Council Votes to Dismiss Tickets From July 4 Party

After fielding a barrage of complaints from people angry about parking tickets issued during a city-sponsored Fourth of July celebration, the City Council has offered an olive branch by voting unanimously to dismiss the citations.

Capt. Bill McSweeney of the Malibu-Lost Hills sheriff’s station told the council, “It does not seem [the tickets] were within the spirit of that event,” an all-day party at the Calabasas Tennis & Swim Center that featured a pool party and a petting zoo.

The council agreed.

The episode began when Councilwoman Lesley Devine noticed cars parked off the paved area of the parking lot, threatening to damage the nearby oak trees by compacting the soil near their surface roots. She summoned sheriff’s deputies, who issued tickets to about 20 illegally parked cars, and, in short order, the phone began to ring at City Hall.

“The City Council is seen now as the grinch that stole the Fourth of July,” said Councilman Dennis Washburn. He suggested that in addition to pardoning the parking violators, the city send them letters explaining that parking on tree roots endangers the trees.