Mountain Views News          Saturday, November 6, 2010

7

7

 
Mountain Views News Saturday, November 6, 2010 

By Vivianne Parker

 On November 2, 2010, 
Monrovia Mayor Lutz addressed 
the council members about 
the Mayoral Workshop held 
recently with Congressman 
David Drier. The event was an 
opportunity for mayors from 
Drier’s district to discuss topics 
related to governing their cities. 
Through Monrovia’s suggestion, 
the meeting was coordinated to 
provide a forum for discussing 
ideas. 

 Councilmember Becky 
Shevlin gave a report of her trip 
to Colorado River and Hoover 
Dam to see how California 
receives its water, and she 
encouraged other citizens to 
learn about the process. She 
also announced the Mayor’s 
Prayer Breakfast November 19 
at the Doubletree Hotel with 
the theme “Our Family Our 
Community,” sponsored by 
the Chamber of Commerce. 
The mayor reiterated the fact 
that everyone was invited even 
if they have not received a 
formal invitation. On Tuesday 
November 9, the Monrovia 
Library will feature a free event 
“How to Thrive in Changing 
Times: Steps to Gainful 
Employment” from 6:00 to 7:30 
p.m. in the community room.

 The council also heard 
the following administrative 
reports: The first was ordinance 
No. 2016-16, which was 
continued to the next meeting. 
It is related to Amendments 
of Title 15 of the Monrovia 
Municipal code, which will 
adopt Building Standard Codes 
from plumbing to electrical 
and other related codes for 
residential property. The 
second report was “Operational 
Safe Neighborhoods Anti-
Gang Injunction”, during which 
Captain Jim Hunt showed 
statistical data of activity and 
the police involvement. 

 Councilmember Joe 
Garcia mentioned there was a 
discussion on the manner in 
which the safety zone would 
be enforced. Councilmember 
Shaw agreed that the format 
of using statistics to capture 
the history of what’s going on 
was an improvement. City 
Manager Scott Ochoa suggested 
an annual report of the data be 
created. The idea was expanded 
to include developing a report 
that also reflects the activity 
from the unincorporated 
areas surrounding Monrovia. 
The report will also reflect 
the positive activity of police 
involvement and others on 
what’s being done to help 
diminish gang influence. 
Mayor Lutz believed the 
emphasis on tracking and 
showing the successes “would 
be important.” The information 
will be shown to reflect how 
many “left the gangs, did they 
fall back in, and other data 
needed to summarize, ‘Are we 
making inroads to keep gangs 
out of the community,’” she 
added.

 Goldline extension Update. 
The first phase of scoping the 
project has been completed 
through conducting community 
meetings. Steve Sizemore, MTA 
representative, said they are 
currently preparing documents 
to be released for public review 
on November 8. They are 
producing a supplement impact 
report, as well, which will 
identify any negative mitigation 
impacts, and the plans to reduce 
them to acceptable levels. 
Considerations being made 
are the placement of parking 
structures, similar to structures 
in Pasadena, the effect of 
Duarte Road changes, and how 
maintenance will be handled 
along the route.

2011 Municipal Election Date 
Set:

The final administrative report 
was a notice of the April 12, 
2011 upcoming election where 
the positions for Mayor and 
Councilmember Shevlin’s seat 
will be on the ballot. The report 
specifies the regulations for 
candidates, requests assistance 
from the Board of Supervisors 
of Los Angeles County, and 
set an amount not to exceed 
$38,000 to be given to Martin 
and Chapman Company 
for Election consulting 
services. On December 6, 
2010, representatives from the 
city will hold a meeting at the 
Monrovia Library to explain the 
process of running for election 
to the candidates who have 
submitted their applications.

 In other city news, Kerri 
Zessau, Recreation Supervisor, 
and Brian Ulm, Community 
Services chair, gave a 
presentation to several business 
owners, recognizing them 
for their sponsorship of the 
2010 Halloween event to Eric 
Mozilo and Terry Mozilo, and 
Les Connard of Les Connard 
Champions Karate. Other 
sponsors were City of Hope 
and Athens Waste Management 
who were not present but were 
publicly recognized for their 
contributions.

