VOLUME 14 NO. 5

 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2020 

Jan Greteman 626.975.4033jan@jangreteman.com 
jangreteman.com #01943630Judy Webb-Martin 626.688.2273jwmartin@dppre.com #00541631 
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to the community.
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THE MOUNTAIN VIEWS NEWS 
PROUDLY ENDORSES

JOHN HARABEDIAN FOR THE LA 
COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

CITY COUNCIL REPEALS 
DECLARATION OF WATER 
SHORTAGE EMERGENCY

City Council repealed an 
ordinance, Tuesday, which 
imposed a moratorium on the 
issuance of new water service 
connections in the City, initially 
put in place for the purpose of 
conserving water for home use, 
sanitation and for fighting fires. 

Due to a water shortage 
emergency and lack of sufficient 
rainfall, Ordinance 1356U 
(pursuant to Water Code 351 
and 352) was set to remain in 
place until water supplies had 
been replenished or augmented. 
The rainy season of 2012-13 only 
produced 5.9 inches of rain. The 
average rainfall over a 50-year 
period was over 23 inches. 

When the ordinance was enacted 
in 2014 and the moratorium was 
enforced, the East Raymond 
Basin, was Sierra Madre’s only 
source of water. Since then, a 
water exchange agreement has 
been established between the 
San Gabriel Valley Municipal 
Water District (SGVMWD) and 
the Metropolitan Water District 
(MET). In this pact, MET 
delivers up to 2,500 acre/feet of 
ground water to Sierra Madre 
annually. In addition, the City 
will share a well, as needed, with 
the City of Arcadia as part of the 
agreement with SGVMWD to 
begin in 2022. The well produces 
approximately 1,300 acre/feet 
ground water per year. 

“The City currently has reliable, 
perpetual access to about 150% 
of the annual, anticipated, 
incurred need,” stated City 
Manager, Gabriel Engeland. As 
part of the agreement with the 
City of Arcadia, water will be 
“wheeled” from the main basin 
that is owned by the city of 
Sierra Madre. 

The moratorium placed 
restrictions on new zoning-
related issues for homeowners 
such as adding meters, 
extensions to homes requiring 
new running water, and other 
potable water services. 

A water shortage emergency was 
declared by City Council in July 
2014, when water levels dropped 
from 1,764 acre/feet to 940 acre/
feet annually. Sierra Madre 
has been creatively exploring 
alternative, permanent options 
for water sources since these 
levels sunk dangerously low. The 
current annual consumption 
of water by Sierra Madre is 
2,300 acre/feet. These current 
agreements do not diminish the 
need for common sense water 
conservation efforts. 

City Council voted unanimously 
to repeal Ordinance 1356U in its 
entirety. 

Kevin McGuire/MVNews


It is truly a pleasure to endorse Sierra 
Madre Mayor John Harabedian as he 
seeks higher office. Since he was first 
sworn in as a City Council member in 
2012, he has honored his oath of office 
by serving the community with dignity, 
outstanding moral character and a 
deep commitment to the citizens he was 
elected to serve. To quote former California 
Governor Jerry Brown, "In these 
divisive times, John brings the sort of 
fresh, no nonsense leadership we need.

John Harabedian is what we all envision, 
regardless of political leanings, our 
public servants to be. Listening to his 
constituents and endeavors to address 
each and every one of their concerns. 
He learns from the past, and brings that 
knowledge to the table in order to shape 
a promising future. He is a man of good 
character, with vision and a vested interest in the future. 

This publication is proud to support John Harabedian for the Los Angeles 
County Board of Supervisors. We hope you will join us in supporting him.

Susan Henderson, Publisher/Editor

Mountain Views News

From Former Controller John Chiang:

“We need new leadership in LA County to address our homelessness and 
affordability crisis, tackle gun violence, and take action on climate change. 
Mayor John Harabedian is the clear choice to bring new ideas and results to 
our neighborhoods.”

From: Congressman Tony Cárdenas

“With his fresh perspective and experience, Mayor Harabedian is the clear 
choice for LA County Supervisor. He is a common-sense leader who is committed 
to solving the homelessness crisis, protecting all of our residents, including 
our immigrant communities, and ushering in a new era of criminal 
justice reform. We cannot rely on the same failed policies to fix the monumental 
challenges facing us. As your Congressman, I look forward to partnering 
with Mayor Harabedian in tackling these problems, and I urge other 
Democrats to support him in his historic campaign.”


THE SIERRA MADRE SEARCH AND RESCUE 
TEAM’S YEAR IN REVIEW


A crew from SMSR searching Mt. Baldy for a missing hiker.

By Carolyn Grumm and Photos 
courtesy of SMSR 

For the Sierra Madre Search 
and Rescue Team (SMSR), 2019 
was the 69th year that the Team 
served the community with our 
mission statement “anywhere in 
the wilderness where someone 
needs help.” It was a year marked 
by some long searches with 
happy endings. These reminded 
us of the importance of our 
team philosophy to “go on every 
search and rescue mission with 
a positive attitude, committed 
to the belief that the person 
who needs our help is alive and 
can be found.” Other missions 
had sobering endings that 
reminded us of our philosophy 
that asks us to “bring to every 
search and rescue mission the 
highest mountaineering(cont.

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC PROJECT 
BEING CONSIDERED FOR CITY YARDS

A presentation on a potential solar 
photovoltaic project at the City Yards 
facility took place at Tuesday night’s 
City Council meeting, and was met 
with a request directed to City staff 
for more information about the 
endeavor. 

Photovoltaic cells (solar panels) 
absorb sunlight and converts it 
into electricity. Sierra Madre has 
discussed adding such a project for 
several years. One of the biggest 
questions has been where do they 
put it? 

In early 2019, resident industry 
experts Robert Parkhurst and 
Matthew Schneider met with Mayor 
John Harabedian, Mayor Pro Tem 
John Capoccia and city staff and 
discussed the feasibility of a 65,000 
square-foot solar photovoltaic, 
ground mounted, array facility at the 
City Yards site which resides north 
of Hal Dapper Field (611 E Sierra 
Madre Blvd.).

By October 2019, the team received 
and reviewed eight proposals and, 
by December 2019, four of the 
applicants were asked to provide 
additional information regarding 
financing. Currently, the City Yards’ 
site consists of two basins which 
would be repurposed for the project. 

The proposal would include the 
installation of 1,404 solar panels 
expected to produce 554.6 kWs 
direct current. An approximate 989, 
000 kWh of energy are expected 
to be offset by the panels a savings 
of about $126,000. The green 
move would help avoid 715 tons 
of Co2 emissions cut down on oil 
dependency by 1,500 barrels. 

The anticipated cost of going solar 
would be approximately $1,134,029. 
The turnkey cost per watt is $2.04. 
The hope is that in nine years, 
this project will pay for itself. The 
construction of such a project may 
have some impact of surrounding 
properties, mainly in the manner of 
removal of trees and shrubs. Some 
residents close to the site worry 
about the impact of project including 
construction noise, damage to land, 
trees and stirring up additional dust 
in the air. 

Energy generated by the solar 
photovoltaic project is expected to 
be directly pumped into the water 
distribution system. 

Council will look to vote on 
approving this project at a future 
meeting after further discussion. 


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