Mod: My column from the Sunday edition Opinion section of the Pasadena Star News. Yes, the passionless development at the Monastery is going on the ballot. Vote often.
Sierra Madre: Some city halls never learn(Pasadena Star Newslink): At the Sierra Madre City Council meeting Jan. 11, City Clerk Laura Aguilar announced resident emails would no longer be read aloud, but only posted to their website for the sake of “transparency.” Resident Gary Hood pointed out that much of the city’s population is aging and relies on televised council meetings for their information. No response.
The Mater Dolorosa development’s Environmental Impact Report was promised for February, but showed up weeks early. Perhaps because omicron is waning, and public meetings are possible soon? Preserve Sierra Madre, one of two organizations fighting the unpopular development, was told there would only be five meetings after the EIR emerged — two at the Planning Commission, two City Council. The other one? The lawyers? When you consider the city has only 60 days, that timeline seems swampy.
Planning boss Vince Gonzalez informed the Planning Commission that emails shall no longer be read there, either. You could see the shock on the faces of the commissioners, including a blindsided Chairman Pevsner.
Concerned residents contacted four of the five council members individually, so it wouldn’t violate the Brown Act. Rachelle Arizmendi was left out for obvious reasons. Some council members didn’t respond. An excerpt from that disregarded email:
“We residents increasingly feel that we do not have a Council that listens to us. We are limited to three minutes on the dot when speaking, nothing anyone has said seems to be taken into consideration. We implored them to read the statements rebutting the draft EIR for the Meadows project … When the EIR was published for the change in the General Plan, the rebuttals to it were not responded to in any meaningful way. Director Gonzalez alone received 90 emails questioning and rebutting the DEIR for the Meadows project. “
In a letter published in the city’s weekly newspaper, resident Deb Sheridan noted:
“The City of Sierra Madre promised transparency in our local government. Mistrust of government at all levels has increased exponentially the last several years, and our fair city of Sierra Madre has added to this. Sierra Madre has failed to inform anyone about SWB9 and SB10, and took no action. Now the City is not being forthright about the zone change request from the Monastery Retreat Center.”
One resident told me that for the first time in her 30 years in town Sierra Madre’s government is aggressively hiding its actions from the community. A year ago the City Council reduced the Planning Commission from seven members to five, then took away design review standards and assigned them to their staff. Transparency is now gone.
It is disturbing that in these COVID-ravaged times Sierra Madre’s City Council members decided they are too busy to hear from their constituents unless they show up in person. Besides, residents don’t get paid by the appearance like they do. Nor do they have a hardly disinterested city staff finding novel ways to disenfranchise the community.
You have to wonder which consultant taught them such techniques. Truly undemocratic, and sadly in-line with much of what we’re seeing elsewhere.
But that is not where the story ends. The other organization fighting Monastery McMansionization made this announcement last Tuesday:
“Protect Sierra Madre— Stop the Housing Project has filed an Initiative to place an Ordinance on the Ballot in this year’s election to be voted on by all registered voters in Sierra Madre. It would change the zoning of the Monastery parcel (Mater Dolorosa) from Institutional to Hillside Residential Zone. A petition with signatures of 10% of Sierra Madre registered voters will put the question on the ballot.”
Remember Measure V in 2007? This is the second time in 15 years Sierra Madre residents have been forced to use the ballot. Some city halls never learn.
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