City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening and welcome to our council our  regular council meeting this Tuesday, December   2nd at 7:30 p.m. And we are going to start this  evening's meeting. I'm convening it at 7:35 and   we are going to start with the invocation  by Trisha Helman and followed immediately   thereafter by the pledge of allegiance by council  member Sergio Jimenez. Trisha, welcome. Thank you. Dear heavenly father, mother, in this season  of gratitude for our many blessings, hope for   the future and the giving of love and caring  to others. May you be present in every home,   business, and in this chamber today.  May our faith bring each of us peace   and confidence in the goodness you have  in store for all your loving children.   For those who have lost faith, please help them  and lift them to understanding and give them hope   and peace. May your wisdom and love be present  in all the activities of the council today.   I witnessed the loving and caring of this  community at the make a difference day   event and I could see how you have touched this  community with the spirit of giving of mind and   body. May your divine word provide guidance for  righteous judgment and justice for this community   and be an example of the good of all mankind.  I know you are always listening. Thank you. Please turn to face our nation's flag.

Ready? Begin. I pledge allegiance to the  flag of the United States of America and   to the republic for which it stands,  one nation under God, indivisible,   with liberty and justice for all. Thank  you, Trisha. And thank you, Sergio. Okay. Uh, on our roll call, can we please  have roll call? Council members Belton here,   Jimenez here, Spicer present, Mayor Prom,  Dr. Kelly here, and Mayor Shlinin here. Uh,   we are moving on then to uh we did not have  a closed session this evening. We did have a   great study session uh on u um Canyon Park  fees and so that was I know that doesn't   sound really exciting to any of you but  we look forward to being able to offer our   uh Canyon Park uh for rentals and so at any rate  that's what our um our study session was about and   thank you Rebecca Sandaval for providing  that um presentation. It was great. Um,   and then we are moving on to our presentations,  which I think I saw somebody out in the   lobby that's going to be coming in and  sharing a special announcement. Santa, he's taking a break. Santa. And he's  he's slowing down in his senior years. On our Santa tours overview. Don't be bashful.

[Music] He's going to die. [Music] Yeah, you're looking real trim  these days, Santa. Thank you. Okay. I understand you're going to tell us all  about our Santa tours. Yes. Oh, thank you. So   for our senators actually starting next week is  going to be December the 8th through the 12th.   The senator has been bringing Santa throughout  every neighborhood in Monrovia since 1990s. On Monday, Santo will visit streets south  of Huntington Drive, west of Myrtle Avenue,   and north of Southern Cities boundaries. On Tuesday, Senator will city streets  east of Myrtle and north of Foothill. on Wednesday. Sanitator streets west of Myrtle  and north of Huntington to the Foothill border.   On Thursday, Santa will visit City Streets east  of Myrtle Avenue south of Foothill Boulevard,   north of Darti Road. And on Friday,  Santa will visit city streets west   of Myrtle Avenue and north of Foothill  Boulevard. All right. And we will have  

a Santa tracker. The Santa tracker will go  live the day before Senator Tour begins.   The Senate tracker along with additional  information about the tour will be assessed   by visiting the city of Monroville website  or by scanning the QR code uh listed below. And thank you and happy holidays. Thank  you very much, Santa. Ho ho ho. Ho ho   ho. [Applause] Thank you for the elves. Yeah.  Can we have some candy canes, Santa? [Laughter] Sure. We've been good all year, Santa. Yeah.  Thank you. And we can just we can use these on   Thursday. I got a thousand. Thank you. Thank  you. Thank you, Santa. And and Dylan, when   when will that information be on our website? The  information will be put up on the website uh this   week and then we'll do special updates in the city  manager update to promote it. But we want to make   sure that everybody's ready so that they can see  Santa. the the tracker will also kind of follow   Santa around uh as he makes his way through those  different neighborhoods on those different nights.   And it's the same path as the last couple years.  We've been able to incorporate all the community   streets and so we just encourage people to pay  attention and participate and have fun and we look   forward to the sanators. Great. Thank you. Okay,  we're moving on then um to our student government   um representative report and Elsie What's new at  the high school? Oh, thank you, Mayor Chevlin,   council members, and members of the community.  Good evening to you all. On November 7th,   Monurvia hosted the first round of the CIF  football playoffs. Although our team did not  

