In addition, Sierra Madre is “unusual but not unique” in requiring 
approval upon finding that the TUP is consistent with its General Plan. 
Lastly, since 2022, Sierra Madre is the only jurisdiction that requires 
notification of the acceptance of any TUP to all residents within a 
300-foot radius of the event site and on-site event monitoring on any 
site outside the Measure V Area anticipating 100 or more guests.

Wolf recommends The Planning Commission consider the following:

• Reconsider any regulation using the number of guests as a 
basis

• Reconsider criteria to which an event monitor is necessary

• Tighten the regulation on standards for temporary uses such 
as duration, frequency, noise, lighting, and parking

• Ease requirements to notify neighbors 

• Clarify and specify how to determine qualification for a fee 
waiver and which fee or fees would be waived.

Other potential uses for a TUP include garage sales, filming, and 
building.

With all the rules, regulations, and restrictions, getting a HOP or 
TUP seems expensive, complicated, and confusing. Here are some of 
the problems the City Council could face. 

• What isn’t a permanently authorized use at any given 
residential site that can function temporarily? 

• Is a simple lemonade stand an unauthorized use yet still a use 
consistent with the general plan? If so, how is it distinguished from 
any other profit-deriving activity? 

• Garage and yard sales, which generate additional traffic, may 
be permitted up to three times yearly at a residence. How should other 
profit-deriving activities be considered with respect to the consistency 
of the general plan?

If the City Council decides on an ordinance amendment to fine-tune 
the rules and regulations regarding permits and fees, a first public 
hearing could be scheduled as early as June 2024. But first, discussions 
with the Planning Commission will take place to discuss Wolf’s 
recommendations and other TUP roadblocks the City Council faces. 

3

 
Saturday, March 16, 2024 


Weather Wise

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side

by Deanne Davis


6-Day Forecast Sierra Madre, Ca.

“Of Wistaria blooms, I caught sight, today,

And ever since as violet of the deepest hue,

My passion, grows ever more profound!” Ise

“In memory of the spring now passing, I drew the long clusters

of wistaria that move like waves.” Masaoka Shiki

The Wistaria Festival is this Sunday and I thought I would show 
you the beautiful picture of wistaria I took up on Grandview, just a 
block or two from Santa Anita a year or so ago. The day was exquisite, 
warm, sunny and it was such a joy to see this lovely rich purple flower 
in bloom again. 

Our world-famous vine is growing and becoming even more 
beautiful. If you want to see some really fine wistaria right now, take 
a look downtown at city hall. Actually, if you look hard enough, you 
see wistaria peeking out here and there all over town. Just keep an eye 
peeled for those lovely purple blossoms, like those here in my picture!

I’ve been hanging onto the most wonderful article on wisteria, (The 
rest of the world spells itwisteria…Sierra Madre, being unique, spells 
it wistaria.) which ran in the Star News in 2015. Joshua Siskin, who 
writes The Smarter Gardener for several papers gave me permission 
to use his work and I quote:

“It has been several weeks since wisteria stopped blooming, but still I think of it. Its curtains of opulent laveder-
violet flower clusters are hard to forget. All year long, except for a single brief moment in late winter and early 
spring, wisteria is a vine that shows nothing of ornamental interest. It does serve a utilitarian purpose in covering 
an arbor and thus provides shade for those strolling or dining al fresco. But without its flowers, wisteria would 
probably not be planted much, if at all.

I think that people, too, have this wisteria-like quality. We might go for months living a drab, humdrum sort of 
existence until we suddenly flower brilliantly for a brief, yet memorable moment. Indeed, most of the time we 
do our jobs well and provide assistance and sustenance for others. Yet, how often do we bloom, giving something 
that, coming from our best and truest self, delights and inspires the world around us? Long ago in Lithuania, 
there was a rabbi named Yisrael Salanter who said that “the greatest distance in the universe is the distance 
between your head and your heart.” When our noblest and most idealistic aspirations, those that we carry

around in our minds, somehow reach our hearts, that is when we truly blossom.”

