ELECTION DAY IS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4TH. PLEASE VOTE. IT’S IMPORTANT

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

VOLUME 8 NO. 44


COUNCIL TO REVIEW PLANNING COMMISSIONS 
DECISION TO APPROVE CUP FOR BALDWIN CT. PROPERTY


CITY HALL INCREASES 
OPEN HOURS

Sierra Madre, CA. - At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, 
the Council approved increased hours for City Hall beginning 
Monday, November 3, 2014. 

•City Hall will be open 7:30am – 5:30pm, Monday - Thursday

•Planning & Public Works counters will be open 

 7:30am – 2:00pm, Monday - Thursday

•Library hours were changed at the beginning of October and 
are:

 Monday-Wednesday, 11:00 am – 8:00 pm

 Thursday-Friday, 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

 Saturday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

 Sunday - Closed

Also, Community Services has moved to City Hall and the 
City’s service window at the Community Recreation Center is 
now closed. Please come into City Hall or the Hart Park House 
Senior Center to register for classes, programs and events, or 
check out the latest happenings at www.cityofsierramadre.com. 
Community Services staff can still be reached at 626.355.5278 as 
well as at 626.355.7135.

This artist’s rendering provided to the city by the property owners, CETT Investments is a depiction of what 
the developers allege the Baldwin Ct. property will look. 

 In mid October, the Sierra Madre 
Planning Commission voted to approve the 
Conditional Use Permit for the first home 
to be built at Stonegate. (The property 
formerly known as 1 Carter). The decision 
was made after months of meetings, 
negotiations, and reconficurations of the 
original plans. However the approval 
did not come without much angst among 
the public, or even among the Planning 
Commissioners. For years, residents 
have tried to prevent any development on 
the property at the very end of Baldwin. 
One of the earliest proposals which was 
successfully defeated was to make the site 
the home of Maranatha High School. 

 After that attempt failed, the land was 
purchased by a developer who proposed 
single family homes. Eventually the 
property was lost to foreclosure and the 
bank sold it to the current developers, 
CETT Investments.

 There was also a lawsuit by the developers 
that resulted in a Settlement Agreement 
between the owners of the property and the 
City of Sierra Madre. However, all along 
the way, there has been heated opposition 
to any project, especially the 29 new homes 
that are on the drawing board currently.

 In addition to the fact that the new 
homes will add to our already burdened 
water supply, concerns have been raised 
over the size and design of the homes. At 
the October 16th Planning Commission 
meeting, however, the commission 
accepted the changes that had been offered 
by the developer and approved the CUP.

 The fury of residents over the planning 
commission’s approval could be heard 
and felt at Tuesday’s city council meeting. 
Speaker after speaker brought their 
objections to the council during public 
comment, and although the council’s 
ratification (or rejection) of the Planning 
Commission’s actions was not on the 
Agenda, the voices of those opposed to the 
CUP was heard load and clearly.

One of the issues that was brought to 
the attention of the council was the cost 
of a citizen’s appeal of the Planning 
Commission’s action. City Manager 
Elaine Aguilar confirmed that it would 
cost $7,500 for those in opposition to the 
project to file an appeal. It appeared based 
on the public comments that members of 
the grassroots organization Preserve Sierra 
Madre (established to protect the town 
from overdevelopment), were ready to raise 
the necessary funds but would prefer that 
the council take action and review the 
decision.

Councilmembers John Capoccia and 
Denise Delmar were moved by the speakers 
(and phone calls and emails they had 
received) and requested the review.

Capoccia noted that there were two reasons 
for his call for a review. “I am convinced 
that for a project this large it needs to be 
approved by the elected officials. The 
hurdle is just too high. It’s just the right 
thing to do, take one more look.”

He also felt that citizens should not have 
to raise money to get the review when the 
request of two councilpersons is sufficient.

The review will be discussed at the 
November 25th council meeting.

S.Henderson/MVNews

EVERY DROP COUNTS! 

Be aware of the new restrictions on watering. Even-numbered addresses 
are limited to landscape irrigation on Mondays and Thursdays. Odd-
numbered addresses and addresses ending in fractions are limited to 
landscape irrigation on Tuesdays and Fridays. 

 If you would like to report water waste you can now do so on the City’s 
website or by emailing water@cityofsierramadre.com. 

 Please describe how water is being wasted, include the location, and a 
photo if available. We will then send a courtesy notice to the property 
so the issue can be fixed. 

 You can also send an Email to water@cityofsierramadre.com OR use 
the form on the city’s website: www.cityofsierramadre.com 

Inside this week: 

TUESDAY IS ELECTION DAY! 

CALENDAR Pg. 2

SIERRA MADRE NEWS 
Pg. 3

The Mountain Views News is making the following endorsements, however, whether you agree with us or 
not, get out and vote! 

Governor Jerry Brown

Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom

Secretary of State Alex Padilla

Controller Betty Yee

 

Treasurer John Chiang

Attorney General Kamala Harris

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones

State Board of Equalization Jerome E. Horton

United States Representative Judy Chu

State Assembly Chris Holden

NO RECOMMENDATION ON THE JUDICIAL OFFICES

Superintendent of Public Inst. Marshall Tuck

LA County Assessor Jeffrey Prang

Sheriff Jim McDonnell

STATE PROPOSITIONS: 

YES PROPOSITIONS 1 AND 2 WATER BOND/BUDGET STABILIZATION

YES PROPOSITION 45 HEALTHCARE INSURANCE RATE CHANGES

YES PROPOSITION 46 DRUG/ALCOHOL TESTING FOR DOCTORS

YES PROPOSITION 47 MISDEMEANOR PENALTIES

NO PROPOSITION 48 INDIAN GAMING EXPANSION 

YES LA COUNTY PROP P PARKS PARCEL TAX

PASADENA/ALTADENA

 Pg. 4


ARCADIA NEWS 

MONROVIA/DUARTE 

 Pg. 5

EDUCATION & YOUTH

 Pg. 6

FOOD & DRINK

 Pg. 7

BEST FRIENDS

 Pg. 8

HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

 Pg. 9

THE GOOD LIFE

 Pg. 10

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

 Pg. 11

SECTION B 

AROUND SGV Pg. B1

THE WORLD AROUND US

 Pg. B2

 BUSINESS NEWS Pg. B3

 OPINION Pg. B4

 LEGAL NOTICES Pg. B5