Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 2, 2021

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 2, 2021 


As reported last week, the Preserve Sierra Madre Steering Committee has been studying the 
Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the housing project of 42 large homes (27004000 
square feet) on the Monastery property, as well as their Specific Plan, 13 appendices, 
zoning changes, and the City’s General Plan. We have come to the conclusion that we cannot 
support this Monastery project (The Meadows at Bailey Canyon) as presented for many 
reasons. The major ones are: 

TREES -
The developer’s Specific Plan for the project named The Meadows at Bailey Canyon calls for the 
removal of 100 irreplaceable mature trees, 10 of which are protected Coastal Oak. Removing 
over 100 trees is a significant environmental impact, not only to the Monastery property, 
but to the neighboring community as well. This is in defiance of the General Plan’s goals 
and policies of continued preservation and protection of existing trees, increasing the City’s 
community forest, and continuing to develop tree preservation and protection measures. 

TRAFFIC - 
Goal 3 of the developer’s Specific Plan is “preservation of quiet neighborhoods with limited 
thru traffic.” In reality, the project does nothing to preserve quiet surrounding neighborhoods 
to the east and south. It does, in fact, increase thru traffic by a minimum of 300-400+ car trips 
a day. To get to the project, the cars will have to travel local streets including Sunnyside, Lima, 
Carter and Grove. There is no mention of the impact in the EIR of traffic on these streets. 

WATER - 
The developer has assured the City of ‘net zero’ water usage, which they interpret to mean 
they will purchase water up front for the next 50 years and store it for future use. California 
and surrounding states are in an unprecedented drought. The Colorado River is the lowest it 
has ever been, and its water usage is already being rationed for Nevada, Arizona, and Mexico. 
Imported water is not as sustainable as ground water. General Plan Objective R12 is to 
optimize the use of water resources. Building 42 large homes will be counter to this. 

FIRE -
The project site is located in a very high fire severity zone, according to the Cal Dept of 
Forestry and Fire Protection and our Fire Department. It is inconsistent with our General 
Plan that states clearly that we not expand development in these areas. Local streets can’t 
support emergency equipment. Parts of Sierra Madre have been evacuated three times in the 
last 35 years, and the incidence and intensity of wildfires has been increasing. 

EARTHQUAKES - 
The project is located near the Sierra Madre Fault as well as the Raymond and Clamshell Faults. 
In 1991, the Sierra Madre earthquake damaged one of the Monastery buildings beyond repair 
and 22 homes in the proximity of Sunnyside were condemned, with damage to 403 structures, 
resulting in $12.5 million in damages. 

The Specific Plan disregards the five years of work that volunteer citizens spent creating a 
comprehensive vision and its guiding principles for Sierra Madre, called the General Plan. 
The developers disregarded our vision and replaced it with a poorly written Specific plan 
which is inconsistent with many of our goals, objectives and policies. They call the Specific 
Plan: “Sierra Madre quality’. The project fails to develop high quality housing, fails to 
address traffic issues, and fails to ensure community compatibility with our distinctive small 
town. 

If this concerns you as much as it does us, please send an email or letter with your concerns to: 
vgonzalez@cityofsierramadre.com or you can drop a letter off for Victor Gonzalez, Director of 
Planning and Community Preservation, City Hall, 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Comments must 
be received by 5 pm on Monday, October 4. Please let City Council know how much you care 
about our town. 


WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis 

“When in doubt, go to the library!”
“Knowledge is free at the library. Just bring 
your own container.” 
The only thing you absolutely have to know 
is the location of the library.” 
Albert Einstein 
“It is a person’s duty to have books. 
A library is not a luxury, but one of the 
necessities of life.” Harry Ward Beecher 

The scarecrow photo this week, taken by 
Leah Davis, my adorable oldest daughter, is 
in front of our own personal Sierra Madre 
library. A place where my family and I spent 
many happy hours, wandering through the 
stacks, seeking just the right book to suit 
the mood. Or, more accurately, for as many 
books as they would let us check out at a 
time. 

The librarian in the late 60’s and for many 
years after, Mary Tumilty, who is now checking 
out books to the saints in heaven, granted 
the above-mentioned Leah, an adult library card when she was only twelve as Mary 
adjudged her adult enough to handle it. Leah’s goal at that time was to read all the Perry 
Mason novels, which she did. 


These scarecrow crayons, informing us they are “drawn to the library” celebrate The Day 
the Crayons Came to the Library. There is actually a charming series of books based on 
the activities of some lively crayons: “The Day the Crayons Came Home,” “The Day the 
Crayons Quit” by author, Drew Daywalt. These books are available at our library! 

