EDITORIAL : SHORELINE SHAFT; ONCE AGAIN, MISCIKOWSKI IGNORES NEIGHBORHOOD, THIS TIME HER OWN.

Pity the poor people of Pacific Palisades, having to live with a second-hand Getty and a bunch of antiquities in their back yards. Oh, the horror.

Cindy Miscikowski, the heir apparent to Council President John Ferraro's throne, has done it again. Stuck it to the little people.

This time, even her own neighbors were not immune.

Just a week after dumping on the San Fernando Valley and spearheading the reopening of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill in Granada Hills, she has pushed through the reopening and expansion of the J. Paul Getty Museum on Pacific Coast Highway in the tony neighborhoods of the Pacific Palisades.

Now all the riffraff from the Valley will be flocking to see Greek plays and hootin' and hollerin' in the new outdoor amphitheater. Art lovers will come from all over the world to view the antiquities on display.

And what about all the gas fumes from the diesel-powered Mercedes luxury cars as intellectuals gather for stimulating seminars? Miscikowski didn't even order mitigation measures to force Mercedes owners to switch to ethanol.

In fact, we think the Getty Trust worked very diligently to address concerns about noise and more traffic for their $150 million renovation plan to upgrade and reopen the museum in 2002.

When it reopens, it will be the only museum in the country devoted to the study of antiquities, and it will include a new 450-seat outdoor theater for classical plays, underground parking and a $2 million neighborhood protection plan.

Still, the anger generated by area neighbors over the expansion once again illustrates how little the City Council cares about communities.

Whether it's a dump or a national treasure, residents have little say when the guardians of the public trust impose their will and look after the people who have the big bucks, whether it's Browning Ferris Industries or Getty's billions.

We sympathize with Getty's neighbors. And we offer our support. If the residents in the Pacific Palisades prefer, we'll trade them the Getty Museum for the Granada Hills dump any old day.

Whatever the annoyances of more activity at the Getty, living next to a great museum preserving the past doesn't compare to have a garbage dump in the back yard ruining the neighborhood's future.

By her own standards, you can't fault Miscikowski: She's indifferent to the concerns of her constituents wherever they live.

Gotta love that.