Controversial Leader Enters a New Fray : Appointment: Agoura Hills City Councilwoman Fran Pavley joins the California Coastal Commission at a turbulent time.

To friends, she’s a modern-day Joan of Arc, unflinching in her devotion to the preservation of the Santa Monica Mountains. To foes, she’s an environmental zealot, and a despot who rules her city with an iron fist.

Fran Pavley has seen her share of controversy, including two recall attempts, during her 12 years on the City Council of this upscale suburb. Now, she has formally entered the fray over the future of California’s coast.

Last week, Pavley was appointed to the California Coastal Commission, the powerful board whose 12 members are responsible for upholding the California Coastal Act of 1976, which sets guidelines on coastal access and development. Pavley’s backers, including county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, praise her as a seasoned political veteran who is perfect for the task.

“She has a lot of courage,” said Yaroslavsky, a fellow Democrat who recommended her for the post. “She has stood up against developers and special interests.”

It’s a tumultuous time for the commission, which has come under fire from environmentalists, who say the panel has strayed from its mandate. They were outraged over the commission’s approval earlier this month of a row of 22-story, high-rise towers as part of a residential and commercial complex along the waterfront in Marina del Rey.

“There is a lot of pressure to gain maximum financial profit off the properties along the coast,” Pavley said. “I wanted to make sure we didn’t lose sight of the goals of the California Coastal Act.”

Pavley, who has a master’s degree in environmental planning, said she sought the appointment believing her education and political experience would make her a valuable player. And, she said, although she lives miles from the coast, she cares about the environment there because it’s one of the state’s most precious resources.

Her seat on the commission is reserved for an elected official from the South Coast, which includes Los Angeles and Orange counties. Four Coastal Commission appointments are made by the Senate Rules Committee, four by the Assembly Speaker and four by the governor. Pavley joins seven Democrats and four Republicans on the commission.

She prevailed over Santa Monica City Councilwoman Judy Abdo, the subject of recent disclosures that she used city funds and a city-paid lobbyist in her campaign for the appointment. Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), who made the appointment, said Abdo’s actions (which were not illegal) did not influence his decision to choose Pavley.

“It was like an A+ versus an A-,” said Sandy Harrison, Lockyer’s press secretary. “He thought they were both qualified, but he thought Pavley was the superior candidate.”

Pavley grew up in the San Fernando Valley and moved to Agoura Hills in 1974 when it was still part of unincorporated Los Angeles County. A Cal State graduate, the 46-year-old schoolteacher says she fought her first environmental fight when her daughter was 2 weeks old: blocking a proposed off-road motorcycle racetrack between Liberty and Malibu canyons. She quickly became convinced, she said, that residents in outlying areas of the county needed local control.

“I spent years watching county planning decisions being made 35 miles away,” she said. “I felt local governments should have the right to determine their own destiny.”

She ran for City Council in 1982, the year Agoura Hills incorporated, and was the city’s first mayor. There were 15 candidates in the election, she said. “I got the highest number of votes: a little over 2,000.”

Opinions vary about what brought on the first recall attempt in 1989. Some say people were angry over the closure of a road, while others characterize it as a witch hunt, targeting four female council members and excluding the one male.

In Pavley’s mind, it was fueled by developers, who were trying to remove from the council “those of us . . . who consistently supported the homeowners’ point of view.”

The latest recall attempt, which has ended up in the courts, targets all five City Council members. It was launched about a year ago, after the council passed a 4% utility tax. The recall group contends the council has an anti-business bias and that it has discouraged businesses like PriceCostco from locating in the city. The revenue generated from a PriceCostco, the recall group says, would have made the utility tax unnecessary.

Critics say Pavley has lots of influence over the other council members and that she tries to intimidate opponents.

Some dissidents, many of them business owners, have been cited for code violations after speaking out against Pavley, said Gary Mueller, treasurer of the Agoura / Las Virgenes Chamber of Commerce.

“They are not dealing with a tender hand,” said Mueller, who has run unsuccessfully for the Agoura Hills council three times.

Pavley blanches at the notion that she pulls the strings at City Hall or that she tries to intimidate people.

“I have never even suggested to anyone how to vote,” she said. “There are just a few people who think that, and obviously they don’t know the council.”

The latest recall effort fell 53 signatures short of forcing a recall election for Pavley, according to county records. Opponents gathered more signatures against Pavley than any of the other council members.

Her supporters say she has been given a bad rap. Pavley is “one of the most highly respected people in our community,” said Mayor Louise Rishoff. She noted that Pavley was honored twice as Citizen of the Year by the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation, which represents 17 homeowner groups.

Pavley says she wants to be known for her accomplishments: six parks including the soon-to-be-dedicated Old Agoura Park Equestrian Facility, built with a $600,000 grant she obtained from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

She also cites a study she did for her master’s degree on Agoura Hills’ mass transit needs. That study, she says, was used to launch the city’s dial-a-ride and summer beach bus services. She also takes credit for stopping the extension of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, which would have linked Agoura Hills with the San Fernando Valley.

Pavley’s two-year appointment on the Coastal Commission expires in May of 1997. Her term on the council will be up in December of that year, and she has vowed not to run again. Should the recall attempt succeed, she would lose her commission seat.

Mueller says he believes she has plans to use the Coastal Commission as a steppingstone to higher office. Pavley say she has no such ambition because she doesn’t believe she could raise the funds. Her backer, Yaroslavsky, calls the commission a political dead-end.

“It’s a place where you can get in a lot of political trouble,” he said. “Like any land-use commission, every decision you make makes somebody happy, or you make somebody mad. The people you make happy eventually forget it, and the people you make mad never forget.”

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Profile of Fran Pavley

Age: 46

Occupation: history teacher at Chaparral Middle School in Moorpark

Education: bachelor’s degree, Fresno State University; master’s degree in environmental planning, Cal State

Claim to fame: Agoura Hills’ first mayor

Marital status: married to Andy, a teacher at Lindero Canyon Middle School in Agoura Hills

Children: Jenny, 18, and David, 16

Other activities: president-elect, California League of Cities, Los Angeles County Division; member of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy advisory committee