SPECIAL JULY 4TH CELEBRATION GUIDE - SECTION C


SIERRA MADRE EDITION

 SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2017 

VOLUME 11 NO. 26

SIERRA MADRE CITY MANAGER SENDS SPECIAL 
MESSAGE REGARDING CITY BUDGET

City of Sierra Madre

 PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE 

From: The City of Sierra Madre

Subject: MUNICIPAL CODE TEXT AMENDMENT 17-03 (MCTA 17-03) 

Applicant: City of Sierra Madre

Project Location: Properties in the City of Sierra Madre, County of Los Angeles, State of California

The City of Sierra Madre gives notice, pursuant to State of California law, that the City Council will conduct a public 
hearing to consider recommending adoption of a text amendment to Chapter 17.10 of the Municipal Code to establish local 
control measures to regulate personal marijuana uses, and to prohibit commercial marijuana uses, whether for medical or 
nonmedical purposes in all zones and specific plans within the City. The amendments further state that any person at least 
21 years of age may cultivate up to six marijuana plants inside his or her private residence or inside a fully enclosed and 
secure accessory structure on the rear grounds of that private residence for personal use; and that such cultivation shall not 
displace any required on-site parking, and it shall not be visible or detectible by the olfactory senses from the public right of 
way or other private property. 

At the June 27, 2017 meeting the City Council discussed the municipal code text amendment and received public comment 
on the matter.

At the meeting on June 15, 2017, the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing and recommended to the City 
Council adoption of MCTA 17-03.

DATE AND TIME OF HEARING PLACE OF HEARING

City of Sierra Madre City of Sierra Madre

City Council meeting City Council Chambers

Tuesday, July 11, 2017 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.

(Hearing begins at 6:30 p.m.) Sierra Madre, CA 

All interested persons may attend this meeting and the City Council will hear them with respect thereto.

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The project qualifies for an exemption from the California Environmental 
Quality Act review pursuant to Title 14, Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Code of Regulations as it can be seen with 
certainty that there is no possibility the adoption of this Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment, 
because it will impose greater limitations on development in the City thereby serving to reduce potential significant adverse 
environmental impacts. 

APPEAL: If in the future anyone wishes to challenge the decision of the City Council in court, one may be limited to 
raising the issues that were raised or presented in written correspondence delivered to the City Council at, or before, 
the scheduled public hearing. For further information on this subject, please contact the Planning and Community 
Preservation Department at (626) 355-7138.


City of Sierra Madre

 
Public Hearing Notice 


From: The City of Sierra Madre

Subject: MUNICIPAL CODE TEXT AMENDMENT 17-04 (MCTA 17-04) 

Applicant: City of Sierra Madre

Project Location: Properties in the City of Sierra Madre, County of Los Angeles, State of California

The City of Sierra Madre gives notice, pursuant to State of California law, that the City Council will conduct a second reading 
of Ordinance 1389 at the July 11, 2017 City Council Meeting at 6:30 PM, in the City Council Chambers at 232 W. Sierra Madre 
Boulevard. All interested persons may attend this meeting and the City Council will hear them with respect thereto.

On June 27, 2017 the City Council of the City of Sierra Madre introduced for first reading recommending adoption of 
Ordinance 1389 amending Chapter 17.28 R-3 Zone (Multifamily Residential), Chapter 17.30 RC Zone (Residential Canyon), 
Chapter 17.60 Variances and Conditional Use Permits, and Chapter 17.72 Signs. The purpose of the amendments is to provide 
consistency in the zoning requirements of the abovementioned chapters. The City Council will also consider deleting Chapter 
17.76 Condominium and Apartment Projects.

At the meeting on June 15, 2017, the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing and recommended to the City Council 
adoption of MCTA 17-04.

This summary is published pursuant to Government Code Section 36933(c)(1) and a full and complete certified copy of the 
text of Ordinance 1379 is available at the Sierra Madre City Manager’s Office located at City of Sierra Madre City Hall, 232 
W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA. For further information on this subject, please contact the Planning and Community 
Preservation Department at (626) 355-7138.

The purpose of the R-3 Zone amendment is to revise the standards applicable to residential-medium/high density residential 
development and to provide consistency with other zoning requirements that affect multiple chapters of the Zoning Code. The 
amendments include the following revisions:

