SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2015

VOLUME 9 NO. 15

COUNCIL 
TO TACKLE 
DIMINISHED 
REVENUE ISSUE 
WHILE

NEW PETITION 
TO CIRCULATE 
IN EFFORT TO 
ABOLISH USER 
UTILITY TAX

On Tuesday, the Sierra Madre 
City Council will begin 
discussions on the impact of 
the reduction of Utility User 
Tax income for the budget for 
the fiscal year of 2015/2016 
as well as the following fiscal 
year 2016/2017.

 When voters decided not to 
keep the existing UUT at 10% 
last year, the rate will decrease 
by 2% over the next two years 
until it is down to 6%. With 
such a significant decline 
in revenue, finding ways 
to balance the budget and 
maintain city services will be 
a challenge.

Unlike like neighboring cities 
of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte 
and Pasadena, Sierra Madre 
derives less than 2% of its 
income from Sales Tax and 
relies on the UUT heavily.

The council will begin budget 
negotiations on Tuesday, April 
14th at 6:30 pm. Residents are 
encouraged to attend.

UUT Opponents 
Launch New 
Petition

There are residents in Sierra 
Madre who would like to see 
a total repeal of the UUT. Led 
by Sierra Madre resident Earl 
Richey, a new Notice of Intent 
To Circulate Petition has 
been issued and the group is 
authorized to begin collecting 
signatures in an effort to get 
the repeal of the UUT on the 
ballot. (See Notice on Pg. 19)

30 MILLION DOLLAR CLAIM FILED AGAINST SIERRA MADRE

CETT Investment Corporation Files Demand Over Stonegate (1 Carter) Development

Photo and Story by Susan Henderson

 Since the Sierra Madre City Council overturn the 
Planning Commission’s approval of the proposed plans 
for 610 Baldwin Court in January, 2015, many residents 
have been wondering what would come next.

 The action denied the developer’s permit application 
on the grounds that it did not comply with the city’s 
existing land use policies. A little less than 3 months 
later, CETT Investment Corporation took the first step 
towards suing the city. They filed a “Claim for Damages 
“ asking for “no less than 30-32 million dollars, 
including but not limited to the lost value of its land, the 
lost value of its infrastructure improvements, and the 
lost profits on the sale of each and all of the residences it 
is permitted to build in the One Carter Project.”

 “I’m not surprised”, said Sierra Madre Mayor John 
Harabedian, who is an attorney by profession. “This is 
a desperate claim with no merit.”

 In the filing, CETT says, “..The City of Sierra Madre 
reversed unanimously [the] Planning Commission 
decision approving the Hillside Development Permit 
application” and “instead, denied it for reasons set-forth 
in City Council Resolution 15-03. Since then, City Staff 
has arbitrarily and capriciously changed the application 
process and refused to apply the proper and agreed 
upon standards for the consideration of the remaining 
HDP applications”. (The project is approved for 29 
single family homes.)

In October, when the Planning Commission approved 
the CETT applications for a Hillside Development 
Permit and a Conditional Use Permit to begin 
construction on the first home, the next step in the 
process was Council approval. Council members 
Denise Delmar and John Capoccia called for a review 
of the decision, and an ad hoc committee was formed to 
take on the task. Council members Delmar and Gene 
Goss volunteered and on December 10, 2014 they met 
with the developer’s attorney, Richard McDonald, in 
an attempt to address the council and community’s 
concerns - primarily the project’s failure to comply 
with the HMO. Their attempt was unsuccessful as 
McDonald was unwilling to make any changes. 

 What followed was the Council’s reversal of the 
Planning Commission’s decision in its entirety. The 
staff report presented by Planning and Community 
Preservation Department detailed the areas where the 
design was not in compliance with the city’s ordinances. 
It also included clarification of photos that had been 
submitted by the developers of existing hillside homes 
in Sierra Madre. According to the report, none of 
those structures in the pictures were in the Hillside 
Management Zone and had been built prior to the 
last revision of the HMO. The Stonegate project, in 
its’ entirety (29 homes), is in the Hillside Management 
Zone.

