SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2015

VOLUME 9 NO. 16


PREVENTING THE McMANSIONIZATION OF SIERRA MADRE

Council Upholds Planning Commissions Recommended Revisions On Family Residential Zone


This photo is a panoramic shot of 3 homes in Los Angeles. The newer structure (center) overshadows the two traditional 
craftsman homes on each side of it. Avoiding this type of construction is at the heart of the new restrictions approved 
by the Sierra Madre City Council on Tuesday.

Story and Photo by Susan Henderson

At Tuesday’s Sierra Madre City Council 
meeting, amendments to the current “One 
Family Residential Zone” (R-1) dominated 
the agenda. The proposed changes, which 
were approved by the Planning Commission 
in earlier this year, led to a lengthy public 
comment period as well as considerable 
discussion among the members of the 
council.

The proposed changes included: 1) 
A change in the requirements for a 
Conditional Use Permit. Currently “the 
threshold that triggers a CUP is 4,000 
square feet of floor area, including garage 
regardless of lot size.” The recommended 
changes decreased the threshold, whether 
an addition or new construction, based 
upon the lot size. The new maximum is 
3,500 square feet for lot areas of 11,001 sq. 
ft. and up. Lots 7501-11,000 sf are limited 
to 3,000 sf of floor area and lots up to 7500 
sf are allowed 2500 sf of floor are. Floor area 
includes the garage.

 Changes to the construction of a second 
story, setback standards for side yards, 
changes to the allowable gross floor area 
and minimum dwelling floor area were also 
made. For a complete comparison of the 
existing code and the new changes, go to:

http://docs.cityofsierramadre.com/tylercm/
eagleweb/viewDoc.jsp?node=DOC199S70.

 Members of Preserve Sierra Madre all 
spoke in favor of the proposed changes 
emphasizing the adverse impact that failing 
to uphold the Planning Commission’s 
changes would have. 

The council, however, was not unanimous 
as to whether or not the proposed changes 
in their entirety was the right course of 
action at this time. Mayor John Harabedian 
however, who voted against the changes as 
presented, was pleased with the manner 
and tone of the discussion during Public 
Comment and Council deliberations. 
“Everyone was coming from a good place. 
I think they had the best intentions to 
preserve the town that we live in,” he said. 

In the end, the Council followed the 
recommendation of Staff and the Planning 
Commission by approving the changes.

The final vote was 3/2. Mayor Pro Tem 
John Capoccia and Council persons Denise 
Delmar and Rachelle Arizmendi voted in 
favor of the revisions. Mayor Harabedian 
and Councilman Gene Goss voted against

the Ordinance as submitted. 

SMEAC’S SPRING/ 
EARTH DAY 
BAILEY CANYON 
WILDERNESS PARK 
CLEAN-UP,

 SATURDAY, APRIL 
25, 8:00 - NOON 

Celebrate Earth Day! Help the 
Sierra Madre Environmental 
Action Council with their spring 
cleaning of Bailey Canyon 
Wilderness Park. Volunteers 
desperately needed! 

 Please bring work gloves 
and any gardening tools 
available from home, especially 
loppers, rakes & shovels. Wear 
appropriate attire to protect 
from scratchy chaparral. 

See you there!

SIERRA MADRE PLAYHOUSE WANTS TO KNOW:

CAN YOU TOP NEIL SIMON?


By Artistic Director, 
Christian Lebano 

Photo by Gina Long

 

My freshman year of college 
I was paired up with a young 
man from Long Island. He was 
friendly, neat, and absolutely 
head-over-heels in love with 
a girl from back home. She 
wasn’t attending our school and 
he was pining away, heartsick 
with longing and desire. They 
spoke for hours on the phone in 
our dorm room (pre cell phone 
days, of course) and when he 
wasn’t on the phone he played 
Peaches & Herb’s Reunited 
(that dates me doesn’t it?) every 
moment he was in the room. 
He never seemed to go to class 
and always seemed to be in our 
room when I was (which was as 
little as I could because of that 
song). He ended up flunking 
out for the love of this girl – 
he’d been Valedictorian of his 
High School. I cannot hear 
that song now without being 
instantly back in that dorm 
room. “Reunited and it feels so 
gooood” aaarrrgh!