. Chapter 17.08 Definitions – Amend the definition of height for the purpose of simplifying the reference point on the 
roof of a structure used to measure its height; and change the title of a minor conditional use permit to administrative design 
review permit.
. Chapter 17.20 R-1 Zone – Incorporate new design review and administrative design review permit requirements for 
certain projects that currently require a minor variance, minor conditional use permit or conditional use permit. 
. Chapter 17.28 R-3 Zone – Amendments include a revision to the title of the ordinance to ‘R-3 Medium/High 
Density Residential Zone;’ a title change to 17.28.070 to “Design review permit required;” Omitting Section 17.28.130 Signs; 
incorporates new graphics to illustrate the calculation of building height, angle-plane measurement for yards abutting an R-1 
Zone, and articulation of exterior walls. Further amendments include revisions to ‘Legal non-conforming R-3 sites,’ ‘Rezoned, 
newly created or reconfigured lots,’ ‘Permitted uses’ and ‘Conditionally permitted uses,’ ‘Other uses and construction 
activities,’ and ‘Standards for development.’ Section 17.28.130 omits the multi-family building sign standards and incorporates 
them in Chapter 17.72 Signs.
. Chapter 17.30 R-C Zone amendments incorporates new design review and administrative design review permit 
requirements for certain projects that require a minor conditional use permit or conditional use permit.
. The purpose of the amendment to Chapter 17.60 is to revise the title of the chapter to “Variances and Discretionary 
Permit”, and revise Sections 17.60.040 and 17.60.041 to incorporate the purpose, reviewing authority, review procedure and 
findings for administrative design review permits and design review permits; The amendment also includes the addition of 
Section 17.60.058 to include a procedure to address projects with multiple discretionary applications, and eliminates the 
requirement for approval of a conditional use permit for all development in the R-3 Zone. 
. The purpose of the amendment to Chapter 17.72 Signs is to revise the existing sign requirements for the R-3 Zone 
under Section 17.72.050, include regulation that all signs be non-illuminated and a requirement that all signs are mounted flat 
to the wall.
. Chapter 17.76 Condominium and Apartment Projects – The proposed amendment is to delete the Chapter in its 
entirety. Justification for removal is that the Chapter is obsolete in that the definitions within the Section are not cross referenced 
anywhere else in the Zoning Code and are already defined in Chapter 17.08 Definitions; The R-3 Ordinance already provides 
development procedures for multi-family projects; and Title 16 of the Sierra Madre Municipal Code provides regulations 
regarding Subdivisions.


ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The project qualifies for an exemption from the California Environmental Quality 
Act review pursuant to Title 14, Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Code of Regulations as it can be seen with certainty that 
there is no possibility the adoption of this Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment, because it will impose 
greater limitations on development in the City thereby serving to reduce potential significant adverse environmental impacts. 

APPEAL: If in the future anyone wishes to challenge the decision of the City Council in court, one may be limited to raising 
the issues that were raised or presented in written correspondence delivered to the City Council at, or before, the scheduled 
public hearing. For further information on this subject, please contact the Planning and Community Preservation Department 
at (626) 355-7138.

Sierra Madre Fire Marshal Rich Snyder discusses fire retardant application in Pasadena 
on Thursday. Photo by Dean Lee

On Friday, City Manager Gabe Engeland 
issued, via the city's online communications 
a special message to residents concerning the 
city's budget. An excerpt of that message is 
below: 

 The Sierra Madre City Council adopted the 
2017-2018 budget at its May 23rd meeting. 
Prior to approving the recommended budget 
the Council directed staff to complete a review 
of all expenditures and submit a balanced 
budget which did not call for voters to approve 
a tax increase. In order to achieve this, staff 
implemented a zero-based budget process. This 
type of budgeting relies on every line item in 
the budget being scrutinized in an attempt 
to cut unnecessary expenditures or reinvest 
them in areas of need. Each line starts with 
“zero” funding and Department Directors must 
convince their peers that the requested funds 
are necessary. The 2017-2018 budget will feature 
nearly one million dollars less in expenditures 
than the current budget.

Last year the voters in Sierra Madre approved 
a return of the Utility User (UUT) tax rate 
to 10%. The trade-off when asking voters to 
trust their government through taxation is to 
show responsibility, competence, and most 
importantly, an appropriate and transparent 
use of taxpayer dollars. The UUT, combined 
with the reduction in expenditures in the 2017-
2018 budget, allowed the City to restore services 
in the Police Department and in Library and 
Community Services, and also to invest in 
repairing our water infrastructure. There is still 
much work to be done. To build on the trust of 
the UUT vote I wanted to share information 
on the most immediate challenges facing our 
community.

For various reasons, the City has not made the 
necessary investments in our infrastructure 
over many years. Because of this, the water 
system is suffering from leaks and failing mains. 
To ensure more dollars go towards repairing 
infrastructure, the City will be focused on better 
managing the debt in the water system and also 
reducing operating costs.

For more information on challenges in the 
City’s water infrastructure, or information on 
the debt obligations for water please go to the 
city's website at www.sierramadre.com.

 

Outside of the City’s Water Fund, another item 
placing stress on the General Fund budget is 
increasing pension obligations. The California 
Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) 
Board recently reduced its outlook for returns 
to the pension system. This reduction means 
Sierra Madre will see large increases in required 
payments year over year. 

 

In addition to managing infrastructure and 
financial obligations, the City Council will 
soon need to make a decision on the future of 
fire services in Sierra Madre. The long-standing 
volunteer model of fire service is no longer 
sustainable. 

 

I appreciate the trust you have given to the 
Sierra Madre government, and as City Manager, 
I look forward to assisting the City Council in 
implementing your vision for our city.


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