The Code Enforcement meeting of Feb. 10 was a watershed event in Malibu’s recent history. For the first time, the City Council was made aware of the widespread misery caused by the planning staff’s cruelty and abuse of power in failing to completely grandfather older buildings. The citizens’ anger was white hot and palpable as story after story was told of the hardships caused by staff’s requiring expensive experts, studies, restudies and retroactive permits for precityhood structures.

Mayor Van Horn is to be commended for the three very positive results of the meeting: 1) A Grandfathering Task Force will be formed shortly to determine if and how the grandfathering code should be expanded to serve the community; 2) A motion was approved requiring that the full name of persons filing code violations be reported. This will result in only complaints of serious health and safety violations being filed instead of personal vendettas, and 3) By inviting a full public airing of these long smoldering issues, she encouraged people who had incredible case histories to tell their stories without fear.

With continued strong public involvement and support, the City Council will adopt a true grandfathering code and bring light to a dark chapter in Malibu’s current history.

David Andrien

Susan Egan has some surprising advice for aspiring Broadway stars: “You’re already halfway there.”

Currently starring as Sally Bowles in the long-running Broadway production of “Cabaret,” she has taken time off to honor her commitments for a one-week series of Southern California concerts, including one at Pepperdine Friday.

“When you get roles in plays, it happens overnight. You book concerts two years in advance,” she says. Happily, this week she is escaping the single-digit degree weather back East to perform here.

Egan also originated the role of Belle for the Broadway production of “Beauty and the Beast,” staying with the production for 2-1/2 years, and has done numerous voice overs, including the cartoon character Meg in “Hercules.”

She was appearing with Carol Burnett in “Putting It Together” at the Mark Taper Forum, but negotiations for its New York production became “goofy,” she says. Thinking the producer didn’t want her, she auditioned for Cabaret. Now she knows the seeming lack of interest was a negotiation ploy — one that backfired for the producer.

And she found a job she loves. “Sally Bowles is a role,” she says. “Cabaret is a play with music — an opportunity to break this good-girl image in New York. And are you kidding? Sam Mendes!” she adds of her director.

How to best explain her character? “There’s not a lot of logic to her. She jumps from topic to topic. She’s Holly Golightly with a drug problem. She makes bad decisions. By the end of the play, you know she’s going to be dead in a year.”

Quite the opposite of the upward-bound life Egan seems to be living.

Born in Long Beach, she was raised in Seal Beach and attended Los Alamitos High School, which her senior year became Orange County High School of the Arts. She credits her music teacher there for firing her interest in musical theater. “He made choir. He gave me a lot of stage time. I learned how to keep going when the set is falling down. I can set up a mike anywhere. Now, when the set falls down on Broadway or the mikes go out, I actually embrace it.”

Not that Broadway was immediately hers. She waited tables at the Olive Garden and folded T-shirts at the Gap. “I sold jeans to Tom Hanks. I can’t wait to meet him again. I know his size.”

She moved from school performances to community theater, appearing with the civic light operas of Long Beach, La Mirada and Santa Barbara. “Every CLO in Southern California, I’d go to the audition.” She worked her way up from chorus to roles.

Then came a lead in summer stock, a production of “Bye, Bye Birdie” in St. Louis, starring Tommy Tune. Soon, they were calling each other “Sousous” (a ballet step) and “Tune.”

Egan was midway through her junior year at UCLA when Tune asked her to join his national touring company of Birdie, directed by Gene Saks. “I left college, but I didn’t leave my education,” she says.

Tune is still her inspiration. “He taught me, by example. He’s still in the business for all the right reasons. He lives absolutely in the moment, totally dedicated. He never became a diva.”

He convinced her to move to New York, telling her New Yorkers would understand her. There, she auditioned for Belle. “I thought it was such a rotten idea to do the show,” she recalls. She hadn’t yet seen the movie and auditioned with a song from another musical. “I read it differently,” she explains of her success. Nervous singing in the presence of songwriter Alan Menken at the second callback, she was less nervous at the third. “Eisner and Katzenberg were there. The blissful part was I hadn’t known of either of them.”

Focusing on rehearsals and wondering if the show would work, she didn’t think about her first opening night on Broadway. “When you lift your head and realize where you are, it’s overwhelming.” The opening night party was “nuts.”

During the run of Beauty and the Beast, she met “every” celebrity and their kids. They came backstage because the kids wanted to meet the characters; she recalls being excited at chatting with, among others, Warren Beatty and George Bush. She took Polaroids at these occasions. “I try to pinch myself every so often.” Her advice to others at these times is, “Don’t be so overwhelmed you can’t get your job done.”

Other advice she offers at the master classes she teaches: “Take advantage of everything you have at the moment. Your classmates are with you for four years. They’re the directors and filmmakers of tomorrow.

“Don’t live in the future. Don’t wait for Broadway. You’re halfway there. Look around. Enjoy the process.

“And then you get to Broadway, and there’s still not enough money for the production or not enough wing space — no place to put the sets when they go offstge. You think, ‘It’s Broadway. They should have figured that stuff out.'”