Upcoming holiday events:

Old Town Cookie Judging 
Contest to be held November 
13, where bakers can bring 
their goods for the 2:00 p.m. 
judging. Cookie contest 
forms are available at www.
oldtownmonrovia.ca.com. 
Other Holiday events include 
the November 26 Santa 
Breakfast and Santa Luncheon 
held at local restaurants. 

MONROVIA CITY COUNCIL RECAP

Duarte Recreation Leader, Pro Boxer Rhonda 
Luna Captures GBU Junior 
Lightweight World Title

Duarte’s Aris Ambriz Also Wins Bout at 
San Manuel Casino

DUARTE, CA, November 1, 2010 -- Professional 
boxer, Rhonda “The Natural” Luna, who is also 
a Duarte Teen Center recreation leader and an 
educator/school counselor at Santa Fe Middle School 
in Monrovia, has added another title to her name: 
Global Boxing Union Junior Lightweight World 
Champion.

 Luna, 32, captured her title in a 10-round 
battle against New York’s Ela “Bam Bam” Nunez 
at San Manuel Casino on Oct. 28, winning by 
unanimous decision of all three judges, 96-94, 97-
93, 98-92. Luna was elated at her victory. “It was 
an amazing feeling,” she said, after three previous 
attempts at a world title in 2005, 2007, and 2009. 

 Duarte’s 24 year-old Aris Ambriz (14-1-1) 
also on the card at San Manuel Casino the same 
night won his match against Tulare’s Hector Alatorre 
(16-12). All three judges scored Ambriz 60-54 in the six round fight. 

Duarte Youth Boxing Club head coach, Victor Valenzuela, who was inducted into the 
California Boxing Hall of Fame earlier this year, is the trainer for both Luna and Ambriz.


Kerri Zessau, Recreation Supervisor, and Brian Ulm, Community Services Chair, along 
with members of the council present business owner Eric Mozillo for co- sponsoring the 
Halloween Event

Monrovia Veterans Day Facility Closures

 The Monrovia Community Center and Monrovia Public Library will be closed for regular business 
on Thursday, November 11, in observance of Veterans Day. Regular hours of operation will resume 
on Friday, November 12. 

Veterans Day Activities

 In honor of all veterans, the Allied Veterans Council will host a Veterans Day Observance Ceremony 
at Library Park at 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 11. Ceremonies include: Posting of Colors, a Star 
Spangle Banner performance by the Monrovia High School Band, Memorial Service and a moment 
of silence. This event is open to friends and families in the community. 

Senior Special Event - Circus Fun - 

Enter the Big Top on Thursday, November 18, at the Community Center for Circus fun! 
Senior service providers are hosting game booths for seniors and everyone walks away a 
winner. The $5 entry fee includes hot dogs, cotton candy, musical entertainment, a magician 
and a balloonist! Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Community Center, or call 
626.256.8246 for additional information. All seniors 55+ are welcome! 

••••••••••••
••••••••••••
••••••••••
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
••••••••••••••••••••••••••
YoGamaDreNew students only.
Limited time offer.
During the last seven day period, the Police Department handled 564 service events, resulting 
in 111 investigations. Following are the last week's highlighted issues and events:

Grand Theft Auto

On October 21 at 8:24 a.m., an officer was dispatched to a residence in the 800 block of West 
Duarte regarding the theft of a vehicle. The victim reported that his wife had parked and 
secured their vehicle on the street in the evening. He returned to the vehicle in the morning 
and it was gone. There was no broken glass on the street where the vehicle had been parked 
and they accounted for all of the keys to the vehicle. The vehicle is a red 1993 Honda Accord.

Vehicle Burglary

On October 21 at 11:04 a.m., an officer responded to a residence in the 300 block of West 
Foothill regarding a vehicle break-in. The victim told the officer someone had broken into 
her vehicle through a window and stolen her purse. Investigation continuing.

Residential Burglary

On October 21 at 5:17 p.m., an officer went to a residence in the 500 block of King Street 
regarding the report of a residential burglary. The victim reported that she secured her home 
and left at 6:45 a.m. and then returned a little after 5 p.m. When she entered the house, she 
saw a window was broken and her laptop, cell phone and other miscellaneous items were 
missing. Investigation continuing.

Outside Assist / Parole Violation 

On October 22 at 8:13 a.m., officers responded to a residence in the 900 block of West Olive to 
assist a California parole agent with the check of a residence. The parole agent was checking 
up on a parolee and observed an empty high-capacity rifle magazine and thought there 
might be a weapon at the location. A weapon was not found; however, the parolee was found 
to be in possession of marijuana. He was arrested and taken into custody.

