ALEGRIA AVE. IN SIERRA MADRE CLOSED FOR HALLOWEEN....Pg. 15

October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2020 

VOLUME 14 NO. 43VOLUME 14 NO. 43

With so many red hot real estate markets 
across the country, DIY-minded sellers 
might get ahead of themselves and 
decide they can sell their own home. 
With low inventory levels and sky-high 
prices, it might be tempting to stick a 
sign in the ground and see what they can 
get (without paying that pesky agent 
commission, of course). 
broker lic. #01514230 | source: CoreLogic, Freddie Mac, BankrateTHEWEBB-MARTIN GROUPJan Greteman 626.975.4033jan@jangreteman.com 
jangreteman.com #01943630Judy Webb-Martin 626.688.2273jwmartin@dppre.com #00541631 
Katie Orth 626.688.0418korth@dppre.com #00942500•Your safety is a priority a real estateprofessional will have the proper protocolsin place to protect your belongings andfamily's health and well-being.
•A powerful online strategy is a must toattract a buyer recent studies from NARhave shown that, the first step 44% of allbuyers took when looking for a home wasto search online. Throughout the process,
that number jumps to 93%.
•As part of their training, agents are taughthow to negotiate every aspect of the realestate transaction and how to mediate theemotions felt by buyers looking to makewhat is probably the largest purchase oftheir lives.
•Having a buyer who wants to purchaseyour house is the first step. Makingsure they can afford to buy it is justas important. As a FSBO, it's almostimpossible to be involved in the mortgageprocess of your buyer.
•FSBOing has become more difficult froma legal standpoint. In an increasinglylitigious society, the agent acts as athird-party to help the seller avoid legaljeopardy. This is one of the major reasonswhy the percentage of people FSBOinghas dropped from 19% to 8% over the last20+ years.
•A study by collateral analytics revealedthat FSBOs don’t actually save anythingby forgoing the help of an agent. Insome cases, the seller may even net lessmoney from the sale. The study found thedifference in price between a FSBO and anagent-listed home was an average of 6%.
It’ll practically sell itself, right? 
Not so fast. 
Here are six reasons that 
FSBOs typically find selling much 
harder than they imagined.
When the buyers don’t come running 
after putting the house up for sale, 
for-sale-by-owners (FSBOs) are left 
scratching their heads, perplexed about 
what’s happening. After all, they don’t 
know what they don’t know. 
Listing on your own leaves you to manage the 
entire transaction by yourself. Why do that 
when you can hire an agent and still net the 
same amount of money? Before you decide 
to take on the challenge of selling your house 
alone, reach out to one of us to discuss your 
options.
AND THE WINNERS ARE.....

The Creative Arts Group announces the winners 
for the 2020 Scarecrow Festival

The Creative Arts Group 2020 Scarecrow Festival is pleased to 
announce the winners for Most Popular Business and Most Popular 
Residential entries.

In the Business Category, (above) first place goes to Poppy Cake Baking 
Company’s entry “Craven;” second place goes to Little Mountain 
Salon’s entry “Beetlejuice,” and third place goes to Lunch Salon’s entry 
“Balloony Tooney.”

In the Residential Category, (below) first place goes to “Baby Yoda” 
(801 Skyland Drive.), second place goes to “SMiles” (displayed at 
City Hall - 232 W Sierra Madre Blvd.), and third place goes to “Bella 
Donna” (displayed at SM Middle School - 160 N Canon Ave.). 

This year’s Festival, coordinated by Chair Jennifer Shamlian, was the 
biggest yet with 125 Scarecrows entered, 38 from businesses and 87 
from residents. The entries were bolstered by the participation of the 
Art Program at Sierra Madre Middle School and the contributions of 
local church and community youth groups. 

 “We have been so heartened by the number of participants we have 
had this year,” remarked Creative Arts Group Executive Director 
Kristin Naran. “This is not something that would work in every town! 
It is so wonderful to see how our community comes together. The 
Scarecrows on Instagram and Facebook have been terrific.” 

All winners were selected by the community through votes entered 
on Facebook and submitted paper ballots. Each will receive a 
commemorative award from Creative Arts Group. 

The Creative Arts Group Scarecrow Festival is made possible through 
the support of its sponsors: Arnold’s Frontier Hardware, Canyon Canine, 
Dilbeck Real Estate, GEM Plumbing, Kiwanis Club of Sierra 
Madre, Mountain Views News and Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce.


