Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, August 15, 2020

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 15, 2020 

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis

City of Sierra Madre

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

From: The City of Sierra Madre

Subject: MUNICIPAL CODE TEXT AMENDMENT 20-03 (MCTA 20-03) 

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 20-03, amending Chapters: 17.08 
(Definitions), 17.36 (Commercial Zone), 17.40 (Manufacturing Zone), and 17.60 (Variances and Discretionary Permits). The 
purpose of the amendment is to update the list of permitted and conditionally permitted uses in the commercial zone, update 
the corresponding development standards, and develop a comprehensive list of commercial zone uses. Additional amendments 
to the chapters referenced above are intended to achieve consistency specific to cross references in the Commercial Zone and 
other related zoning provisions.

Following a Planning Commission recommendation for approval, the proposed text amendment will be forwarded to the City 
Council for their consideration. 

DATE AND TIME OF HEARING

City of Sierra Madre Planning Commission meeting; Thursday, September 3, 2020 (Hearing begins at 7:00 p.m.) 

PLACE OF HEARING

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.
cityofsierramadre.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.
.To participate in public comment please call: (669) 900-9128; Meeting I.D: 626-232-0232; Password: 232242


ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The subject ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act 
(CEQA) pursuant to Title 14,a §15060(c)(2), §15060(c)(3), and §15061(b)(3) of the California Code of Regulations. The 
Ordinance amending Chapters 17.36, 17.40, and 17.60 will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical 
change in the environment; the ordinance does not involve a “project” as defined by Section 15378; and the ordinance is covered 
by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment; 
Therefore, it may be seen with certainty that there is no possibility this ordinance will have a significant effect on the environment. 

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.


“Would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are
Or would you rather be a pig?

A pig is an animal with dirt on his face
His shoes are a terrible disgrace
He has no manners when he eats his food
He’s fat and lazy and extremely rude
But if you don’t care a feather or a fig
You may grow up to be a pig!”

“Swinging on a Star” was composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and 
Johnny Burke, introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film Going 
My Way. This song came about one evening when Jimmy Van 
Heusen was at Bing Crosby’s house for dinner and to discuss 
music for Going My Way, which was still in pre-production. During the meal, Bing’s son, Gary, 
complained about going to school the next day and Bing, being a normal father who had heard 
that same thing way too many times already said, “If you don’t go to school, you might grow up 
to be a mule!” Well, songwriter, Van Heusen loved this comment and thought it would make a 
great song for the movie. And history was made! Bing played a priest talking to a bunch of kids 
who didn’t want to go to school. 

Here we are, decades later, with herds of children who probably wish more than anything that 
they could go to school and get out of the house and away from computers and online school 
and parents who are fervently wishing the same thing.

Sierra Madre photographer, Lawrence Taylor posted this picture of Larry Blaze, the porker who 
lives on West Montecito on his Facebook page and I got his permission to pass it along to all 
you friends and neighbors. I’m sure Larry Blaze is charming, a lot of fun to be with and not at 
all ‘fat and lazy and extremely rude.’ He’s actually quite a handsome gentleman.

I don’t know if you remember Neil, the pig who lived on Highland for so many years and 
was so popular with the neighborhood and all the folks out walking Sierra Madre that his 
owners finally had to post signs beseeching his fans to stop feeding him! Neil had his own 
little house, his name on a sign on the fence and had gotten to where he could barely waddle. 
With Neil’s best interests at heart, the goodies slowed down considerably and Neil regained his 
formerly svelte figure. Neil has gone on to his eternal reward, and now Larry Blaze is the main 
pig attraction around town.

At one time, our neighbors across the street on Alegria, the Blakeslees, had an enormous pig 
and our dog loved to escape the confines of our yard whenever possible and run across the 
street to play with the Blakeslee pig and come home as filthy and smelly as it’s possible for a dog 
to be. But happy, oh my, she was happy. 

Our daughter, Leah, and her husband, Chuck, have two cats. We had a number of German 
Shepherds over the years and my former next-door neighbors, the Cardellas have chickens, 
ducks, goats, dogs, cats and I don’t know what all else. At one time, Sharon Witter, who lived 
next door to us on the other side had a ferret and Dick and Loene Witter, her mom and dad, 
had two geese, who chased our little girl, Crissy, mercilessly when she came to visit Loene and 
tried to bite her. They met their end, sadly, at the nasty little hands of marauding raccoons. Pigs, 
though, seem to make nifty pets, especially Potbellied pigs. These little guys are rumored to be 
clean, intelligent and affectionate. Pigs, by the way, are the fourth smartest animal group on the 
planet, right after apes, chimps, whales and dolphins. 

Your adorable pig can be trained to follow commands and they easily master doors, including 
the fridge. I’m not sure our friend Larry Blaze gets inside to check out what’s in the fridge but 
talking about pigs beats the heck out of the latest Covid statistics. If you’re out there walking, go 
over to West Montecito and say hi to Larry.

“Never wrestle with pigs. You’ll both get dirty and the pig likes it.” 

“Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.”

 George Bernard Shaw

“I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” 

Winston Churchill

Of course, one of the most famous pigs ever is Wilbur, the pig in E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web.

“Why did you do all this for me” he asked. “I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.” 
“You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing.”

And on that note, dear friends and neighbors, I’ll say be good to yourself and those around you. 
Be kind. Just be kind.

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Where you’ll find “Sunrises and Sunflowers Speak Hope”

And “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter”

Both of these books are stuffed with hope and a good recipe or two.

There’s a new Emma Gainsworth Kindle novelette available right this minute:

“Emma’s Intergalactic Institute” 

It’s on Amazon.com and here’s the link: https://amzn.to/3ibKD3Z

If you haven’t read “Emma’s Etouffee Café” you need to! It’s also on Amazon.com, 

You can follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@playwrightdd

City of Sierra Madre

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

From: The City of Sierra Madre

Subject: MUNICIPAL CODE TEXT AMENDMENT 20-05 (MCTA 20-05) 

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 20-05, amending Subsection 
17.60.041.D (Findings) of Section 17.60.041 (Design Review Permit) of Chapter 17.60 (Variance and Discretionary Permits) 
of Title 17 (Zoning) of the Sierra Madre Municipal Code.

The City Council has directed the Planning Commission to amend the Design Review Findings to be more objective and 
in line with state housing law including Senate Bill No. 167, the Housing Accountability Act, limiting a local jurisdictions 
ability to deny or impose additional conditions upon housing developments that meet objective design review standards (Gov. 
Code, § 65589.5, subd. (j)(1)), and further, Senate Bill No. 330 – The Housing Crisis Act, signed into law on October 9, 
2019, a component of which requires that findings for design review shall be objective. The proposed amendment to Chapter 
17.60.041.D (Findings) of the Sierra Madre Municipal Code has been drafted to ensure design review findings, for projects 
requiring administrative development permits and design review permits are objective in compliance with State law.

DATE AND TIME OF HEARING

City of Sierra Madre Planning Commission meeting; Thursday, September 3, 2020 (Hearing begins at 7:00 p.m.) 

PLACE OF HEARING

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. cityofsierramadre.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.
.To participate in public comment please call: (669) 900-9128; Meeting I.D: 626-232-0232; Password: 232242


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.


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