Thank you Mayor Bozajian
Demonstrating that new leadership has arrived, Mayor Bozajian took the first steps on a recent promise publicized in The Acorn that he intends to review the City’s septic ordinance. In the first City Council meeting with newly elected members Lucy Martin and Fred Gaines, the Council voted unanimously to discontinue further funding of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) undertaken to bring sewers to the Old Topanga area. As Mr. Bozajian noted, the EIR was initiated without the request or approval of the area’s residents. Thank you Mayor Bozajian, and thank you members of the City Council, for taking a refreshing step in bringing sensibility to Calabasas.
Special note was made in the meeting that the EIR was foisted on the community by one vote, leading to talk of raising the bar for such actions. Mr. Gaines suggested that the City’s charter be amended to remove mention of sewers in Old Topanga, an action for which there appears to be support. Going into this meeting, there was no doubt that Ms. Martin would back Old Topanga community members. But it was a pleasant surprise to learn that Mr. Gaines and the older members of the Council were also in support of doing things differently.
While last night’s vote was an important first step, we must not lose sight of the fact that much more healing is needed. The septic ordinance is unnecessarily onerous to owners of homes with such facilities. Many residents have been adversely affected, some fighting related lawsuits against the City. The newly adopted building code ordinance, written by prosecutors, is less friendly than the septic ordinance and expands its reach to all residents of Calabasas. People have been subjected to witch hunts in search of violations, and some pushed out of their homes by the City, which cut off water and power to their properties. All of this must stop. Bad ordinances must be repealed and replaced with better ones. And did we mention the budget? There is more work to be done.
Other issues that deserve mention were raised by concerned citizens in last night’s meeting. Thanks to dogmatic voting in Sacramento, education in California is about to go through serious cutbacks. With a significant reduction in teachers, Kindergarten class sizes will increase by 50%. Certain courses in middle and high school will resort to lecture room-style classes of 100 students. Many of us moved to Calabasas for the quality of schools that the Las Virgenes school district is known for. There is no time to wait for taking action. Please visit the Las Virgenes Unified School District web site to learn what you can do.
Last, but not least, Mr. Groveman’s legacy still haunts some members of this community. Jim Moorhead reported to the Council that he and others were visited by the county Sheriff in an inquiry of letters sent to some residents that were designed to damage Mr. Groveman’s reputation. Let’s be clear, no one could possibly do more harm to Mr. Groveman’s reputation than that which Mr. Groveman has already wrought on himself. But the City’s involvement in this inquiry raises eyebrows. And the timing of these letters appear to coincide with his decision to not run for re-election. As with anything else that the City gets involved in, there is the feeling that there is more to this iceberg than just the tip. If you were the recipient of such a letter, please drop us a line using the email link at the bottom of the right-hand column of this web site. With your permission, we will put you in touch with other recipients. Our policy is that your identity and the contents of your emails and attachments will be shared with no one unless you explicitly state otherwise. [Special note: we will NOT publish the contents of the letters in question online. Please do not approach us with that request.]
