Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, April 15, 2023

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Mountain View News Saturday, April 15, 2023 


SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER

City of Sierra Madre

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

From: The City of Sierra Madre

Subject: HISTORIC CULTURAL LANDMARK DESIGNATION

Applicant: Sarah and Jeff DeFlorio 

Project Location: 617 and 619 W. Montecito Avenue, 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 Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing 
to consider, as recommendation for approval by the City Council, the nomination for local historic cultural landmark status 
to designate the property located at 617 and 619 West Montecito Avenue as the “Osgood House” in the City’s Register of Historic 
Resources. The Osgood House is a Craftsman home with design and workmanship retained since its original construction. The 
property is also associated with the productive life of the Osgood family; Captain J.A. Osgood contributed as land surveyor and 
Mrs. Caroline L. Osgood contributed as founder and first president of the Sierra Madre Woman’s Club. Pursuant to Sierra Madre 
Municipal Code Section 17.82.050, a property may be designated a historic landmark if it meets prescribed historic or architectural 
criteria. 

DATE AND TIME OF HEARING PLACE OF HEARING

City of Sierra Madre City of Sierra Madre

Planning Commission City Council Chambers

Thursday, May 4, 2023 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.

(Hearing begins at 7:00 p.m.) Sierra Madre, CA 

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

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The request for designation qualifies for a Categorical Exemption, pursuant to Sections 
15301 and 15331 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as it involves no expansion of an existing structure and 
pertains to preservation of a historic resource. 

APPEAL: The decision of the Planning Commission is subject to a 10-business-day appeal period to the City Council. If in the 
future anyone wishes to challenge the decision of the Planning Commission in court, one may be limited to raising the issues that 
were raised or presented in written correspondence delivered to the Planning Commission at, or before, the scheduled public hearing. 
For further information on this subject, please contact the Planning & Community Preservation at (626) 355-7138.

The following represents a summary report of some of the major incidents 
handled by the Sierra Madre Police Department during this period. 
This list is not intended to be considered exclusive or all-inclusive.

Sunday, April 2nd

Vehicle Code Violation

At approximately 3 AM, officers responded to the 400 block of Madre Lane for reports 
of vehicle tampering. The reporting party captured an unknown suspect via 
surveillance camera attempting to open his drivers side door to his vehicle.

The Detectives Bureau is following up on this incident

Sunday, April 2nd

Theft from Motor Vehicle

At approximately 3 PM, officers responded to the 600 block of Woodland Drive for 
reports of a theft from motor vehicle. The reporting party discovered that unknown 
suspect(s) made entry to their vehicle and stole personal belongings.

The Detectives Bureau is following up on this incident.

Monday, April 3rd

Drug Violation Arrest

At approximately 2 PM, officers responded to the Bailey Canyon Park for reports 
of female asking for help.Upon arrival, officers contacted a male and female. The 
female was released and the male was arrested and booked for drug violations.

Monday, April 3rd

Traffic Accident

At approximately 2 PM, officers responded to the 100 block of E Grandview Ave for 
reports of a traffic collision. Upon arrival, officers discovered that an an unknown 
driver collided with a parked motor vehicle and fled the scene without leaving information 
or contacting the police department.The Detectives Bureau is following 
up on this incident.

Tuesday, April 4th

Theft from Motor Vehicle

At approximately 3 PM, officers responded to the 200 block of Old Ranch Road for 
reports of a theft from motor vehicle. The reporting party discovered that unknown 
suspect(s) made entry to their vehicle and stole personal belongings.

The Detectives Bureau is following up on this incident.

MORE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 

JUST STOP…

What is this crazy talk about the eight additional 
houses on the SB 330 project being built 
on top of a stormwater detention basin? No one 
has ever proposed such a thing. Do these people 
just make this stuff up? All the facts are publicly 
available in city documents on their website.

 

The Meadows project detention basin is partially 
underground to accommodate the park 
space and ~0.5 acres, compared to the SB 330 
project’s above ground basin at ~0.65 acres. 
The park area is just over 3 acres, so that leaves 
about 2.5 acres after subtracting the detention 
basin. The homes take up about 0.22 acres each, 
or 1.75 acres, leaving .75 acres for the road and 
other green space. Consider that the experts 
who draw up the plans know what they are doing, 
at least more so than Sierra Madre’s amateur 
backyard civil engineers.

 

Robert Gjerde


GREETINGS AND GOOD HEALTH TO ALL MY SIERRA MADRE NEIGHBORS, 

I first set eyes on Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat (our former Monastery) and Passionist Retreat 
Center in mid-May 1967. It was easy on the eyes. Little did I know that this was going to 
be the first of many visits, and that Mater Dolorosa would be my home during the seventies, the 
nineties and now, for the last eight years. 

The first time I lived here, I was introduced to our Family Fiesta, with all the hustle and bustle of 
the small-town carnival. We served the best food for miles around! It was not difficult to say YES 
to my superiors when I was assigned here. 

I was here in the nineties to oversee the demolition of our beloved Monastery home, which was 
severely damaged by the June 1991 earthquake and declared unfit for occupancy. It was such a 
clear cut case, yet I was surprised by the opposition from a very small group of people who, with 
no legal claim, tried to stop us from keeping our property safe for all of us who lived here and the 
thousands of people who pass through our gates to pray, receive the sacraments, be healed of the 
many personal and serious life-issues that living brings to us, and celebrate marriages, baptisms, 
anniversaries and other occasions of joy. Over the years, we have said YES to all those who have 
come. 

