Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, May 23, 2020

BUSINESSES 

Continued from page 1

For some unfortunately, 
this pandemic has forced 
them to close their doors for 
good, as stimulus packages 
didn’t help keep them afloat 
and loan and grant offers 
came a little too late. 

Directly next to the 
Studio Movie Grill is The 
Dollmakers’ Kattywompus, 
a staple of Old Town 
Monrovia and a favorite 
stopping place for locals and 
visitors. It had to shut its 
doors for good. The family-
owned shop started selling 
collectable dolls in the 90s, 
but eventually expanded to 
offer a unique, fun selection 
of games, toys and gifts and 
also entertained crowds 
with live music in front of 
the store on weekends. On 
April 23, their Facebook 
page read: “We will be 
closing our doors after 29 
years of business. Covid-19 
has turned a difficult retail 
business, into an impossible 
one.” Kattywompus was 
more than a store that 
welcomed visitors with a 
Raggedy Ann Welcome 
sign out front. It was part 
of the town and the people 
in it. That is obvious by the 
outpouring of support they 
received on their Facebook page through many endearing comments and sad-faced emojis. 

Unfortunately, Monrovia is just one of many area cities feeling the economic sting of this lingering 
pandemic. Other area businesses are screaming “Uncle” as well. 

taff in many departments are working to support Monrovia businesses. Most business owners need direct 
financial assistance from the federal and state government and the City of Monrovia and its elected 
officials continue lobbying efforts in this regard. Additionally, business owners need communication 
related to COVID-19 updates, especially pertaining to reopening protocols and social distancing protocols. 
We are directing them to resources and relief programs.

 

Here are other things we’ve done or are doing -

 

• Adopted a commercial eviction moratorium.
• Loosened many zoning regulations related to signage and postings in Old Town to provide 
merchants with more advertisement opportunities.
• Waived late fee penalties
• Suspended all parking enforcement except illegal parking related to public health and safety 
(illegal RV parking, ADA, fire hydrant, etc)
• Administrative reviews have been streamlined
• Granted a lot of discretionary authority to the Community Development Director to ensure 
projects are not being held up during Safer At Home Order
• Approved provisional business licenses and payment extensions, ensuring businesses who cannot 
pay for a license may still operate with a valid license
• Provided links to resources and financial relief programs on the Monrovia Strong Webpage.
• Promoted the list of Take Out Options from all Monrovia Restaurants on the website and via 
social media.
• Increased Instagram activity to promote and drive business to Old Town Monrovia. Every week 
we have been focusing on one business in Old Town to highlight. Staff have been coming into town to 
take photos and get content from the businesses.
• Developed and installed the Monrovia Strong Banners in Old Town designed to help keep 
everyone optimistic and remind the community that businesses are still open via online and take out.
• Serving as ombudsman for businesses with LA County Health. We continue lobbying for more 
business reopenings so long as businesses practice social distancing
• Performing ongoing commercial building inspections since day one (several local cities are just 
now starting to do commercial inspections)


Arcadia

Carrie Lynn Barker, the Director of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, has reported no permanent 
business closures as a result of COVID-19, though many have notices of temporary shut-down. These 
sentiments were echoed by Tim Schwehr, Senior Management Analyst for Economic Development 
in Arcadia. “To date I have not heard of any specific companies or businesses in Arcadia that have 
announced permanent closure. So, at this point we are treating all closures as temporary until further 
notice,” Schwehr stated. 

Arcadia has started a #ArcadiaStrong campaign to help support chamber members who are struggling 
through the purchase of swag such as T-shirts and tote bags. And there will also Arcadia Works! set to 
help local businesses overall with a grant program set up through the CARES act. 

But, even as cities slowly re-open for business, this doesn’t mean customers will return right away. 
Many were out of work during the last few months, so budgets are tight, and many more are rightfully 
skeptical about returning to crowded stores and restaurants. 

Over time, things will one day get back to normal. Until then, we need to keep chins up and help out as 
much as we can by buying a meal, buying some swag and hopefully buying local businesses time and 
keeping them thriving. 

