For former residents Roger Goldingay and Saria Kraft, last week’s resolution of the environmental crimes case against mobilehome park owner The Kissel Company was good news. They had testified, one for 4-1/2 days, one for five hours, about a failing septic system which frequently leaked sewage in and around the Paradise Cove mobilehome park.

The criminal case, titled “People of the State of California versus The Kissel Company,” was settled last Thursday when mobilehome park owner Kissel pled no contest to 14 counts of illegally discharging sewage. The six-week trial, heard by Malibu Municipal Court Judge Lawrence Mira, resolved 45 counts of criminal charges filed by the L.A. County District Attorney for 21 sewage spills that occurred in 1997 and 1998 in or near the park.

“The spills I documented were a small percentage of the total number” said Goldingay, a 17-year resident. “Instead of fixing or replacing the system, [Kissel] pumped pits out daily and took the wastewater to a leach field on the property and dumped it. The horrible smell 10 feet from our living room was equivalent to harassment.”

There were numerous overflows into the children’s playground, exposing people to all forms of infectious bacteria, Goldingay added. “We were living under Third World conditions in one of the most beautiful and environmentally conscious cities in the world.”

According to Deputy District Attorney Rob Miller, who prosecuted the case, Kissel pled no contest to 14 counts of violating Health & Safety Code Section 5461, illegal discharge of sewage. The court sentenced Kissel to three years probation, imposed a $50,000 fine, which would be stayed if the company fulfilled all terms of the probation, and imposed a $1,400 restitution fine.

Under the terms of the probation, Kissel must immediately implement a preventive maintenance program to stop any further spills in the park, Miller continued. Kissel also must design and install an adequate new septic system within a “reasonable period of time,” Miller said.

In addition, Kissel must select and fund a wastewater disposal expert to continuously report on the progress of the maintenance program and new septic system, Miller continued. The initial reporting date is Jan. 7. As a further indication of the court’s supervision, the expert is to be paid through a trust account and only upon the court’s order, Miller said.

Seven-year park resident Saria Kraft said she was pleased by the outcome, noting children often couldn’t get to the playground without going through sewage. “The most frustrating thing about the situation was trying to get action,” she said. “I’m very happy about the outcome because it took many of us so long to get the attention of public agencies.”

Effect on other cases

The criminal case resolution will affect at least two other cases growing out of the Paradise Cove Mobilehome Park disputes.

A recent Superior Court decision vacated the city’s 1998 denial of Kissel’s application for a rent increase. The City Council is to discuss a response to that decision in a closed session before its meeting Monday.

The city can either appeal to a higher court or send the matter back to the Rent Stabilization Commission for further hearings. Settling 1994 and 1995 federal cases over Malibu’s rent control ordinance has cost the city more than $2 million.

In another civil case, a number of the coachowners are suing Kissel for failure to maintain the park properly. It is set for trial in January.

“Santa Monica Bay is dying a death of 11 million cuts. We all have impact,” says Santa Monica BayKeeper Steve Fleischli, a lawyer and the executive director of the environmental organization that watches over the health of the local bay.

With his reputation as an iconoclast and self-described as controversial, he believes in rigorous enforcement of environmental laws and does not specifically advocate any other solutions — not sewers, not population control.

He poses a universal solution: “Deal with it right at the source.” To Malibu, he says, “We’ve taken a hard line on the septics in the L.A. region, but we’re not pro sewer,” adding, “We want whatever system is decided on to achieve water quality standards.

“If you can find a system that works on your lot with your ground-water table so you don’t impact water quality, I don’t care if it’s a septic or a sewer.”

From his office — a boat that tours the bay — he says he has watched beach visitor use decline as the level of fecal matter from polluted runoff in the bay has risen. He sees sea lions choked by fishing lines and dolphins starving to death because the plastic in their stomach gives them a feeling of fullness. “There is some sort of plastic in 70 percent of sea-bird species,” Fleischli cites.

He counts about a dozen lawsuits the BayKeeper presently has filed against polluters, including a billion-dollar suit against the city of Los Angeles arising out of the city’s leaking sewer system.

