Coastal Commission and Rancho Palos Verdes

In recent weeks the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council has complained loudly and pitifully about the “raw deal” that they got from the California Coastal Commission when the commission rejected on Aug. 12 the Hon/Zuckerman housing and golf course project near the San Pedro border. Mayor John McTaggart trashes the California Commission as “ . . . a bureaucracy out of control.”

In childish and petulant terms, McTaggart says, “The Coastal Commission has treated cities like dirt for years.” This attitude is surprising in view of the fact that Hon/Zuckerman Project was protested long and hard by hundreds of local citizens. . . . Repeated objections to the project were voiced by such environmental groups as the Sierra Club, Audubon Society, California Native Plant Society, Save Our Coastline 2000, the Endangered Habitats League and many others.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game were explicit in their objections to the project, as was the State Lands Commission. Finally, when the City Council ignored their own General Plan and Coastal Specific Plan and approved the project, the Coastal Conservation Coalition brought a lawsuit against the city and developers, and appealed the project to the California Coastal Commission.

And now, in spite of solid opposition from authoritative state and federal agencies and hundreds of Peninsula and South Bay residents . . . all five of the council members are whining about how badly they were served by the California Coastal Commission. It was in the not too distant past that the City Council managed to deal the death blow to the Palos Verdes Blue butterfly and was hauled into court by the U.S. government for the elimination of an endangered species.

This City Council is out of touch with the people of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. They are so wounded and defensive that they are now reduced to browbeating and intimidating residents who come before them to protest their counterproductive activities.

This City Council is truly a “bureaucracy out of control,” to quote McTaggart. This sad situation could be remedied by forcing each council member to sit down and read the General Plan and Coastal Specific Plan.

Then this City Council might blossom into a government of the people, by the people and for the people . . . rather than of developers, by developers and for developers. Then groups like Save Our Coastline 2000 would not have to protest and appeal badly planned housing, golf course and hotel projects to the California Coastal Commission.

LINCOLN CAIN

LOIS KNIGHT LARUE

RUTH CARTER

GAR GOODSON

ELISE GORMAN

JOE GORMAN

Members, Save Our Coastline 2000