Piecemakers Invoke a Higher Power in Fight With City

They live communally and abstain from sex, marriage and make-up. But their latest defiance of convention crosses the line of legality, city officials say.

The Piecemakers, a religious group based in Costa Mesa and Ridgway, Colo., whose members total about 40, do not believe in city permits. They say that requirement for crafts fairs or public plays violates property rights, God’s will and productive business practices.

So when the group hosted a play in September in the parking lot of their Country Store on Adams Avenue and a crafts fair and a peddlers’ market there in October and November, all without city permits, they ran afoul of the law.

In response, the city plans to charge three members with misdemeanors at their arraignments on Friday in Municipal Court in Newport Beach.

Marie Kolasinski, 76, and Anne Sorensen, 68, face charges of failing to secure a permit for a September performance of the musical “Big River” in the store parking lot, improperly hosting a crafts fair in October and blocking a sidewalk at the latter event.

The two women and Steven Brenner, 39, will answer to an additional count of improperly hosting a peddlers’ market in November.

City attorneys cited the three because they are officers in Piecemakers Inc. and group decision-makers. They could face fines if convicted.

Members admit they didn’t get the permits. But they say there are spiritual reasons--direct orders from God--and secular reasons for their defiance.

“Even if you don’t believe in God, the Constitution should still hold, and that includes the right to do what you want with your own property,” said member Judy Haeger, 50.

Kolasinski agrees: “America’s falling asleep. Why would we need permission from [the city] when we’ve already gotten permission from the Constitution and from God?”

To dramatize their opposition, members recently appeared in court dressed in Colonial-style clothing and American flag caps. They also performed a song-filled protest in front of their store.

Piecemakers say they believe that property rights go much further than being allowed to park a junker in the driveway. They contend that the constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and religion supersede the city’s requirement for permits for events held on their property.

God, they say, is guiding them into battle with City Hall to protect their rights and those of other small businesses. And they plan to fight--but without professional help.

It’s not that they can’t afford legal counsel. The Country Store, which carries craft supplies and gourmet foods, brought in $3 million last year, Kolasinski said. They say God is guiding them to represent themselves.

City officials say permits are required for public events such as a crafts fair, which can attract thousands, to ensure that safety, parking and noise problems are avoided.

“Essentially, Costa Mesa, like many cities, has a law that requires persons that conduct special events to get a permit in advance of the event to ensure that health and safety and public welfare is preserved,” said prosecutor Steven H. Rosenblit. “A primary focus of local government is to protect public safety, health and welfare.”

Rosenblit said he doubts the Piecemakers can win on the basis that the city codes are unconstitutional.

“The city’s right to regulate this field and compel people to get a special event permit is well established,” he said.

Also being considered by the court is an eviction notice for the Piecemakers’ Logan Street warehouse, where fire inspectors reported multiple violations, including a wood shop that was built without a permit and improperly marked warnings on flammable liquids. Group members have said that this is not that big of an issue and that they are willing to relocate.

Piecemakers say they are being singled out by the city for their unconventional lifestyle, which started as a Bible study in 1968 and blossomed into the business, religious and anti-government organization it is today. Members live in six homes in the Mesa Verde area of Costa Mesa and in one in Ridgway.

City Councilman Joe Erickson said the Piecemakers fail to see the point of the city’s health and safety regulations.

“There is a purpose to the law that I think the Piecemakers are missing,” he said. “It’s there to protect them too.”

The group has complied with the permit process in the past, Rosenblit said. So what changed?

Their orders to challenge the city are from God, Piecemakers said.

“We laid down our life so completely that we walk in God’s will,” Kolasinski said. “We carry out his will instead of ours.”