A 50-foot crane being used to assist placement of new pilings under Malibu Pier toppled and crashed into the roof of the prep kitchen next to Alice’s Restaurant Monday morning, trapping and causing injuries to the operator and halting rush-hour traffic.

Jeff Patrick, 19, was moving the heavy metal cages used in the pile-driving operations when the weight attached to the extended boom apparently caused the crane, sitting on uneven ground, to topple. Witnesses across the street said the crane appeared to topple in slow motion. It also appeared as if the roof of the prep kitchen, which arrested the fall, may have kept the operator from being totally crushed by the weight of the crane.

It took firefighters, sheriffs, lifeguards, state park rangers and the project’s contractors, using special electric saws and other emergency equipment, almost 1-1/2 hours to free Patrick by cutting open the partially crushed, but heavily reinforced, operator compartment that held him. During the rescue operation, Patrick was given intravenous fluids by the fire department paramedics.

After being removed from the crane cage, Patrick was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center by an emergency helicopter, which landed in the middle of PCH for the evacuation.

Initially, it was reported he had a lack of feeling in his lower body. By later in the day, it was reported that there was no paralysis, and he was being treated for a fractured pelvis.

By Monday afternoon, accident investigators from Cal/OSHA and various other agencies were on the scene. The pier, owned by the state of California, is in the first stage of repair and rehabilitation. Work is being done by Darian Construction, a privately owned general contractor, under the supervision of the state Department of Parks and Recreation. It was reported that the crane was operated by a subcontractor and its employees.

The first stage of pier rehabilitation was anticipated to be completed by April 2000. It is yet unclear how this accident will impact that repair schedule.

Adopting a traditional test for development in beachfront areas, the Planning Commission voted Monday that the “stringline” limiting decks or other structures at the edge of the beach would be drawn “between the nearest adjacent corner of the seaward side of the house or deck nearest the subject property.” Chairman Andrew Stern joined with Commissioners Jo Ruggles and Charleen Kabrin in borrowing draft language proposed by the L.A. County Local Coastal Program Committee.

By a vote of 3-2, the commission rejected a staff recommendation that would have used an average of each neighbors’ deck frontage — with a stringline drawn from each averaged point. Commissioner Ken Kearsley described the approach as a liberal interpretation that would be fair to all. He denounced the formula picked by the majority as punitive.

Commissioner Ed Lipnick also voted in favor of averaging, but only when it was clear there was no support for his formula that would draw the line “between the furthest seaward corner of the adjacent house or deck.”

According to a staff report, this language would have extended new development to the outermost limit of the existing development pattern. Lipnick, noting he is the only member of the commission who lives on the beach, said the owner should be able to get exactly as much as his neighbor, but not less. He said the option chosen by the majority — known as draft LCP 396 — was the worst of the options. Under this approach, he said, the outcome is determined by who goes first, with an obvious penalty or disparity for the owner of a vacant lot.

Planning Director Craig Ewing tried in vain to dispel the notion that Malibu’s approach should resemble that of the California Coastal Commission. He explained the Coastal Commission uses interpretive guidelines that can be applied without regard to the “ink on the page.” He said the LCP draft was “way too watery” and contained “vague references” that would be difficult to administer.

In a second 3-2 split, Ruggles was unable to garner a majority for language that would draw the stringline only from structures that were built with valid permits. “We’re sinking into a morass,” lamented Kearsley. Lipnick said he sympathized with the problem posed by “bootlegged” decks but submitted the city lacked the forensic capability to distinguish between illegal structures and those that had been “grandfathered.”

Stern cast the deciding vote, explaining he was wary of adding “a layer of tension and stress” to the applicant with additional cost and delay. He promised to revisit the issue at a subsequent meeting if suitable language can be drafted.

By a 5-0 vote, the commission agreed owners who claim the drawing of the stringline creates a hardship can request a variance. Under this procedure, neighbors will be notified in advance of a hearing.

The split on the commission surfaced anew in an appeal by Gilbert and Joanne Segel from a stringline determination by Planning Director Ewing on a beachfront pool proposed by their neighbor on PCH. Segel, through his attorney Frank Angel, argued the pool must be behind the seaward edge of an existing deck. “The two reference points on the east and west have not changed at all,” said Angel.

