General Plan Update Sparks Debate on Zoning Issues

The General Plan Update Steering Committee (GPUSC), which was appointed to update and revise the Sierra Madre General Plan, presented a progress report to the City Council Tuesday. But the presentation was not without questions, confusion and debate.

One particular item that sparked considerable debate involved zoning issues for the city. More specifically, consideration of changes to the Hillside Management Zone (HMZ) as well as changes to the R2 and R3 designations were hot button issues.

Council Member MaryAnn MacGillivray, a Council liaison to the GPUSC, pointed out that this item is a “discussion they need to have” but noted that “it hasn’t moved in any decisive direction.”

On the flip side, Council Member Joe Mosca, also a GPUSC liaison, said, “The last thing we want to do is infuse that type of debate into this document. I think we should make it clear that we are not opening up the HMZ. It’s distracting from the goal.”

Council Member Nancy Walsh also shared Mosca’s opinion that the GPSC should steer away from zoning issues.

While the meeting briefly shifted its focus away from land use issues, Mosca quickly returned to the issue.

“With all due respect, this City Council is not looking to change the Hillside Management Zone [or] the R2 and R3 designations, so we ought to move on to the goal,” Mosca said, adding that he believed “time was being wasted.”

But Committee Chair Denise Delmar was quick to defend the GPUSC’s position.

“With all due respect,” Delmar said, “that is part of our general plan [HMZ and R2 and R3 sections]. You weren’t at the meeting where we were discussing this as I put and end to it and said we weren’t going any further because this is out of our scope. Those are things we don’t spend a lot of time on, but we have to talk about them! We have to do our due diligence!” she said.

Moving Forward in the Update Process 

Delmar also presented four requests of the Council as they move forward with the update process. Those included:

• Adding a GPSC meeting each month without the presence of the City Attorney or staff
• Having a joint meeting with the City Council, Planning Commission and GPSC in November to present a draft of the Vision & Guiding Principles Report
• Approving of the schedule to complete the General Plan Update process
• Discussing any other General Plan related matter, as desired by Council

On these requests, it was recommended by Council Member Nancy Walsh that the City Manager and staff be present at all the meetings. Mayor John Buchanan agreed with Walsh’s sentiments. 

There was also some debate over whether having the General Plan committee, Planning Commission, City Council and the public at one meeting was a workable suggestion.

There was also a bit of confusion over Delmar’s request for a meeting to present the Vision & Guiding Principles Report. Delmar defended the need for and feasibility of the meeting, saying it would only last around 30 minutes.

In response, Mayor Buchanan requested that the Council review the Vision & Guiding Principles during the first Council meeting in October and then decide whether a combined meeting with the GPUSC and Planning Commission is feasible or even necessary.

Survey Results

Recently, the GPUSC released the results of a survey they conducted to gain input from members of the community. Some of the items listed as “important” to those polled in the survey included preserving and protecting historical structures, preserving the image and environment of the hillsides and canyons, and the preservation of water and other natural resources. A copy of the results of that survey is attached to this article in PDF form.