It was 1 a.m. when Tom Averna got the call. Months of hard work were going up in smoke — his brand new restaurant was on fire. But fate, and quick work by engine company 71, saved the day.

By sheer coincidence, firefighters were on an emergency call in the area. They had just responded to a suicide call and were preparing to leave that location when they noticed smoke pouring from the Gray Whale. Without missing a beat, they broke in and tackled the smoke and flames that were touched off hours earlier by a faulty wire. “We had closed for the night,” Averna recalled. “No one would have been there until the next day.”

After receiving the early morning call from Westec Security, Averna ran back to work fearing the worst. “By the time I got down there, they had it licked,” he noted in amazement. It was a close call. “They told me that by 8 in the morning, the building would have been gone.”

When Monroe’s went out of business earlier this year, Averna secured the lease. He spent weeks remodeling, sprucing up, painting and upgrading. The longtime Monroe’s waiter now had a place to call his own and had opened his doors just three weeks ago. “We had everything — great food, great service and we were getting a really good response. People were coming in even though we still have to wait for our liquor license.”

Had it not been for a strange turn of events and firefighters’ keen eyes, the days of the Gray Whale might have been over almost before they began. “Who’s out there at that time of night?,” asked Averna. “There’s no one on the beach except lovers, and they’re making their own smoke, they’re not going to see ours.”

As he airs out the kitchen and mops up the floors, Averna spends a lot of time thinking about engine company 71. “It was a total fluke, but those firefighters saved our butts.” After a few days of closure and cleaning, Averna expects to be back in business by the weekend.

Having to wait for that liquor license doesn’t seem so bad after all.

The criminal case against the Kissel Co., stemming from alleged sewage overflows on its Paradise Cove property, moved one step closer to trial Friday when the court set a trial-setting conference for Nov. 18.

Kissel faces 25 counts of misdemeanor violations of environmental codes.

Kissel attorney Richard Regnier told the court he still hopes the case will be settled and that negotiations are proceeding in good faith. He explained, “There’s a pending civil action that will resolve everything in the criminal case and a lot more.” About 90 residents of the mobile home park in the Cove have filed a suit against Kissel for failure to properly maintain the park.

At the same time, though, Regnier requested that the court grant Kissel a jury trial, for which he needed ample time to prepare, saying, “This is not a garden-variety case.” Deputy District Attorney Robert Miller, in the middle of another trial, called during the hearing to ask the court for a trial date to be set within the next 30 to 40 days.

The court decided to postpone the trial until at least after Thanksgiving. How, or even whether, a trial will proceed will be determined at the upcoming readiness conference, the court explained.

Neither side would discuss what the sticking points are in the plea bargaining.

Residents of the park who attended the hearing appeared shocked and bewildered by Kissel’s apparent willingness to stand trial. They say they never thought that Kissel would put up such a fight.

But the residents quickly put on a brave face. “It looks like there’s going to be a trial. The sooner the better,” said Roger Goldingay, president of the Paradise Cove Homeowners Association. Yes, he’s disappointed with another delay, but he’s not surprised. “Kissel has managed to delay everything but cashing rent checks,” he remarked.

The Kissel Co. had no comment.

Proposed environmental analysis and designation of wetlands, designed to limit development in the Civic Center, came under fire Monday, with the City Council divided over who should do the review and at what price.

The council had previously budgeted $33,000 for environmental review of the Civic Center Specific Plan. During budget deliberations, Councilwoman Carolyn Van Horn asked to have an additional $25,000 set aside for wetlands delineation. At that time, the council did not commit the money but agreed to set it aside and asked for more information about the project.

At Monday’s council meeting, the project was presented to the council in the form of a proposal to do business with Environmental Services Associates, the firm that was awarded the Specific Plan Environmental Review in 1995, and the Wetlands Action Network, a local nonprofit organization, run by environmental activist Marcia Hanscomb.

“My concern is that the process is not open to all qualified consultants,” said Councilman Harry Barovsky, who said opening the job up to bidders is the traditional way of conducting this type of business. “We have a fiduciary responsibility to handle public funds in a forthright manner.”

“Put this proposal out to real bidding process, not the one that appears we are trying to tailor the end results,” said former Planning Commissioner Barbara Cameron.

Mayor Joan House questioned Van Horn about her involvement with Hanscomb and her position, if any, on the land trust that would purchase property in the Civic Center. “I know you traveled with Marcia to Washington (D.C.), and I think it would be very important for you to clear the air about it,” said House.

“Well, now that you’ve clouded the air, I will clear it,” replied Van Horn. “No. I am not on a land trust. I am in no decision-making position.” Van Horn said she went to Washington D.C. to get “information about where there are grant monies from the Corps of Engineers, from EPA and Boxer, etc.”

House said Van Horn and Hanscomb were “hand in hand” while making a presentation to the Malibu Township Council. “You were part and parcel of that in that presentation and you were connected at that point.”