The City of Sierra Madre and its citizens have always been good neighbors to us, and I have never 
met a Passionist who lived here or visited here say a bad word about them. Over the years, we 
have established many personal friends within the good people of Sierra Madre. We have always 
said YES to their friendship. 

I am concerned that Measure M could cause Sierra Madre to lose its good name by unfairly 
limiting property rights in the city. We simply want to exercise the same constitutional rights 
that each homeowner has, to sell a small portion of our property for our benefit. We have done 
this the good old-fashioned American way: negotiating for the best deal, following all the legal 
requirements of the State and City, and going before the elected City Council, who took over two 
years to say YES to our request. 

With Measure M, it seems that we are dealing with people who do not believe the word of the 
authorities who have faithfully reviewed all the required procedures for the approval of the development 
of The Meadows and, thus, our planned property sale. These people do not seem to 
believe in the results of legitimate elections by the people or in the authority vested in our City 
Council. The people of Sierra Madre, through their vote opposing Measure HR, and our City 
Council, by supporting a YES vote on Measure M, have acknowledged the correctness and benefits 
of our plans. 

Let us be clear about what this election is about. Primarily, it is not about who has the right to sell 
property in Sierra Madre but about who the citizens of Sierra Madre trust to govern: those elected 
or those who feel that they have the right to make laws. This election is about trust. A YES vote 
on Measure M means we trust the process and our elected leaders. 

 

Your YES vote on Measure M is needed! EVERY vote is needed to send a message to the people 
of San Gabriel Valley, who are watching us to see if we want to be governed by a small number of 
people who have not been elected to govern us. Make no mistake, an absent vote is not a YES vote. 

Next time you want to sell your home, or a member of your family or a good friend needs to sell 
their home for a better future, do you want them to go through this much trouble and expense? 
Of course not!

Whether by mail ballot or in person, please vote YES on Measure M! 

A fellow citizen of Sierra Madre,

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P.

CITY ATTORNEY'S 

IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS 
OF MEASURE M

This referendum seeks to overturn 
Ordinance No. 1461, which

approved (1) a Zoning Map Amendment; 
(2) a Specific Plan;

and (3) a Development Agreement 
for "The Meadows Project"

Background

The Congregation of the Passion, 
Mater Dolorosa Community, 
("Congregation") is the owner of 
property located at 700 North

Sunnyside Avenue, Sierra Madre, 
CA 91204 ("Property"). 

In partnership with NUWI-Sierra 
Madre LLC ("Developer"), Congregation 
seeks to develop approximately 
17.3 acres of the Property. 
The proposed development, referred 
to as "The Meadows at Bailey 
Canyon" or "The Meadows Project",

includes up to 42 single-family 
homes (9.19 acres), roadways (3.68 
acres), a public park (3.01 acres), 
HOA open space (0.35), and a landscape 
buffer (1.07 acre).

Procedural History

On August 18, 2022, the Planning 
Commission unanimously recommended 
approval of The Meadows 
Project to the City Council. On 
September 20, 2022, the City Council 
adopted Resolution No. 22-58:

• certifying an Environmental 
Impact Report;

• adopting findings of fact and a 
mitigation and monitoring

program under the California 
Environmental Quality Act;

• approving a General Plan land 
use map amendment; and

• approving a lot line adjustment.

On September 27, 2022, the City 
Council adopted Ordinance

No. 1461 approving:

• a zoning map amendment;

• a specific plan; and

• a development agreement.

On January 10, 2023, the City 
Council certified the sufficiency

of a petition to referend Ordinance 
No. 1461 signed by 1,222

qualified residents.

Referendum

This referendum does not protest 
the City Council's decision to

adopt Resolution No. 22-58, which 
has now taken effect. This

referendum only protests the City 
Council's decision to adopt

Ordinance No. 1461. The individual 
components of Ordinance

No. 1461 are summarized below.

• The zoning map amendment 
proposes changing the zoning

designation of the Property from 
Institutional to Single Family

Residential R-1 with a Specific 
Plan Overlay.

• The Specific Plan outlines 
the development standards and 
guidelines governing the construction 
of homes in The Meadows 
Project. Where the Specific 
Plan is silent as to a development 
standard, the Sierra Madre Municipal 
Code controls.

• The development agreement is 
a contract between the City,

Congregation, and Developer. 
The development agreement

secures additional concessions 
from the Congregation and Developer 
as part of The Meadows 
Project that cannot be obtained 
through either the Sierra Madre 
Municipal Code or as an ordinary 
condition of a development 
approval. Those additional concessions 
include the following:

• Recordation of conservation 
easements on the northern most

portion of the Property above the 
Retreat Center and on two additional 
hillside parcels;

• Development of a public park 
of approximately 3.01 acres to be 
dedicated to the City;

• Payment of $983,500 to increase 
the City's supplemental 
water supply and offset the development's 
impact on the City's

water system; and • Payment of 
$250,000 to the City for public 
safety purposes. Vote

A YES vote would uphold Ordinance 
No. 1461, allowing the zoning 
map amendment, specific plan, 
and development agreement to 
take effect.

A NO vote would repeal Ordinance 
No. 1461.

ALEKS R. GIRAGOSIAN

February 15, 2023

Sierra Madre City Attorney

The above statement is an impartial 
analysis of City Council Ordinance 
No. 1461. If you desire a copy of the

ordinance or measure, please call 
the City Clerk at (626) 355-7135 
and a copy will be mailed at no cost 
to you.

Alternatively, you can download a 
copy of City Council

Ordinance No. 1461 at

https://www.cityofsierramadre.
com/cityhall/city_manager_

s_office/transparency/Meadows.

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