"The time is always right to do what is right."- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

HONOR THE DAY WITH SERVICE & CIVILITY - JANUARY 15, 2024

 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2024 

VOLUME 18 NO. 02VOLUME 18 NO. 02

webbmartingroup.com
Take Advantage of Our Combined 95 
YEARS in the Business!
Our Experience and Expertise 
= Your GAIN. 
Jan Greteman 626.975.4033lic #01943630Judy Webb-Martin 626.688.2273lic #00541631Katie Orth 626.688.0418lic #00942500Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal 
Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01991628. All material presented herein 
is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed 
reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may 
be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All 
measurements and square footage are approximate. If your property is currently listed 
for sale this is not a solicitation.
Cheers to a year filled 
with property value 
appreciation and 
personal growth. 
From Your Sierra Madre 
Real Estate Team, 
The Webb Martin GroupHappy 
New Year 
2024!
MAY 2023 SPECIAL ELECTION COMES WITH AN 
UNEXPECTED BIG PRICE TAG FOR TAXPAYERS

Final Invoice Exceeds 
Estimate By $97,000

By Kevin McGuire

A special municipal election held in May 9, 
2023, will cost taxpayers almost $100,000 
over the projected estimated amount. The 
election resulted from a referendum process 
put in action to repeal Ordinance 1461 and 
Stop The Housing Project, “The Meadows at 
Bailey Canyon.” 

Known as “Measure M,” the repeal attempt 
failed at the polls, and the plan to build 42 
houses on the Mater Dolorosa Passionist 
Retreat Center (The Monastery) property is 
moving forward. According to Sierra Madre 
City Clerk Laura Aguilar, the final bill for 
this special election now totals $424,218. 
The original estimate received in December 
2023 from the County of Los Angeles which 
ran the election, the cost to the city was 
estimated to be $325,000. Based upon the 
county's estimate, $225,000 will be paid 
from the city's General Fund and according 
to City Manager Jose Reynoso, 100,000 was 
to be paid by New Urban West Developers. 
Reynoso also negotiated with NUWI to pay 
anything over the $325,000 estimate. Based 
upon the final invoice and the negotiated 
agreement, NUWI is expected to pay 
$197,000 of the outstanding balance.

 The matter was discussed on January 9 as 
part of the Consent Calendar during the first 
City Council meeting of the year and the first 
with the new mayor, Kelly Kriebs.

Background

On September 27, 2022, the City Council 
passed Ordinance 1461, approving a 
developing agreement for “The Meadows” 
specific plan project. The ordinance also 
allowed for zoning changes and a zoning map 
amendment to change the project site from 
institutional to residential single-family. 

However, an attempt was made to derail 
the project for the developers New Urban 
West, Inc., when a member of the Steering 
Committee successfully led the charge for a 
Citizen Petition to put an Initiative Measure 
(HR) on the next available ballot. But during 
the General Election in November 2022, the 
Measure was defeated. 

A second attempt followed with a referendum 
summary filed to repeal Ordinance 1461. 
Enough signatures were gathered to get the 
Initiative on the ballot. This effectively tied 
the hands of the developers and City Council. 
The project was frozen and would have to 
wait for the special election on May 9, 2023.

Following this new roadblock, negotiations 
became less friendly, and threats of lawsuits 
against the city came into play. Though 
Ordinance 1461 was put on hold, no appeal 
of Resolution 22-58 was ever filed. This 
kept the developer’s ability to build on the 
property intact. 

On December 20, 2022, as a direct result of 
this referendum being filed, the developers 
submitted a preliminary application for 
a contemplated 50-lot subdivision at the 
700 North Sunnyside Ave. property. The 
project would be known as SB 330. Many 
of the incentives proposed in the previous 
“Meadows” project, such as a public park and 
public safety building donations, were non-
existent in this new proposal. The city had 
little wiggle room to make any changes to the 
building plans.

