delivered to the council. Instead of following normal procedure (first to the council clerk who would then pass it to the mayor) the note was slipped directly to Councilmember Jennings, thereby leaving no doubt as to who was influencing his vote. Mayor Kearsley need not have acknowledged the note since it did not come through proper channels, but unfortunately he did.
In the end I was glad I had made the effort to attend the proceedings as it was a valuable lesson in how city “business” is conducted. I encourage every resident of Malibu to do likewise. The next important showdown will be May 12 when further discussion will be heard on the Malibu Bay Company’s proposals for the massive civic center development. I’m sure the abusive pro-development crowd will again be out in force, but this time please spare us the teary-eyed character assessment.
Graeme Clifford