Sewage flowing through broken sewer pipes has invaded L.A.’s drain system. The suit asks the city to repair the pipes. It also asks the city to find illegal hookups, where users have installed illegal ties to the sewer system to avoid sewer charges.

Malibu residents and businesses should check their own property for illegal drains; so should the city of Malibu. “Cities slap homeowners on the wrist. City storm-water management agencies in Los Angeles have never fined anyone for storm-drain violations or illegal dumping violations.” The BayKeeper plans to change that.

Fleischli, who holds a triple degree in economics, environmental conservation, and environmental population and organismic biology, says it is absolutely possible for individuals and businesses to turn a financial profit while never harming the environment. “In the long run, it’s in the economic best interests to deal with environmental issues.”

Cities oppose environmental measures to deal with pollution at the source, arguing they would scare businesses away. “We have economic studies showing a mere 0.1 percent to 5 percent increase on the overall cost of a project, which can be amortized over the life of the project.” Otherwise, he says, in the long run, the public pays for the problem at the end of the system.

He urges setting aside a portion of each parcel of land for a treatment device. Current technology fits in a corner of a parking lot or a portion of a basement.

Such technology can only add jobs, not eliminate them. “Think of a creative solution. People are attracted to it, and you make the money you’re entitled to.” Meanwhile, a “healthy” economy will reallocate jobs that do not contribute toward a sustainable economy and a sustainable environment, he suggests.

Postulating a worst-case scenario for Malibu 20 years from now, he says: “Malibu Creek is paved. Surfrider Beach is permanently closed because sewage is overflowing daily.”

To stop the damage now, he suggests, Tapia should be reclaiming more of its water and upstream development must act responsibly. “Don’t leave it for people at Malibu Creek to deal with it. Think about it as it is created,” he insists.

“Throw a cigarette butt out the window, it ends up on Surfrider. Don’t wash cars on the street, wash it on the lawn. If you think it will kill the grass, think what it’s doing to the bay. Don’t rake leaves into storm drains, use them for mulch.”

Which raises landfill questions. “I don’t think the landfill people would say the solution is to allow it to go into the ocean,” he counters.

Use different packaging and recycle, which are methods done “at the source.” He urges a change in consumer habits: Buy plastic that is recyclable and recycle it, or buy items that do not have plastic packaging. Properly compost waste, including animal waste products. “Be sure horse manure is not running into Malibu creeks.”

Today’s school children are educating their parents, which Fleischli hopes will take care of residential problems in the future. As for businesses, “I’m a big fan of enforcement,” he says. “If your business doesn’t deal with its environmental effects, you have wrongfully profited.”

As his father pointed out to him, Fleischli is working toward the day when he puts himself out of his job.

A just-released California Coastal Commission staff report recommends a ban on gatherings of 200 participants at the Streisand Center on Ramirez Canyon Road. The recommendation, if adopted, would outlaw weddings and other large group activities that the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy has used as a money-making venture since Barbra Streisand gave the 22-acre property to the state government in 1993.

The center, with its three houses, is located deep in Ramirez Canyon. It was intended to be open for events with as many as 400 guests. Ramirez Canyon neighbors have been fighting these uses.

The report, slated for review by the Coastal Commission in January, cites the inadequacy of a dead-end road that would serve as the only evacuation route in the event of a fire. The road is only 12 to 15 feet wide in some stretches, according to the staff. Any attempt to bring the route up to Fire Department standards would harm the creek as an environmentally sensitive habitat area (ESHA). It described Ramirez Canyon as “a relatively remote location where wildfires are common, served by a substandard road and lacking an alternative evacuation route, and where no sewer system exists….”

The staff also described the septic system as “woefully inadequate.” It suggested that the proximity of the septic tanks and leachfields to Ramirez Canyon Creek makes the facility inappropriate for large gatherings. Citing findings of a consultant, the report said the septic disposal system would be substandard even for routine residential use.

The report urges the commission to approve the use of the facility for 12 day-use events per month with no more than 40 guests at each function. The conservancy would be allowed to collect fees for these events, but it would not be allowed to use the facility at any time for groups of more than 40.