Don’t forget that the October Best Used Book Sale continues today in the parking lot 
behind the library from 10:00 to 2:00 p.m. As you all know, the Used Book Sale is a treasure 
hunt for books and the price is always right. So let the scare-crayons Draw You to 
The Library! I donated many marvelous books to the Sierra Madre Library a few years 
ago, undoubtedly some of which we purchased at the Used Book Sale. 

“I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.” Jorge Luis Borges 

Most exciting news you already know: The Mt. Wilson Trail Race will actually happen 
this year. October 16th. This race, first run in 1908, is the second oldest trail race in California. 
In case you didn’t know, the Dipsea Race, first run in 1905 is the oldest trail race, 
not only in California, but in America! The 7.4 mile course from Mill Valley to Stinson 
Beach is considered to be one of the most beautiful courses in the world. Of course, it 
doesn’t hold a candle to our Mt. Wilson race which is 8.6 miles in length and the exact 
course has, over the years, been changed by erosion, fires, earthquakes and you might 
even encounter a bear or two. 

“Lions and tigers and bears! Oh my!”
“Bears and coyotes, wild boars! Oh my!” 

You know all about the lions and tigers and bears, Oh my! from the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy 
and her buddies the Scarecrow and the Tin Man are following the yellow brick 
road and are about to meet the Cowardly Lion. They are chanting the lions, tigers and 
bears thing while shaking in their ruby slippers, tin shoes and straw boots. 

Sierra Madre residents are encountering bears and coyotes more and more frequently 
and seem to be able to just admire them, take their pictures, let them enjoy a refreshing 
swim in their pools and hot tubs, clean up the mess and go on with their lives. 

In Rome, Italy, however, the citizens are dealing with an entirely new sort of invader: 
rubbish-seeking wild boars. Entire families of wild boars have become a daily sight in 
Rome as groups of ten to thirty of these animals emerge from the parks surrounding 
the city to trot down the traffic-clogged streets in search of food in Rome’s notoriously 
overflowing rubbish bins. According to an article by Trisha Thomas of the Associated 
Press, “Posting wild boar videos on social media has become something of a sport as 
exasperated Romans capture these scavengers marching past their stores, strollers or 
playgrounds. Italy’s agriculture lobby estimates there are over 2 million wild boars in 
Italy. The region of Lazlo surrounding Rome estimates there are 5,000-6,000 of them in 
city parks, a few hundred of which often abandon the trees for urban asphalt and trash 
bins.” 

Now then, the occasional coyote trotting up the street or a bear or two looking for pizza 
crusts aren’t nearly as bad as herds of wild boars. And then, we have our beautiful deer. 
See! A silver lining in every one of our clouds! 

Watch for scarecrows…you never know where you’ll see one! 
Voting will continue October 5-19. 

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 
For you Emma Gainsworth fans, all her escapades are there AND, there’s a new Emma 
adventure about to release as a Kindle book! 
Emma Gainsworth: Rising From The Ashes 

A WORD FROM SMPFA LOCAL 5216

 The Sierra Madre Fire Department is excited to announce its 34th Annual Fire Prevention 
Festival taking place on Saturday, October 9th, at Memorial Park, from 9AM 
to Noon.

 The Sierra Madre Fire Department's goal is to educate our community members on 
how to best prepare for, and stay safe during, a fire emergency. Stop by the fire prevention 
festival to get important educational information, meet with local agencies, and 
participate in a variety of fun activities. Bring the kids for a fun and engaging activity 
hub that will include games, arts and crafts, goodie bags, and a chance to meet Smokey 
the Bear!

 Many local agencies will be represented at this year's festival, including the Sierra 
Madre Police Department, LA County Fire Department, Angeles National Forest, Sierra 
Madre Search & Rescue, Pasadena Humane Society, and many more. Stay tuned 
for more updates. 


REGISTRATION OPEN FOR 
DOWNTOWN HALLOWEEN ART 

Sierra Madre Civic Club is calling all Sierra Madre households 
to sign up for the 2021 Downtown Halloween ARTevent. The activity is sponsored by Sierra Madre CivicClub and is free to participants. 

All ages from a single address are welcome to draw orpaint any Halloween theme on the paper “canvas” thatwill be delivered free to your front door. Any mediumyou chose for your artwork is acceptable – crayons, markers, 
pencils, paint and ink are just a few ideas. Be creative! 

To register, sign up on-line on our website: 
sierramadrecivicclub.org before October 8, 2021. You will find additional information 
about the activity on the website. The deadline to return your completed artwork is 
October 19th. 
If you have any questions, please contact Karma Bell, Civic Club Halloween Chair at355-6487, or info@sierramadrecivicclub.com 

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