Far be it for me to defend Denise Lite. I find her particular brand of MAGA politics to be repulsive to say the least.
However, I find it extremely concerning that Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste has asked the City Council to agendize the removal of Ms. Lite from the Planning Commission.
I don’t claim to understand all of the facts, but as I do understand this, Weste engineered a deal by which a developer in the Newhall mixed-use project (would have) paid a $750,000 historical mitigation fee for what is basically the demolition of a historically designated building that stands in the way of that developer’s project.
Several observations: This deal was allegedly negotiated in secret. That alone is concerning. Weste is, in addition to being the mayor pro tem, a sitting member of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society board. I myself am a member of a half-dozen historical societies. Not once have I heard of any of them advocating for the demolition of a historical building. It is literally against their DNA.
Finally, it is well understood that most government corruption occurs at the local level. And most of that corruption involves real estate development. Weste is not stupid. She has to realize the optics of this look bad. Our local (media), as well as Commissioner Lite, are all looking into this deal because, frankly, there is a stench to it.
As the saying goes, “follow the money.”
I urge the City Council to reject Weste’s demand to fire Commissioner Lite out of hand.
Lynn Wright
Valencia
