Last week, the Town Council finally told Bill Mason enough is enough. In May 1995, the council, in a surprise move, reversed a Planning Commission decision to prohibit Bill Mason from operating his eight-unit apartment complex at 664 N. Santa Cruz Ave.
Mason had illegally operated an apartment complex on property he bought in 1992 as a motel. After ignoring the rules and battling the Planning Department for years, he asked the Planning Commission to allow him six more months to apply for a permit to convert the apartments to office space--during which time he would continue to operate the property as apartments.
More than six months after the council gave Mason more slack, the electrical contractor had met none of the requirements he agreed to and was a no-show at a Jan. 16 public hearing on the issue.
When the council overrode the Planning Commission in May 1995, then-Councilmember Randy Attaway asked his colleagues: "Why do we have any rules if we don't live by them?"
It's a good question. Another might be: Do the rules apply to some but not to others? The Mason family has a history of community service in town. Bill Mason served as a planning commissioner from 1972 to 1976. Yet, for years, he has avoided paying the 10 percent transient occupancy tax required by his business license, and he has not paid the annual $22-a-unit rent-mediation fee that he would be expected to pay if he ran an apartment complex.
What's more, he has never met town requirements for parking, handicapped access and landscaping that apply to residential dwellings.
Bill Mason's father was a well-known Los Gatan who served on the council from 1950 to 1954 and again from 1958 to 1962. He was instrumental in getting the Billy Jones Railroad moved to its current location at Vasona Lake County Park.
The reputation of Bill Mason's father may have had absolutely no bearing on the council's decision last year to give the younger Mason yet another chance. The council also may have ignored the younger Mason's four years of service to the town as a planning commissioner.
But when public bodies appear to be soft on those with whom they may be perceived to have special ties, red flags rightfully go up.
The law at every level of government must be applied evenly. The perception that the rules were made for some but not others is cause for alarm.
The local scene
It's good news that Los Gatos High School has hired an instructor for its TV and video classes. With KCAT-TV as its laboratory, young people in these classes get real-life experience in television production.
The local cable-access station has been running more "filler" type programming than usual in recent months. The vacancy at the high-school was part of the problem. The purpose of such stations is to provide students and interested community members an opportunity to produce local shows.
There are countless programs on the airwaves that provide information about the larger world. Only cable access lets local people produce local shows for local people.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, February 14, 1996.
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