COUNCIL TO HOLD HEARING ON 
DESIGN REVIEW STANDARDS

 The Sierra Madre City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 
27, 2020 at 6:30 pm has agendized a public hearing on the revision of 
the city's Design Review Standards for use by the Planning Commission 
and the Planning Department. The guidelines define the process for the 
issuance of development permits in the city. 

 Recommended changes were submitted to the Planning Commission 
for review more than a year ago, however, the commission's revisions 
were not adopted by the council.

 The changes submitted by the city were developed out of necessity because 
of recent changes in state law, SB330 - The Housing Crisis Act 
of 2019. The bill removes a significant amount of power from cities in 
determining what kind of housing is permitted.

 For many Sierra Madre residents, any action, whether by the council 
or State government which appears to put the city at risk of losing its' 
village character, is a problem. The state has removed local jurisdiction 
over 'new mixed-use development projects, multi-family developments, 
low-income housing, and single family housing with an ADU's. The local 
planning commission may still determine the fate of proposed new 
large single family housing.

 Mayor John Capoccia is keenly 
aware of the challenges that 
not only SB330 bring to the 
city, but also the looming mandate 
for 204 additional housing 
units under the RHNA 
requirements. (http://mtnviewsnews.
com/v14/htm/n41/
index.htm ). Failure to comply 
with either the new state law 
or the RHNA requirements 
would have a negative impact 
on Sierra Madre. Capoccia is 
hoping that the council and 
planning commission can 
agree on acceptable revised 
Design Review Standards that 
will not only satisfy the state 
requirements but also preserve 
the character of Sierra Madre. 
His target for getting this accomplished 
is before the end of his term in December.

 The meeting will be held outdoors at the Bandshell. Masks and social 
distancing are required. It will also be live streamed via the city's website. 
S. Henderson/MVNews 


WELL RESPECTED 
ARCHITECT 

RESIGNS FROM PLANNING 
COMMMISSION



Joe Catalano, AIA, longtime Sierra 
Madre resident and member of the 
Planning Commission turned in 
his resignation on Thursday at the 
request of Mayor Capoccia.

 Catalano, who has received numerous 
awards for his work on historic 
preservation projects, many in the 
Pasadena area, served on the commission 
since 2017. He is currently 
a lecturer in Urban and Regional 
Planning at Cal Poly Pomona and a 
member of numerous Sierra Madre 
community groups.


SIERRA MADRE LITTLE LEAGUE AND SIERRA MADRE 
GIRLS SOFTBALL HOST BBQ LUNCH TO THANK SIERRA 
MADRE FIRE, POLICE AND CITY EMPLOYEES

Last month’s Bobcat Fire was a close call for Sierra Madre and made the community 
even more grateful for the dedication of our Fire, Police and City employees. 
As a gesture of thanks and support, Sierra Madre Little League and 
Sierra Madre Girls Softball Association sponsored a gourmet BBQ lunch for 
over 60 city employees on Friday, October 23. Chef and Little League President 
Russ Meek grilled steak, chicken and vegetables, accompanied by salad and 
Spanish rice (rice donated by Casa del Rey). Board members and parents from 
both leagues helped organize and serve the lunch, including Paul Alva, Kristin 
Petersen Baldrica and Paula Jetton from SMGSA and Kelly Kriebs, Ed Garcia, 
Lisa Carlson and Franco Braden from SMLL. The baseball and softball leagues 
presented the Fire and Police Departments with mounted Thank You posters 
signed by community members and local businesses as a token of appreciation 
for their tireless work to protect our community during the Bobcat Fire.


THINKING OF MAKING A U TURN?

Probably not a good idea! Increased incidents of illegal turns on Sierra 
Madre Blvd. has led to increased PD enforcement!

 An observant resident noticed an unusual sight last week and reported 
it to the Mountain Views News. The callers, (we received an electronic 
message also), both reported seeing numerous SMPD vehicles that had 
stopped and were ticketing 3 different vehicles.

 Turns out that there has been a significant increase in the number of 
illegal U Turns on the Blvd. in recent weeks and in an effort to keep 
Sierra Madre streets safe, the trend is not being ignored.

 One of the callers was glad to see the PD in action as she stated she 
has almost been hit several times by people driving through town and 
ignoring the city's traffic laws, "especially the yellow flashing lights for 
crosswalks".

 A word of advice while driving through town....No U Turns!