Nice! No wonder I keep it in my calendar for March!

There will be so many fun things to do at our Wistaria Festival, including an auto show, crafters galore and, oh my 
friends, the food! Hoping for sunshine and a glorious day for us all to visit our fabulous vine.

March 17 is also St. Patrick’s Day – Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day! Think green beer, wear green or someone 
will pinch you, corned beef and cabbage and be careful driving! 

Speaking of St. Patrick’s Day: “Why should you never iron a four-leaf clover? You don’t want to press your luck!”

“Daffodils, that come before the swallow dares, and take the winds of March with beauty.”

William Shakespeare

You might not know this, but the flower of March is the daffodil. I love daffodils and when those green spears start 
poking out of the ground, it’s a signal to rejoice. The daffodil symbolizes affection, new beginnings, optimism and 
sympathy. If you were born in March, you are outgoing and affectionate, you are creative and have a good sense 
of humor. You are a peace-lover and strive to resolve conflicts. You are a caring and loving person. You are kind 
and compassionate.

 As I mentioned last week, my daughter, Patti, and her daughter, Nicole, were both born on March 1st and they 
both embody all these wonderful qualities. 

“The only trouble with trouble-shooting is that sometimes trouble shoots back!”

“Fixing computer glitches and hacks is just like a stroll in the park. Jurassic Park, that is!”

You may remember in recently in Walking Sierra Madre, I mentioned my computer was being hacked and violated 
by evil demons. A marvelous person named Keith was highly praised in our neighborhood newsletter and I 
made the call. He appeared last Tuesday and turned out to be one of the nicest people I’d met in a while. He went 
through my computer right here at my very desk and we discovered possible spots of invasion. He unplugged 
everything and took my hard drive away. Friends and neighbors, when one is used to doing a lot of stuff on their 
computer and then it’s gone, one feels…well…pathetic and useless. But I’m happy to report the exorcism was 
successful and I am back online! Huzzah!

Easter is only a couple of weeks away. “The 
Crown,” a story about what could have happened 
to the Crown of Thorns that pierced Jesus’ brow, 
is now an actual book, in addition to a Kindle 
book.

“The Crown” will enrich your Easter experience.

Available on Amazon.com Deanne Davis

 Sun Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Mon: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Tues: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Wed: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s

 Thur: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Fri: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s

Forecasts courtesy of the National Weather Service

SIERRA MADRE CITY MEETINGS

SIERRA MADRE CITY 

COUNCIL MEETING

MARCH 26, 2024 5:30pm

THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD 
IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS!

As part of the City of Sierra Madre’s 

COVID-19 transparency efforts and The 
Brown Act provides the public with an opportunity 
to make public comments at any 
public meeting. Public comment may also be 
made by e-mail to PublicComment@CityofSierraMadre.
com by 3:00 p.m. on the day of 
the meeting. 

Emails will be acknowledged at the Council 
meeting and filed into public record. The 
public may also comment in person at the 
meeting.

The meetings will be streamed live on Foothills 
Media website at foothillsmedia.org/sierramadre 
and broadcast on Government 

Access Channel 3 (Spectrum)..



1630 AM EMERGENCY RADIO & 

Free on-air publicity for local events

 Sierra Madre’s EMERGENCY radio station is now accepting scripts for 
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about community events. PSAs 
will be broadcast on the air at no charge. The station operates 24/7 and can 
be heard at 1630 on the AM dial.

 Any local non-profit or non-commercial organization can have their 
event information broadcast to the public on Sierra Madre Community 
Information Radio. The station covers the city of Sierra Madre, plus 
surrounding areas of Pasadena, Arcadia, and Monrovia. 

Your event must:

• Benefit a non-commercial or non-profit entity
• Be open to the public
• Be of general interest to local citizens


Just 
write a Public Service Announcement that describes your event and 
e-mail it to radio@cityofsierramadre.com. 


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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.