SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2015

VOLUME 9 NO. 7


PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL SESSION ON OLD RECREATION 
CENTER PROJECT TO BE HELD NEXT SATURDAY

The property located at 186 W. 
Highland across from Sierra Madre 
School is back on the City’s development 
agenda. On Saturday, February 
21st, there will be an informational 
session from 10-11 am, where 
the community will have the opportunity 
to hear a presentation from 
Heritage Housing Partners and the 
city regarding proposed plans for 
the “adaptive reuse” of the site.

 The building (right) was originally 
a church and for a brief period 
it was used as a recreation center; 
After years of being vacant, the city 
eventually acquired the property 
with Community Redevelopment 
Agency funds (CRA). When that 
purchase was made, it was done 
under the auspices that it would be 
converted to 15 units of ‘work force 
housing’. The term is used for affordable 
housing created as an incentive 
for people who work in the 
city such as firefighters, police officers, teachers, etc., to move to Sierra Madre. It is not ‘affordable housing’ in the common use 
of the term, but one that provides less expensive housing for local workers.

 With the demise of the CRA, the future of the project has been in purgatory. Many neighbors surrounding the property are 
opposed to its development with legitimate concerns over the environmental impact of the units. (http://mtnviewsnews.com/
v05/htm/n15/index.html) And, with the current drought and water restrictions, new questions about the appropriateness of 
the project now are certain to be raised.

 Late last year, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to their “infill site program” that could 
ultimately bring $500,000 in county funds for the development of the old recreation center, providing that the city, acting as 
the successor agency to the RDA and Heritage Housing Partners enter into a development agreement. 

 According to their website, “Heritage Housing Partners (HHP) was founded in 1998 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Our mission 
is to promote long-term affordable homeownership through the preservation of existing historic homes and the construction 
of new, contextual single-family residences. We believe that providing low-, moderate-, and workforce-income first-time 
homebuyers with affordable ownership opportunities results in overall neighborhood revitalization. HHP aspires to develop 
homes that will instill the homeowner with pride not only in their own home, but also in their community.” 

 The purpose of this informational meeting on Saturday according to sources, is to see if such an agreement is a possibility. 
There has been no approval by the council of the project as of this date. The meeting will be held in City Council chambers 
on Saturday, February 21, 2015 from 10-11 am. S. Henderson/MVNews


SIERRA MADRE STREET REPAIR PROJECT 
UPDATE:

SOUTH MICHILLINDA REOPENED: Tere Pave, the 
contractor on the projects, completed the repair of So. 
Michillinda and W. Montecito on Friday. Both streets 
are now open to through traffice without limitation. 
Some additional work that does not require the 
complete street closure will be completed next week.

SENIOR MASTER PLAN TOWN HALL MEETING

The initial stages of the update will focus on two Town Hall 
meetings to gain feedback from our older adult population. 
Participation in these Town Hall meetings is an excellent way to 
provide your input and help shape the future needs of the older 
adult community. 

 The second Town Hall meeting is on Saturday, February 28, 
2015 at 11:00am. The meeting is at the Hart Park House, located 
at 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024. 

TRUE SWEETHEARTS MAKE SIERRA MADRE THEIR HOME

 Just in time for Valentine’s Day,

Helen and James Chinn moved 
into their new home at The 
Kensington in Sierra Madre. 
Their timing couldn’t have been 
more perfect as their story is one 
of an enduring true love.

 Helen, 93 and James, 90, met 
as students at San Jose State 
University in the 1940’s. When 
WWII came along, James was 
drafted into the U.S. Army. He 
achieved the rank of Sgt. however, 
his desire to marry Helen got him 
into a little hot water with Uncle 
Sam. 

 According to his son Douglas, his 
Dad couldn’t wait to get married 
and, “I guess you could say he went 
AWOL in order to make Mom his 
bride.” And while that decision may have cost him 
a stripe, (he was demoted from Sgt. to Corporal), he 
went on to serve his country proudly.

 After the war was over and his undergraduate studies 
were complete, he brought his bride to Arcadia, 
California to raise his family. According to news 
reports and his son, they were one of the first Chinese 
American families to live in Arcadia in the early 
1950’s.

 Chinn finished his undergraduate work at Stanford 
University after the war and went on to USC Medical 
School. After doing his residency and internship at LA 
County Hospital and the VA Hospital in Long Beach, he worked at St. Luke’s Hospital in Pasadena before opening his private 
practice in Arcadia. 

 While Dr. Chinn was establishing a very successful private practice, Helen, who had set her sights on a medical career as well, 
was busy taking care of the couples four children in Arcadia. Their children inherited their parents passion for medicine. Their 
sons, Drs. Mahlon and Douglas Chinn are also urologists and practice medicine with their Dad in Arcadia. Daughter Deborah 
became an OB/GYN physician and daughter Donna has a Masters in Nursing.

 The Chinn’s influence has truly been a contagious asset for the family as they are now into their third generation of medical 
practitioners.

 Moving to Sierra Madre, according to Douglas, “was a part of Dad’s planning. He’s always been a planner, always thinking 
ahead”. They will celebrate this Valentine’s Day at The Kensington as the first couple to move in. S. Henderson/MVNews

 
Dr. Chinn and his sweetheart of more than 70 
years, Helen. Photos courtesy Chinn Family

Sweethearts Helen and James produced three generations of 
USC Medical School alumni.