The proposed 3,125 sq. ft. home at 610 Baldwin Court 
will have to comply with the HMO. 

While the developer may have felt that the approval 
by the Planning Commission was a signal to proceed, 
the denial of the applications by the Council was a 
clear signal that the other 8 pending applications for 
Stonegate that in order to get an approval, they too will 
have to be in compliance with the HMZ.

In addition to challenging the City and its administration 
of the Hillside Management Zone and other local laws, 
CETT is accusing Sierra Madre of failing to perform 
in accordance to the terms and conditions of the 
Settlement Agreement reached in 2010 regarding the 
development of the project.

The claim also states. “The City violated the Brown Act 
by engaging in closed sessions to discuss the application 
without any proper basis for doing so”. 

The continue in the filing by accusing the city of Breach 
of Contract, Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and 
Fair Dealing and violation of the developers right to due 
process and equal protection rights.

The city is required to respond within a timely manner, 
however it should be noted that governmental claims 
such as this are generally a precursor to a formal lawsuit.


Baldwin Ct. development plans were denied by the Sierra Madre City Council earlier this year. 
Construction activity has come to a halt. 

CITY LOOKING FOR PUBLIC 
INPUT ON PROPOSED 

SMALL-SCALE, WASTE-TO-
ENERGY PROJECT 

By Kim Clymer- Kelley

There will be a public meeting and presentation on Wednesday 
April 15 at 6 PM in the City Council Chambers at Sierra Madre 
City Hall. The presentation will be on a possible Waste-to-
Energy project that the city is in the process of developing. In 
order to create a system that will best serve and consider the 
residents and businesses of Sierra Madre, the city would like 
your input on the project so that your ideas and visions may be 
incorporated into the project and your concerns addressed. This 
project, if realized will make Sierra Madre a vanguard city in 
sustainable waste management and independent green energy 
production. This small-scale facility could potentially produce 
enough energy to reduce the city’s energy bill by $16,000 per 
month and would serve as a main power source for the city’s 
water system. It would use biomass from the city’s municipal 
solid waste stream to create clean, green energy, thus diverting 
6-8 tons a day from the area landfills, while at the same time 
offering an opportunity to thoroughly sort recyclables before 
processing. The facility would give local universities an excellent 
research opportunity and would serve as a model for how other 
cities can divert waste and create energy for their municipalities. 

 

 Waste-to-Energy (WTE)is a common practice in many 
European nations where land for landfills is scarce, making 
diversion and recycling essential. These countries use the 
biomass in their waste stream to create energy and heat for 
residences and businesses. Here in the US, we have not built any 
new WTE facilities since the early 1990’s. These new, very simple, 
clean, and safe technologies make the process a carbon neutral 
or even a carbon negative process. Yes, some such systems can 
actually remove carbon from our atmosphere. In addition to 
electricity, the systems can also provide fuel for vehicles that 
run on compressed natural gas and produce different types of 
natural fertilizers and soil enhancers. Keeping the systems small 
and localized allows for communities to become less dependent 
on outside energy sources, reduces the impact of the process of 
waste handling by reducing the many lengthy trips to outside 
processing facilities, allows a community to customize and 
control the use of their facility to best serve the city, and reduces 
the amount of electrical energy lost in transmission. 

 If you want to learn more about the plan, have your ideas 
considered, or offer your expertise, please join us in this meeting 
to develop this exciting plan. There will be plenty of opportunity 
for Q&A and experts on hand to answer your questions. 
Refreshments will be served.


Inside this week: 

CALENDAR Pg. 2

SIERRA MADRE NEWS 
Pg. 4

 PASADENA/ALTADENA

 Pg. 5

ARCADIA NEWS 

 Pg. 6

MONROVIA/DUARTE 
Pg. 6

EDUCATION & YOUTH

 Pg. 7

FOOD & DRINK

ARTS Pg. 8

HEALTHY LIVING

 Pg. 10

GOOD LIFE

 Pg. 11

THE WORLD AROUND 
US Pg. 12

OPINION Pg. 13

LEGAL NOTICES

FYI 

 Pg. 18