A few years ago, U2 guitarist The Edge went for a hike, and there in the golden hills overlooking Malibu’s cerulean waters, he finally found what he was looking for.

The Edge and his wife, Morleigh Steinberg, bought a 156 acres in Santa Monica Mountains and now want to build five mansions there, including their own dream home. From a distance, they say, their house will look like nothing more than scattered leaves on the ridgeline.

But the plan has sparked the latest development controversy in Malibu, where residents and city officials portray themselves as stewards of a blessed environment , even as the construction of palatial mansions and sweeping driveways turn vast swaths of that environment to mulch.

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