The conservancy’s request was far more ambitious, although it had dropped a proposal for one 400-participant event per year. It now seeks permission for weddings and fund-raisers up to 30 times a year for groups of up to 200 participants. It also seeks approval for an average of six garden tours per month for up to 40 guests, and 24 business retreats and other one-day meetings per year that would include 30 guests per event.

Even for the smaller events, the staff would set stiff conditions:

• The use of shuttle vans and offsite parking.

• The vans are to enter and exit by caravan, and to remain onsite during the event to permit an immediate evacuation of the participants in the event of an emergency.

• Use of “Best Management Practices” — to prevent runoff of grease from parking areas to the riparian corridor of Ramirez Canyon Creek.

• The conservancy would assume the risk for injuries stemming from the hazards of flood, erosion, and wildfire, and would “indemnify and hold harmless” the commission with respect to its approval of the project.

• All of the terms would be included in a deed restriction that would run with the land and bind any successor owner.

The report warned use of the road in a fire is all the more dangerous in light of extensive plantings of pines and eucalyptus that would “explode” at high temperatures and could easily make the road impassable. It also noted none of the existing buildings could withstand a raging mountain wildfire, and therefore no refuge exists on the property for groups of 200. It cited the likelihood of panic among the guests as they attempt to flee the site. Commercial functions of 200 guests would also bring others to the site — caterers, portable toilet and other equipment rental services, and florists.

Ruth White of the Ramirez Canyon Homeowners Association told The Malibu Times the findings of the staff report have not prodded settlement efforts. “Everybody is always open to negotiations,” she said, adding nonetheless that the community has no choice but to challenge the state agency. She described Ramirez Canyon as a “dead-end” and a potential inferno, where access is limited to a wooden bridge.

“I’m at all times open to negotiations,” said White. She warned, however, that the terms have to be written in stone. Describing herself as an environmentalist, she explained each issue starts with what is reasonably possible to do. “I bear no malice toward that conservancy,” she said, insisting however that citizen oversight and regulation are required.

The residents have retained Defenders of Property Rights, a Washington, D.C., legal foundation, to press forward their legal claim that an easement all homeowners share in Ramirez Canyon Road limits any use to what is consistent with a residential neighborhood.

Mindy Sheps, a neighbor active in the Ramirez Canyon Preservation Fund, confirmed the conservancy’s motion for summary judgment will be argued in court Dec. 3. She noted the conservancy claims that because it is a unique creature under state law, the homeowners cannot seek injunctive relief to halt its commercial activities. Sheps said the only remedy the conservancy says is available is “inverse condemnation” — a remedy that would attempt to measure the loss in dollars. “We don’t want the money,” said Sheps, urging peace and serenity must be restored. She noted, however, the damages would likely be high, and it would be “a foolish thing for the government to spend money on.”

Asked whether the neighbors were blocking the conservancy from defraying the costs of its mission, Sheps remarked that the only legitimate activity relating to its purpose is the use of the property to house some 16 staffers. Denying the suggestion that the property is a white elephant, she suggested the conservancy could sell the land, recoup some $15 million and move elsewhere.

Point Dume residents are appealing Planning Commission approval of Barbra Streisand’s 12,000-square-foot mansion they say is completely out of character with its neighborhood.

The project would tear down an existing 3,463-square-foot house and 735-square-foot attached garage on one of three contiguous lots on Zumirez Drive owned by the entertainer, who lives in one of the three bluff-top homes.

The City Council is scheduled to consider and vote on the appeal at its regularly scheduled meeting Dec. 13.

Residents of the Zumirez neighborhood say special waivers were granted by planning staff to allow overbuilding on a small lot and reducing setbacks from an Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area (ESHA) on a primary coastal bluff.

This revives a long-standing debate over selective enforcement of development and design standards and whether preferential treatment is given to Malibu celebrities, particularly those who support political campaigns for City Council.

Neighbors appealed Planning Director Craig Ewing’s recommendation to approve the demolition of the existing structures and construction of the new project: a 6,795-square-foot single family residence, with 4,092-square-foot basement, and detached garage, with a 399-square-foot basement. The Planning Commission denied the appeal Oct. 18. Ewing did not return calls Tuesday.

