Dear Editor,
After midnight on Oct. 25, a majority of the City Council approved a controversial application to reduce the required parking for an event space that they also permitted to conduct two large events per month with an attendance of up to 300 guests (plus staff and performers) in an “entertainment venue” they have dubbed a “restaurant” that the head of the City’s Building and Safety Department told the City Council cannot lawfully accommodate more than 237 people.
That was just one of many problems with the application.
This is nothing less than a display of raw power by three Councilmembers who do what they can because they can do what they can.
In addition to creating the potential for another mass-casualty nightclub event, this is yet another in a series of irresponsible decisions by a majority of the City Council, which now includes two lame ducks whose terms thankfully will soon end, to approve a permit that has the potential to increase traffic and parking problems in the area of the pier, without any studies and no credible record to support the decision.
This is why it is critical to elect Bill Sampson and Hap Henry to the City Council. With Doug Stewart and Marianne Riggins, we will have two more years of the same lawless decision making that is the hallmark of the majority of the current City Council.
If residents want more of the same, they should vote for Doug and Marianne, and they can kiss the Vision Statement goodbye. If residents want to change the unhealthy dynamic in city government and protect this sacred town, they should vote for Bill and Hap.
Bruce Lee Silverstein, Malibu