Egan turns 30 next week and is lamenting the lack of a boyfriend. How is this possible considering her perfect looks and peppy personality? “People mistake me for my roles,” she suggests. “People are intimidated. And then I’m so tired, and I work at night.”

A boy broke up with her mid-December. She says the Armani sweater she bought him for Christmas looks great on her, and he later told her he had a terrible New Year’s Eve. Meantime, she harnessed the tears for Sally.

Yet, she says, she is a loner, a voracious reader who prefers going home and reading. She says she “picks the brains” of literary friends. “I’m looking for the Algonquin Round Table — take away the alcoholism.”

She currently lives in a famous New York hotel. “It’s very, very Sally acting four blocks from the theater.” Hotel life serves her well. “Sally’s exhausting. Living in this hotel, I get towels and they change my sheets.”

A typical day for her ends at 2 or 3 a.m., after she and her friends, mostly theater people, get together after their shows. During the day, she auditions, has voice-over work and does a Pilates workout. She and a friend have started a production company, hoping to produce an off-Broadway play. On Wednesdays, her full day off, she may see a matinee performance of another production. She aspires to write — not direct, she emphasizes. She hopes to write a novel, “The kind of book I would have loved to have read when I was 20, from the backstage point of view.”

She has extended her contract for Cabaret through July. Then, she says, she might like to perform Saint Joan, or Rosalind with “Shakespeare in the Park,” or even make another film. “It’s easy to get burned out on theater. One day a week off is never enough. But if you keep coming back to the boards, it keeps you honest.”

At Smothers Theatre, she will perform Broadway and film songs — Sondheim, Gershwin, Menken, Schwartz — as well as those composers she calls, “If You Wait Five Minutes, They’ll Be Famous, Too.”

“It’s Valentine’s week. I’ll explore love — the good, bad and ugly. I’m sure all of this is therapeutic.” She’ll cover “first love, teen angst, making oneself right for someone one isn’t right for.”

She will also include a smattering of patter. “I got into the business to play roles,” she says, doubting that she is interesting enough to chat with an audience. “But people like the personal stories — stories to put the human face on what you think is this glamorous world.”

Like the time she picked the fuzz off Terrence Mann’s tongue when the famed actor playing the Beast was in his costume that included furry paws. Like the time she dislocated her elbow in the middle of Beauty and the Beast when she slipped on congealed dry ice. Like the time she broke her ankle, also in Beauty. “I do things with abandon. I’m not saying I would change it. I’m just saying it gets me into trouble.”

Susan Egan appears Friday only, 8 p.m., at Pepperdine University’s Smothers Theatre. Tel. 456.4522.

There are many people serving in government who have no great need to do anything. After all, doing something means taking risks. You have to put yourself up front, and when you do, you’re going to take some hits. You’re guaranteed no matter what you propose, there will always be some people who don’t like it. They may not have any plan of their own, but they know they don’t like yours. In fact, generally, they don’t like anyone’s plan.

Then there is another group, and they do have a great need, and that’s to stop everything. Generally, they get into politics as a reaction to something they didn’t want changed, any change, and they spend the rest of their public life always looking backward. Whatever the issue, they are certain yesterday was always better than today and most certainly better than tomorrow.

Tomorrow scares them to death because they look out and see a world always getting worse. Where there is abundance, they see scarcity. Where there is improvement, they see regression. Where there is opportunity, all they can see is danger. They are the society of the permanently beleaguered.

Then there’s the rest of us. We’re generally a little of both of the previously mentioned but balanced with some hope and optimism.

We’re going to need that optimism. We are in a unique moment in the history of our town. We have an opportunity to decide what our town will be for the next couple of decades. There are two ways we can do this. We can resist, try to block everything, fight a constant rear-guard action and ultimately lose because time really does move on. Or, we can take the proactive approach and try to balance the good with the bad and move ahead.

On Monday, the City Council Ad Hoc Committee, consisting of Tom Hasse and Joan House, will be bringing a proposal to the City Council for a development agreement with Malibu Bay Company. I have not seen that agreement yet nor, I suspect, have several on the council.

I don’t know whether it’s good, bad or indifferent. I don’t yet know what they gave up and what they got in return.

But what I do know with absolute certainty is that it took a lot of guts for Tom Hasse and Joan House to agree to go into this process, to spend the months trying to hammer out a deal, to participate in some grueling, long-hour and late-night negotiating sessions, and ultimately to take the abuse that’s going to come their way from some who truly don’t want to see some of our problems solved. I know neither Tom nor Joan was naive about the abuse and the charges that are going to be leveled at them. They know they’re going to be called developers and traitors and sell outs by some. But they also hope there are many more of us who are going to appreciate what they have tried to do and honor them for it. I personally tip my hat to them for their courage, their willingness to endure abuse in our name and because they have a vision of a better Malibu and the guts to try and do something about it.

A vision of Malibu where we have parks. A Malibu where we have ballfields and a teen center and a place for seniors to meet and for the community to gather. A Malibu that understands the value of family and appreciates what they bring to this community and what they need in return.