Kabrin challenged the accuracy of a schematic drawing submitted to the commission. She also asserted that what appears as a deck is in fact simply wooden slats lying directly on the ground. Ruggles remarked once the line is drawn, the commission should not be asked to revisit the matter. She also insisted the neighbor’s pool would interfere with a public easement guaranteeing lateral access to beachgoers when weather conditions dictate.

Kearsley remarked the issue is solely whether Ewing drew the line properly and concluded staff followed the rules. “The other issues [are] rhetoric,” he said.

Ewing pleaded for some guidance. “Tell me what is correct,” he declared, adding his role is to enforce a zoning code. Ruggles asserted her vote turns on the existence of a pool that cannot jut out on the sand beyond the deck. “That’s not in the code,” he replied, insisting it gives a new house or a pool the same treatment.

Ewing lamented, “You’re giving me direction as to how to apply the zoning code from here on. … You don’t make policy one case at a time, except as it changes forever how we do things. And this will change forever how we do stringlines.” At one point in the debate, he said, “Maybe, I’m speaking Chinese.”

Voting with Ruggles and Kabrin, Stern alluded to the role of the City Council and said, “We’re not the last step in this deal.”

Longtime Parks and Recreation Director Cassie Walter has resigned her post with the city effective Dec. 17, citing both professional and personal reasons.

Walter began her service with Malibu in 1994 and is credited with initiating the city’s parks and recreation programs. Over the years, the staff has grown to five full-time employees with several employees working part-time and through contracts. During Walter’s tenure, the city also undertook the creation of major recreation facilities on a joint-venture basis with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, including the community swimming pool, additional tennis courts, and baseball and soccer fields at Malibu High School.

Walter also coordinated the transfer of ownership of Charmlee Regional Park from the county of Los Angeles to the city of Malibu and negotiated the current lease agreement with the state Parks and Recreation Department by which Malibu operates Bluffs Park.

This year’s Little League season was arguably Walter’s biggest challenge, facing a string of glitches in the renovation of the ball fields at Bluffs Park. Problems with leveling the ground, irrigation and laying sod on the baseball diamonds vexed parents and coaches, and delayed the season opener. Walter faced intense controversy over the project, trying to hold the contractor to the terms of his performance bond while mitigating the frustration of Little League officials.

“Cassie had the unique and difficult responsibility to found a major city department and develop a community recreation program from scratch,” said City Manager Harry Peacock. “That is an accomplishment for which she should take pride and for which the community will always be grateful. We wish her success in her future endeavors, whatever they may be.”

Vowing not to resign from her position with Malibu’s telecommunications commission, Nidia Birenbaum appeared at Monday’s City Council meeting to declare she had done nothing wrong.

“I did everything in my power to be a very good commissioner,” she said, contending Councilman Tom Hasse’s ultimatum that she resign stemmed from her unwillingness to cooperate in a scheme to discourage Mayor Carolyn Van Horn and Councilman Walt Keller from running for office.

“I am not a back-stabber,” she declared. “I don’t play games. I say it like it is.”

“I don’t work for you, Hasse!” she said. “This is not your baby. This is not your project.” She described her tenure as aimed at securing both an educational channel and a communications channel. But she lamented the city is left now “with a few thousand dollars in equipment and a government channel controlled by Hasse.”

Referring to City Manager Harry Peacock, she said, “I suffered verbal abuse from this man.” Alluding to a shouting match that led to the firing, she said Peacock “needed Prozac. Indeed, he was out of control.”

Attorney Sam Birenbaum followed his wife to the podium, repeating his earlier accusations concerning a missing tape that would have revealed the level of Peacock’s “tirade.” “There’s still a mystery about this incident that hasn’t been resolved,” he said, discounting the explanation that the tape ran out before the incident. “I would submit the tape did, or does, exist and is being suppressed.”

Warning that Hasse had never denied the truth of the conversations, including a telephone call, Birenbaum urged the firing was a “stab-in-the-back” and a “snake in the grass.”

“I would like to bring the truth out of the closet,” he said, “If you cannot be honest about yourself, then how can you be honest with other people.”