DON'T FORGET TO VOTE! TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020

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

 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020 

VOLUME 14 NO. 44VOLUME 14 NO. 44


LOOKING FOR THINGS TO DO IN 

SIERRA MADRE ON HALLOWEEN? 

 How about strolling through town and viewing the fabulous Halloween 
Poster Art in downtown merchants’ windows, on Sierra Madre 
Blvd. from Lima St. to Baldwin Ave. Oct. 24 - Nov. 2. All work was 
done in local households. (Sponsored by Sierra Madre Civic Club)

PLANNING COMMISSION TURNS UP 
HEAT ON CITY COUNCIL DURING 
OUTDOOR EVENT By Kevin McGuire

The expectation was to hold 
a pleasant outdoor meeting 
under the stars in beautiful 
Memorial Park, but, in the cool 
night air, things heated up a bit 
as community attendees and 
Planning Commission members 
scolded the City Council on a 
number of hot topics during the 
last assembly before Election Day. 

 Though, there have always been 
civil discussions and disagreements 
between the Planning Commission 
and the City Council as a normal 
part of any government, tensions 
seemed to flare up starting back 
in July 2020, when Council moved 
forward with a plan to reduce 
commission seats from seven to 
five members due to difficulty 
filling open positions. At the time, 
the Planning Commission had 
six seats filled and one unfilled 
vacancy. 

 But, that changed on October 22, 
2020 when Planning Commission 
Vice Chair and architect, Joe 
Catalano resigned from his 
position at the request of Mayor 
John Capoccia for an undisclosed 
incident. 

 Now, with a 42-unit project 
approved on the Monastery 
grounds and several other projects 
within the city, the Planning 
Commission is officially down to 
five members. 

 During the public comment 
portion of the meeting, several 
spoke on Catalano’s behalf.

 “One of the most respected 
Planning Commission members 
was asked to resign. If he didn’t 
resign, and it had to go to Council 
vote, ‘it was going to get ugly.’ This 
is an architect who cared about the 
community and was passionate 
about helping people with their 
historic homes,” said resident Gary 
Hood. The quote ‘it was going 
to get ugly,’ references what the 
Mayor said to Catalano according 
to Catalano’s conversation with 
Hood. 

 “What you have done is 
unconscionable,” said resident 
Deb Sheridan. “Mayor Capoccia, 
for no real reason…demanded 
the resignation of one of our fine 
commissioners, Joe Catalano. 
Mayor Capoccia, I remind 
you that YOU were the one 
who recommended him to the 
Council…WHAT IS GOING ON 
HERE?!,” Sheridan exclaimed. 

 Mayor Capoccia defended his 
actions while not disclosing the 
exact reason for his call for a 
resignation by Catalano. “Anybody 
who knows me knows that I 
wouldn’t do anything like this 
without good reason. I thought 
through it very carefully and made 
a decision on what I thought was in 
the best interest of Sierra Madre,” 
Capoccia stated. 

The Fault is in the Design

 The next round came later in 
the night with the public hearing 
discussing amendments to the 
municipal code to streamline 
the design review process. The 
objective back in April 2020 aimed 
for a design review process that 
“reduced regulation and increased 
objectivity” as City Council stated 
that the current design review 
process was “inherently subjective 
and difficult to interpret and apply 
consistently.” 

 Back in 2017, City Council 
designed new review thresholds 
with the goal in mind to “preserve 
the small-town character, protect 
mountain views and promote 
architectural diversity.” Many of 
the subjective rules applied at the 
time caused confusion among 
homeowners and more frustration 
for both City Council and the 
Planning Commission. 

 By 2020 there was concern over the 
impact of legislative housing bills, 
so a subcommittee was formed 
to recommend amendments 
to current design review 
process. Of the 10 alternative 
recommendations presented to 
City Council, option 8 was agreed 
upon. The approval of Resolution 
20-16 amends design review
authority subject to administrative
design review by staff with appeal
to the Planning Commission and
City Council. But the vote did
not come until members of the
Planning Commission voiced
displeasure of the process.

“I want to point out to the Council 
that the Planning Commission
is very, very frustrated,” said Bob
Spears, Planning Commission
member. We try very hard
to do our job. There is no
communication between the three
entities [City Council, Staff and
Planning Commission]. We are
like blind people trying to figure
out what you want us to do. You
cut us down from seven to five. We
use to have three architects, now
we have one. You need to step up.
You need to sit down with us and
have a conversation, because right
now, City Staff, City Council and
the Planning Commission are not
together and the city is going to
pay dearly for the process,” Spears
said to applause from the audience. 

 Mayor Capoccia pointed out 
several points of communication 
with the Planning Commission 
through joint meetings and 
acknowledged that he himself had 
attended all Planning Commission 
meetings and was available for 
questions. “I really, really disagree 
with that characterization that 
there is no communication,” 
Capoccia said. 

 Resolution 20-16 will give City 
Staff the authority on reviews 
of projects as an Administrative 
Design Review Permit, which 
would appeal to the Planning 
Commission. This will reduce 
the cost and processing time to 
applicants in most cases. 

 Two members of City Council, 
Mayor Capoccia and Council 
Member John Harabedian are not 
seeking another term and will 
be replaced, along with the seat 
vacated early by Council Member 
Denise Del Mar. City Council did 
not want to pass design review 
matters to the new Council for 
2021. 

 The Resolution passed 
unanimousely.


POLITICAL HARASSMENT STRIKES A 
NEW LOW IN SIERRA MADRE


Sierra Madre is generally a friendly 
town where diversity of political 
opinions have supported many a 
local coffee shop. Normally, during 
local campaigns, signs sometimes 
'disappear' on occasion. In 
fact, in this year's city council race, 
Candidate Josefina Riley has been 
the victim of the local 'sign' thieves. 
However, as much as such behavior 
is annoying, 
to have vandals 
enter and deface 
private property 
as indicated above, 
and leave an arrogant 
calling card 
is another story. 
People have the right to post whatever they choose on their property. 
Vandals who violate those rights, trespass and break the law, should 
be punished. Perhaps ther DNA will come to light one day. MVNews