We’d love to hear your stories. 
Neil Simon wrote the classic 
mismatched roommate tale in 
The Odd Couple and we’d love 
to hear YOUR story about a 
roommate situation that went 
wrong, or that still causes you 
to cringe or laugh….or shake 
your head in wonder. We’ll 
post all of the stories in our 
lobby for the run of the show 
AND the winning submission 
will get 4 tickets to any Friday 
night (except opening night) of 
the show which runs from May 
8 to June 27. Submit your story 
to info@sierramadreplayhouse.
org by opening night and the 
winner will be selected by May 
10.

I was at the rehearsal last night 
and with three weeks to go the 
cast is in great shape. The show 
is coming along really well and 
should be a great, rollicking 
time in the theater. Fascinating 
to see characters taking form 
and moments being practiced. 
The cast has bonded in a strong 
way and are playing poker 
together now! I’m so excited 
to share this show with our 
patrons. 

Friday was the last performance 
of Einstein is a Dummy and it is 
now only a memory. The series 
played for 16 schools at 21 
performances and was wildly 
successful with the young 
people we targeted. The set will 
come down on Monday after 
our Colburn Concert by the 
Calla Quartet on Sunday, April 
19 at 7:00 pm. These talented 
musicians will be playing 
Haydn, Mendelssohn, and 
Szymanowski. If you haven’t 
been to one of our Sunday 
Series Concerts yet – come hear 
this one. It is the last one until 
next Fall.

The count-down to opening 
begins. Much to do in the next 
few weeks. As always we do 
it for you – our SMP family – 
whose support and loyalty mean 
so much to us and for whom we 
hope we bring pleasure and joy 
and moving experiences in the 
theater. Please let me know 
how you think we are doing. 

ArtisticDirector@
SierraMadrePlayhouse.org

DID YOU EVER WANT TO PEEK INSIDE THE OLD NORTH 
CHURCH ACROSS FROM MEMORIAL PARK? 

On Saturday, April 25th, 
the Sierra Madre Historical 
Preservation Society will present 
a tour of not only the church but 
also the two historic buildings 
just to the west of it, the ca. 1919 
Old Mortuary (now called the 
New Life Center) and the ca. 
1915 Caretaker Craftsman (now 
called the Hospitality House). 
SMHPS is very grateful to the 
Sierra Madre Congregational 
Church for opening the doors of 
these wonderful buildings. 


The program will start in the Old 
North Church, where Church 
Historian Jim Constantian 
will show a 20-minute video of 
footage shot in Sierra Madre in 
1927 and 1928 by the late Rudy 
Hartman. The video includes 
Rudy’s narration, which was 
recorded at a later time. Jim will 
then give a brief talk, which will 
be followed by the tour of the 
Caretaker Craftsman and Old 
Mortuary next door.

Major Downtown Landmarks!3TourSierra Madre Historical Preservation Society will presentThe Old North Churchand the two adjacent historic buildings to its westThe Old Mortuary (now the New Life Center)
The Caretaker Craftsman (now the Hospitality House)
A 20-minute film of 1927-1928 Sierra Madre, shot and narrated by the late Rudy HartmanTalk and commentary by Sierra Madre Congregational Church historian Jim ConstantianSaturday, April 25, 2:00 p.m.
Program starts with the film showing at The Old North Church191 West Sierra Madre BoulevardFree to the publicQuestions? Contact Maggie Ellis (626) 355-7074 or email MaggieEllis04@msn.comVisit our website smhps.org
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

SM ORDINANCE 

 Pg. 19