So bravo, Tom and Joan. We salute your energy, your courage and your fortitude, while of course reserving the right to beat you up if we don’t like the plan.

This letter was sent to Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl.

Thank you for your letter of Jan. 27, 2000. We are very pleased you share our concerns regarding the appropriate use of the former Streisand Center for Conservancy Studies, which has been recently renamed “Ramirez Park.” In response to you letter, we certainly want to be a part of any process that would facilitate a resolution of this matter and we look forward to hearing from the Attorney General’s office. At the same time, we believe that the state and its commitment for resources may also have to play a part in this discussion.

Consider this an appeal to the state to financially support the conservancy’s proposed pilot programs at Ramirez Park. If the state believes that the park purposes intended for Ramirez Park together with the conservancy’s office use, will serve a public benefit, it should support the conservancy by providing the necessary funds to maintain the property. If the state does not believe Ramirez Park, has a worthwhile mission, then the state should direct the conservancy to abandon the Ramirez Park project, thus avoiding protracted litigation, damage to the environment and negative publicity.

The dispute with the conservancy, as you know, has always been, in essence, about the intensity of land use. While certain park, educational and limited office uses could be managed in a manner compatible with the residential uses in Ramirez Canyon, the use of Ramirez Park for large commercial events is simply not compatible with residential use.

As we understand it, the conservancy would prefer not to have to earn revenues by renting the property for weddings and other events in order to maintain the Ramirez Park property. The conservancy would prefer to focus its attention on small scale programs that may ultimately provide a fine public benefit. Property monitored, we think the conservancy should be given the opportunity to make Ramirez Park a special place for the handicapped the elderly and others, in a manner consistent with this sensitive environment and surrounding residential uses.

There is no way, realistically, for the conservancy to continue its commercial uses without disrupting and endangering both the residents and the environment of this canyon. However, without state support, the conservancy will be forced to continue to exploit the property for weddings and large conference and fund-raising uses. The private rights owned by Ramirez Canyon homeowners will, therefore, continue to be overburdened, and the homeowners will be forced to seek inverse condemnation damages from the state, at an extraordinary expense to all.

On the other hand, there are many good, low-intensity uses that could be made of Ramirez Park. One idea was submitted by the Friends of Caballero Canyon, which envisions that the property could be accessed by backpackers and equestrians from the Backbone Trail and used, in part, as a hostel. Perhaps, with state financial support, Ramirez Park could provide a scholar in residence program as originally intended.

There are many possibilities and many potential benefits. Consider this: If the conservancy did not use Ramirez Park as a catering facility, it would no longer violate the city of Malibu’s zoning scheme and could relieve both the state and the city from the time and expense involved in a legal dispute. Likewise, if the conservancy did not have to overburden Ramirez Canyon Road, the state would not have to incur the cost of a prolonged struggle with the residents and the risk of a large inverse condemnation award.

We ask that you be a part of the dialogue and the state be a part of the solution. We thank you for your continued interest and concern and hope that you will be participant in the resolution of this matter.

Ramirez Canyon Preservation Trust

As a professional real estate agent in Malibu, I am speaking for many of my colleagues in describing the problems that the city’s zoning code imposes on a typical home seller in this community. In attempting to comply with state residential disclosure laws, sellers and their agents are shooting at a moving target because of the complexity of the city’s current regulations and their ambiguous implementation by the Planning Department.

Although city law states that nonpermitted structures such as guest houses are grandfathered, the city has begun aggressively citing homeowners for buildings that have been here for 40-50 years without penalty. This creates unnecessary personal financial liability to all parties involved. If the current zoning policy is not amended, agents will have no alternative but to refer all buyers and sellers to an attorney. This will prevent agents from providing the services that they have traditionally offered and increase the seller’s cost significantly.

Sellers also face real economic loss as either the buyer or the seller will reduce the sale price by the significant expense of permitting pre-existing structures, including geological and environmental studies, various plans, increased covered parking requirements, etc. This trend will inevitably make it more difficult for property owners to sell their homes or to realize the equity in their properties and for buyers to get loans.

Name withheld on request

My name is David Simpson and I’m writing to thank everyone involved in the American Youth Soccer Organization Under 12 Girls All-Star Team. This was the first year that I’ve been involved in AYSO soccer and I found it very beneficial. It was a pleasure to work with Jill and Harold Smith, whom above all made me feel very appreciated. I was told by the parents of many of the children that they enjoyed having me as a coach: and that not only was the experience fun but they also learned a lot. I became involved with AYSO when a neighbor of mine, Chris Nansel (a coach for his daughter’s regular season team) remembered that I had played soccer as a child and was still an active adult player. He suggested that I come out and give a hand, and I found that the more I saw the kids learning, the more I enjoyed helping out. I am a perfect example that one need not only become involved in coaching when they have a child on the team. It is a rewarding experience. Moreover, as I didn’t have a child of my own playing there was no risk of bias towards one’s own child — a problem that I know some parent coaches have. I would strongly recommend that more people with soccer backgrounds get involved. Thanks again to all the parents, AYSO, Chris Nansel and most importantly the kids.

David Simpson