3


Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 23, 2020 


City of Sierra Madre

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

From: The City of Sierra Madre

Subject: MUNICIPAL CODE TEXT AMENDMENT 20-02 (MCTA 20-02) 

Applicant: City of Sierra Madre

Project Location: Properties in the 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 recommending adoption of Municipal Code Text Amendment 20-02, amending Chapter 17.34 (Affordable 
Housing), Title 17 (Zoning) of the Sierra Madre Municipal Code. The amendment to the City’s affordable housing ordinance 
is to conform to recent changes to State Density Bonus Law.

The state regulations mandating the granting of a density bonus for eligible projects are found in Government Code Section 
65915 et seq. The latest amendments to this law are designed to make it easier for a developer to build affordable housing by 
attempting to streamline the process of reviewing a density bonus application, expanding the housing options that may take 
advantage of a density bonus (including adding a new housing category that includes units for “transitional foster youth,” 
disabled veterans, or homeless persons), and by lowering the standards to qualify for housing incentives and concessions. 

DATE AND TIME OF HEARING PLACE OF HEARING

Thursday, June 4, 2020 Planning Commission meeting

(Hearing begins at 7:00 p.m.) City of Sierra Madre 

This meeting will be conducted utilizing teleconference communications and will be recorded for live streaming. In accordance 
with the State of California Executive Order N-29-20 dated March 17, 2020, all City of Sierra Madre public meetings 
will be solely available via live streaming and made available on the City’s official website.

 Watch the meeting on Channel 3 (Government Access Channel) or live on the City's website at www.cityofsier 
ramadre.com

 

 Email public comments to: publiccomment@cityofsierramadre.com by 6:00 PM on the day of the meeting.

 Requests for verbal public comment must include name, phone number, and agenda item number and must be e- 
mailed to above email address by 6 PM on the day of the meeting. City staff will call the phone number provided 
at the appropriate public comment time.

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The project qualifies for an exemption from the California Environmental Quality 
Act review pursuant to Title 14, Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Code of Regulations as it can be seen with certainty that 
there is no possibility the adoption of this Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment, because the amendments 
are made to be consistent with the provisions of Government Code section 65915.

APPEAL: A decision by the Planning Commission is subject to a 10-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 and Community Preservation Department at (626) 
355-7138.


MATER DOLOROSA SPEAKS TO ITS' NEIGHBORS

May 18, 2020 

Dear Neighbors,

You may notice some activity in coming days on the Meadow area of Mater Dolorosa, so I’m writing 
to let you know why there are trucks and drilling equipment on our property.

Before the end of the month, geotechnical engineers are scheduled to drill a number of borings on 
the Meadows site so they can extract core samples that will be evaluated for any evidence of faults or 
ancient landslides. This is being done by the homebuilder we are working with, as part of their due 
diligence before they commit to purchasing the site. We anticipate that the work will be concluded 
in just a few days.

Assuming the planning for the proposed new neighborhood on the Meadows continues, the 
geotechnical findings will be included in the Environmental Impact Report and will be available 
then for public review.

Also, I’d like to remind you that our grounds remain closed in response to the Governor’s COVID-19 
Stay at Home executive order. It is essential that we protect our kitchen staff from any risk of 
contamination at this time, as they are now preparing, cooking, freezing and packaging hundreds 
of nutritious meals that are delivered each Thursday to those in need of meal deliveries in Sierra 
Madre and elsewhere. If you feel moved to support our Food Ministry work, we would be extremely 
grateful. Please log onto our Food Ministry website at materdolorosa.org/covid-19-mater-dolorosa-
response.

If you have any questions about the drilling operations or other matters related to the proposed new 
home neighborhood, please contact the chair of our Development Task Force, Cam Thornton, at 
property@materdolorsa.org or 818-281-2360.


Peace and Blessings,

Michael J. Cunningham O.F.S. 

Retreat Center Director 

Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center 

(626) 355-7188 

mcunningham@materdolorosa.org


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