“I have been talking land trust probably for five or six years,” replied Van Horn. “And that was long before I met Marcia Hanscomb.”

Barovsky made a motion to have the city’s Environmental Review Board prepare a scope of work, rather than pay $25,000 to the Wetlands Action Network. “I don’t see why we need a middle person when we’ve been told by our staff that we have the capability here to be able to direct that kind of a program,” said Barovsky. “I would sure like to see what in the world we’re getting for $25,000.”

The motion failed in a tie vote, with Barovsky and House in favor and Van Horn and Councilman Tom Hasse against.

Hasse moved to send the matter back to the Land Use Subcommittee, made up of Van Horn and Councilman Walt Keller, who was absent from the meeting. Barovsky said sending the matter back to the subcommittee would be “marching in time,” but said he would support the motion if it would bring forth more information.

Hasse’s motion passed unanimously. After review by the Land Use Subcommittee, the matter will return to the council for debate.

Many architects and property owners say building under Malibu’s current zoning ordinance is somewhat of a gamble. “It’s like rolling the dice,” said architect Ed Niles, claiming the current procedures are arbitrary and confusing. Even on the flattest of lots, Niles said, “There’s no way that you can place a house where you aren’t violating something.”

Hopes are an upcoming workshop will help smooth the process of building on hillside lots in Malibu. At Monday’s meeting, the Planning Commission voted to hold a public workshop to allow public input on a series of changes proposed by the city’s planning staff to hillside building requirements.

Staff prepared a set of hillside provisions for lots on an average slope of 15 percent. Once a site has been designated a hillside, building would be subject to the proposed design guidelines and a site plan review. The guidelines are designed to help keep site planning, building mass, architecture, materials, color, landscaping, lighting and walls in line with the objectives of the city’s General Plan.

Niles said building laws must be sensitive to visual, ecological and mathematical needs, but added they should be straightforward enough for the potential homeowner to understand. Niles said the workshop could help everyone understand the implications of the staff proposals. He said the formality of a Planning Commission hearing doesn’t allow for much debate.

City Planner Craig Ewing said he hopes the workshop will provide “some solutions that can satisfy the community’s concerns for hillside development and the architects’ concerns for fair regulation.”

Ewing agreed the less formal setting may allow those concerned to “let their hair down a little bit and talk to each other a little more informally.”

Niles is urging commissioners to conduct a study of the area’s diverse terrain. According to Niles, the city’s diversities should be identified and logged in topographical maps that deal with issues such as flood plains and ridges.

The workshop is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at City Hall.

Dapperly dressed in nautical attire, 400 guests turned out at the palatial home of David and Linda Foster to help support Pepperdine’s Center for the Arts. It was billed as a “First Class Passage under the Stars,” and stars there were. One, in particular, generated a frenzy of excitement.

No, not Pat Boone, not David Foster, not even Paul Anka. The whispered name on every young person’s lips was Ben Stein.

The Pepperdine law professor, Visine spokesman and Comedy Central show host has become something of a cult sensation for generation Xers. “I don’t know who Paul Anka is,” said one Pepperdine shuttle-bus guide, “but I hear Ben Stein is going to be there.”

Adding a little zip to his trademark monotone delivery, Stein helped out with auction duties. To solicit higher bids for a one-time ride on the Goodyear blimp, he urged parents to consider the future — “Just think, one day when your kids are complaining about you saying, ‘I can’t believe what they did to me,’ they’ll say, ‘But then again, they took me on that blimp ride, so I guess I will visit them in the nursing home this week.'”

Stein also put an unlisted item up for grabs — “For an opening bid of $10,000, we will guaranty that Kenneth Starr will never investigate you.” Together with a trip to Australia and a VIP day at Dodger Stadium, the auction helped raise thousands of dollars for the Center for the Arts Guild, a tally that left organizers like Marnie Mitzie smiling. “It’s been such a joy,” she said of the event. “In 1992, we raised about $20,000. Today, we’re up to $96,000 on this event alone.”

The auction was followed by a musical performance by Foster. The host’s turn at the piano drew thunderous applause. “This is great,” Foster told his captive audience. “I have the gate clicker. You all took the bus, I could do three hours — all the songs that didn’t work.” He went on to thank all the guests who opened their hearts and their checkbooks to Pepperdine. “Linda and I are committed to Malibu and doing this for our city. We are proud to be a part of it.”

Before turning the microphone over to headliner Anka, he introduced a surprise guest. In a flower power blast from the past, legendary love child Donovan appeared on stage, bringing his “sunshine superman” with him. It wasn’t long before the guests were mellow yellow and singing along — at least to the lines they still remember. Yes, the spirit was there, even if they do wear easy-fit jeans. This all led up to a rousing performance by Anka, who delighted the crowd with standards “Diana” and “Put Your Head on My Shoulder,” and moving tributes to the late Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.

After a lovely evening of food and entertainment, the guests poured back into their buses for a ride back to campus. And the first question from a Pepperdine shuttle guide was — “Did you see Ben Stein?”