Editor,
Subcommittees can be an efficient means to an end. Being out of the public eye they avoid exposure to embarrassing or unpopular council discussions.
A case in point is the recent public meeting regarding short-term lodging that was abruptly ended in favor of a two council member subcommittee (Dicterow and Whalen). This allows these two council members to reach consensus between themselves and possibly to talk, individually, with other council members before returning for an almost certain majority vote.
Short-term rentals in residential areas are a “transfer of wealth” from the community at large, through physical neighborhood impacts and taxpayer costs for enforcement. The beneficiaries are a minority of individual investors.
This is a zero sum game. No one washes a rental car.
Neil Fitzpatrick, Laguna Beach
The owner always washes the car…