At issue is the manner in which the city’s Property Development and Design Standards were applied, neighbors say. As written, the Neighborhood Standards apply where there are at least 10 developed lots within a 500-foot radius of the subject site located in the same neighborhood.

Opponents say instead of including all the houses within the 500-foot radius, the developer drew a narrow pattern of all bluff-top properties, some with addresses on Cliffside Drive, Gray Fox Road and Wildlife Street, excluding smaller, landside homes on Zumirez that are located within the 500-foot boundary.

Neighbors say all 41 individuals who own properties on Zumirez Drive have common deeded ownership of the neighborhood beach dating back to the 1940s, when this was the first neighborhood formed on Point Dume.

The three lots and two adjoining lots owned by others on the Zumirez cul-de-sac are surrounded by the neighborhood beach property, which includes a road and beach access easement.

The redrawing of the “neighborhood” to include bluff-top homes on other streets translates to higher average densities, allowing the applicant to justify greater height, bulk and square footage.

The average living space per acre is 2,584-square-feet for the properties within a 500-foot radius, according to calculations set out in the appeal. The applicant’s proposal would be more than 400 percent above that average, opponents say.

Neighbors are also concerned about protection of the bluffs and waiver of the 100-foot setback required for the ESHA. The Environmental Review Board made a special condition to reduce the setback to 64 feet, at its closest point to the main structure, which includes the large basement. The ERB considered it was important to include the basement into the total square footage allowed on the site, but the Planning Commission removed this special condition by amendment at its Oct. 18 hearing.

Neighbors say allowing such a large basement in close proximity to a primary bluff is an unacceptable risk. Water runs year round from the base of the bluffs, which “should alert us it is unreasonable to increase the density of allowed development,” wrote Eric Jacobson in his Oct. 25 letter to the City Council. Jacobson’s home is adjacent to the subject property.

The original design for the main structure also exceeded the allowed proportion for second stories, which is a maximum two thirds of the ground floor. Architect Robert Shachtman reportedly has adjusted the plans to accommodate this provision. Shachtman refused to comment on the project Tuesday.

The warmth and generosity longed for in the holiday season were nowhere more evident than at Malibu United Methodist Church on Thanksgiving, where 130 homeless and needy were served a traditional turkey feast by members of the Malibu interfaith community.

Workers from the Malibu Labor Exchange and their families, and clients of Portals and Di Di Hirsh mental healthcare facilities received bus tokens to attend the dinner from transportation coordinators Chuck and Dorothy Green.

For the first time in its three-year history, clothing distribution was added to the celebration. Teens from the youth groups of Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue and from Malibu Methodist coordinated the drive. Malibu Girl Scout and Brownie troops tirelessly sorted the items on the day of the event.

Attendees dined on placemats crafted by youngsters from Malibu Methodist Preschool and from Children’s Creative Workshop. Sheryl Sher rounded up decorations and supplies and coordinated the feast of family recipes. To ensure that service of the roasted bird, moist stuffing and delectable gravies went smoothly, Michael Wilson supervised onsite.

Janet Ettinger came aboard the effort early to enlist the many volunteers who gave of their time. Vocalist Lovia Pitts and pianist Ted Cannon opened the entertainment portion of the program. Magician Benjamin Hoffman cast a spell on young and old alike. The sounds of jazz saxophonist and keyboardist Steve Cole filled hearts.

Cannon accompanied the real crowd pleaser, a group of young girls who performed a wand-dancing routine. When entertainers began “God Bless America,” the assembly stood up, hands on hearts, and joined in song. With tears in his eyes, one elderly man said, “I wish we could do this more often.”

Event coordinator Diane Malecha, who founded the charitable celebration, contacted outside organizations in Los Angeles and Ventura counties to invite those in need. Cleaning the kitchen after dinner with volunteers Susie Duff and Sieglinde Swerdlow, Malecha urged this reporter, “Make sure they know I didn’t do it alone! There are so many wonderful people to thank.”