It was a long wait for May 9 to roll around, 
but when it did, 54.52% voted “Yes” to 
keep the original “Meadows” project, with 
45.48% voting “No,” which would have led 
to the SB 330 project moving forward with 
more homes built and less incentives for the 
community and the city. And now, it’s time to 
pay for this expensive venture. 

Aguilar cited printing costs and postage rates 
for the $100,000 increase due to the number 
of pages in the voter registration guides, 
which need to contain added information 
regarding COVID rules. 

“It’s tough,” said Councilmember Gene 
Goss. “We could use those resources 
for more productive things in the city.” 
Councilmember Kristine Lowe noted that 
all of this could have been prevented. “One 
member of a group could have pulled a special 
election and saved the city $225,000,” Lowe 
said, referring to the STOP the Monastery 
Housing Project and lone signature of a 
memter of the Steering Committee Member, 
who set the repeal Ordinance 1461 process in 
motion, forcing the special election.

After an inquiry about a comparison cost 
by Mayor Pro Tem Robert Parkhurst, City 
Manager Reynoso stated that the Police 
Department requires new vehicles. Two 
vehicles could have been purchased with 
extra the money spent on this election.

The bottom line is that the funds will come 
out of budget reserves the city has been 
able to save due to an excellent budget track 
record and several years of surplus. As former 
Mayor Edward Garcia noted, “This is why it’s 
good to have reserves.” 

BE A FLOAT DESIGNER . . . CONTRIBUTE A DESIGN 
FOR THE 2025 SIERRA MADRE ROSE FLOAT

Each year the Sierra Madre Rose Float Assoc. 
holds a contact to choose a design for our 
next float. Anyone can submit a black & 
white pencil or pen concept drawing on our 
submission form, along with a description. 
This year’s design contest will be held until 
Friday, February 9th, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. 

Please visit our website www.
SierraMadreRoseFloat.org/get-involved/
volunteer/design for additional info, rules and 
guidelines..

INSIDE THIS 
WEEK

REMEMBER: IN OBSERVANCE OF THE 
MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY ALL 
FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL WILL BE 
CLOSED ON MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2024

More Sierra Madre News

Walking Sierra Madre Page 3

Calendar Page 4

Pasadena News Page 5

Altadena/San Marino/So Pas Page 6

Arcadia/Monrovia News Page 7

Around SGV Page 8

 Peter Dills

 New Laws in 2024

Education & Youth Page 9

Best Friends & More Page 10

 Christopher Nyerges

The Good Life Page 11

 Savvy Senior

 Fitness For Life

 Out To Pastor

Opinion Page 12

 Stuart Tolchin

 Rich Johnson

 Tom Purcell 

Legal Notices Page 13

Sports & Entertainment Page 15

 Harvey Hyde

 Sierra Madre Playhouse

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SUPPORT OUR LOCAL 
BUSINESSES


Call us, 
we would love 
to meet with you 
to discuss how 
we can help you 
achieve your 
2024 Real Estate 
Goals. 
Barbara Rogers 
626.484.8135 
CalRe# 01169115 
Eileen Benson 
626.278.0187 
CalRe# 01880650 
􀀒 COLDWELL BANKER 
􀀓 REALTYThe property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service,and it may include approximations.Although 
theinformationisbelievedtobeaccurate,itisnotwarrantedandyoushouldnotrelyuponitwithoutpersonalverification.Affiliatedrealestateagentsareindependentcontractorsalesassociates,not 
employees.©2023 Coldwell Banker.All Rights Reserved.Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker' System is comprised 
of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLCand franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports 
theprinciplesoftheFairHousingActandtheEqualOpportunityAct. 
ARCADIA $2,500,0004 Unit 4,076 sf Apt BuildingAZUSA $750,000 
4 Bed 2 Bath 1,444 sf HomeLONG BEACH $260,000 
1 Bed 1 Bath 600 sf Coop626.355.1451c21village.comLIC# 02119245Serving the Community since 1980FOR SALEFOR SALEFOR SALE