Possession of Burglary Tools - 

On October 22 at 4:36 p.m., an officer was dispatched to the 300 block of East Palm to a 
possible vehicle burglary in progress. When the officer arrived, he detained a suspicious 
person in the alley. The officer discovered the subject was in possession of a window punch, 
flash light and bolt cutters that had a sling modification attached, which allowed the bolt 
cutters to be concealed beneath clothing. An area check was conducted, but no evidence of a 
vehicle burglary was found. The suspect was arrested for possession of burglary tools.

Grand Theft

On October 23 at 6:20 a.m., an officer responded on the report of a stolen bicycle in the 100 
block of West Lemon. The victim reported that he left his $1,500 road bike near the front 
door of his apartment. He last saw the bike at 11:30 p.m. the night before and discovered it 
missing in the morning. The bicycle was unsecured.

Grand Theft - Suspect Arrested

On October 23 at 9:51 a.m., an officer was 
dispatched to a business in the 1600 block 
of South Mountain regarding a grand 
theft. The suspect, a female employee of the 
business, was ringing up fraudulent sales 
transactions and issuing fraudulent store 
credit for the value of the merchandise 
under the name of a another former female 
employee. The corporate office discovered 
the suspicious transactions and alerted 
the Monrovia location of the business. 
The female employee was arrested.

Vandalism to Vehicles

On October 23, several vehicle vandalisms 
were reported. They occurred in the 500 
block of South Myrtle, the 500 block of 
El Norte, the 800 block of West Duarte 
and the 1800 block of Tenth Avenue. 
The vandalism involved windows 
being scratched and silver spray paint 
being applied to windows. The vehicle 
vandalisms appear to be random and do 
not appear to be gang related.

On Wednesday, October 27, 
the Historic Preservation 
Commission (HPC) held 
an interesting and intense 
meeting regarding the 
fate of the house located 
at 270 N. Myrtle Avenue. 
This house, located at the 
southeast corner of Myrtle 
and Greystone Avenues, 
was reportedly built in the 
late 1800s and has been 
added onto over the years. 
It sits on two legal lots, 
which means that if the old 
house was removed then 
two separate new homes 
could be built (one per lot).

You can read the city’s 
Community Development 
Department section of the 
City Manager’s report for 
the detailed overview of 
the meeting; however, the compelling dynamic 
really revolved around the Commissioners' 
debate (and the public's input as well) regarding 
a fundamental question of any historic 
preservation program: "What is a truly historic 
house?" Is it simply being old? Is it being an 
exemplar of a given architectural style? Did 
someone important to our history have some 
involvement with it? Perhaps some combination 
of these, and/or other, relevant criteria?

 And, once we answer this fundamental question, 
another equally important one arises: "What 
do we do about it?" Monrovia currently has a 
dynamic and renowned historic preservation 
program, but it has relied on the voluntary 
preservation of homes by property owners and 
volunteers. Only a handful of communities have 
mandatory programs, largely because the notion 
of telling private property owners what they can 
and cannot do with their property is anathema to 
many folks. I believe this philosophical question 
of private property rights only makes the question 
of "what is truly historic" all the more important.

 The property at 270 N. Myrtle Avenue was 
purchased by a private owner, who apparently 
intends to demolish the house in favor of 
building two new homes. Again, there are two 
underlying lots and the construction of two 
single-family homes is a permitted use. Still, the 
historic preservation community in Monrovia 
fervently desires to save the house. Thus, we may 
end up with the immovable object meeting the 
irresistible force. That said, I do hope and believe 
that a workable compromise is within reach. Our 
Planning staff is doing a great job of educating 
folks and problem-solving.

Still, I think this situation invites the opportunity 
for a larger community conversation on this 
topic. Historic Preservation is one of the things 
that make Monrovia truly unique from other 
communities. By the same token, we need to 
use reasonable means to respect folks' private 
property rights while encouraging and educating 
them to do the best thing by the long-term 
interests of the community. If Monrovia's history 
has shown anything, it's that these interests are 
not mutually exclusive. - Courtesy Scott Ochoa

Historic Preservation Commission 
Addresses “Age Old Question”


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com