California IN BRIEF : PEBBLE BEACH : Golf Resort Drops Membership Plan

The owners of Pebble Beach have given up for now on the battle to sell six-figure private memberships to the famous seaside golf resort near Monterey. At the owners’ request, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors rescinded approval of the 6-month-old membership plan, which had set off escalating legal wars with environmentalists and the California Coastal Commission. Pebble Beach President Tom Oliver said the company had tired of the legal and jurisdictional fight. “The controversy has created a climate in which a rational assessment of the merits of our program at Pebble Beach has become impossible. By rescinding the agreement, we hope to wipe the slate clean,” Oliver wrote in a three-page letter to the supervisors. A spokesman said the plan may be revived later.