move forward, Cat City spirit remained strong and  we demonstrated our loyalty to the team until the   very end. Winter sports have also officially  begun. Boys and girls basketball had their   opening games against Santa Monica Academy where  both teams delivered impressive wins. The boys   team is now 6 and continues to improve to prepare  for upcoming league games. In addition, the girls   soccer team had their first game today and we look  forward to watching them continue on. Leadership   is now planning our January winter dance which  will be held in our event center shortly after   we return from winter break. The dance will be  a Sades style event based on the Stranger Things   show and will serve as a more affordable option  for students who want to attend a school dance. To   keep students connected and engaged, we continue  to host lunchtime activities every Friday. Looking   ahead, we are also planning connection weeks,  which are daily lunchtime giveaways and activities   in preparation for finals and the break. The drama  department has begun preparations for their next   two shows being the Iliad in the Odyssey and all  of Greek mythology in 99 minutes or less and the   Drowsy Chaperon. Shows will take place in December  and March and we can't wait to see our fellow   Wildcats on the stage. Lastly, we are excited to  participate in the Monrovia Christmas Parade. We   look forward to continuing to grow our involvement  and our commitment to Wildcat Pride. Thank you all   for your continued support throughout this school  year. Well, thank you and um happy holidays to all   all of you at the the high school in MUSD and we  look forward to seeing you for the the parade and   uh so the theme is stranger. It has to do with  Stranger Things. Is that it? Yeah, there's a And   I think I've never seen Stranger Things, but in  season one there's a snowball dance, which is kind   of I think they're in season five now, I think.  Wow. Have a lot of fun. Thank you. And if you need  

to run, we understand. But thank you for being  here. Okay. Then uh we are going to move on to our   um we don't have any changes that I'm aware of  to our order of business. Mayor Shlin, we do on   the memo. We would like to move uh our CM2 up  to Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. I saw Okay. All right. Um I   just had it right in front of me. Oh, here it is.  Oh, okay. And then so RCM2, the upper San Gabriel   Valley Municipal Water District Golden Muscles and  Water Supply Update. We are moving that up to this   position. Unless there's some objections, we will  go ahead and hear that now. And uh I think Alex,   Alex Tiki, our public works director, will  be presenting that item. Well, good evening,   Mayor and Council. Um just one clarification  actually. Uh, I have Tom Love with me who's the   general manager of Upper District. And so Tom will  be able to provide an update on the Golden Muscle   and a water supply update. And then if council  has any questions for me on how it impacts our   water system, I'm happy to answer any questions.  Good evening, Mr. Love. Thank you, Alex. Uh,   Mayor Chevlin, members of the council, members of  the community, thanks for the opportunity to give   you an update on our water supply and talk about  a challenge we have uh in the Golden Muscle. Um,   I am looking forward to next Tuesday when  Santa visits our neighborhood up at Canyon   and Foothill. So, I will be watching for that  uh from my office. And I also want to mention   uh Director Anthony Fellow sends his regrets. He's  attending the Association of California Agencies   Water Conference where he's chair of region 8.  So, he kind of had to be there for that, but   he sends his his regrets for not being here. I'm  going to talk about uh uh both our our statewide   water supply right now, our local water supply, um  which frankly is relatively good news. Um and then   I'm going to talk about the threat of the golden  muscle uh which was detected a year ago in October  

near Stockton and has quickly migrated through  the state project water project system. So um   this is metropolitan water districts. Of course,  we get our imported water supply from Metropolitan   Water District, who has sources from the Colorado  River and from the state water project, Northern   Cal Water from Northern California. Um, and you  may have heard, uh, there are some challenging   negotiations going on on the Colorado River  between the seven basin states, Wyoming, Colorado,   New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, uh, Nevada, and  California. They're very challenging. Um, and and   the country of Mexico is part of that negotiation  as well. uh but it's clear that the amount of   water that we get uh Metropolitan gets from the  Colorado River will be going down uh because it   just cannot sustain uh the amount of demand on the  system. Um on the state water project we've had a   couple of very very good years uh high allocations  in fact 2023 was the first time since 2006   the state water project allocation which is the  percent of water its capacity that it will deliver   was 100%. I don't I didn't think I'd ever see 100%  again, but 2023 was 100%. Um, so Metropolitan was   a able to move a lot of water in their storage and  you can see here that they are at a record amount   of water in storage about the same amount uh at  the end of this year as they were last year. Um,   frankly, that's because most of their storage  is full. There's not many more places they can   store water. So, that's really good news. Now,  a lot of that water is stored in Lake Meade,   um, which is very good for Metropolitan. We don't  take water from the Colorado River here. So,   sometimes that's a challenge if all their  storage is over on the Colorado River. So,   I I wanted to caveat this good news with a lot of  that storage, but there's really good storage on   uh what we call the state water project side of  the system. Now, to our local supply. This is a  

chart of our groundwater levels. Uh this is at the  Baldwin Park Keywell uh historical graph. Uh you   can see in 2018 um we hit a historic low in the  basin uh 169 ft above sea level. Um we did have   a couple of wet years 2019 uh 20 uh and then again  then again we had another drought. We almost hit   another historic low in 2022, but because of the  wet years of 2023, 2024, and a relatively normal   year of 2025, the basin has rapidly recovered uh  all the way up to its targeted uh high level of   250 ft above sea level. Um it's come down a little  bit uh since uh and I'll tell you one of the   reasons why it has come down because we haven't  been able to deliver imported water because of   the muscle. but it is in really good shape and  as you can see it's in its best shape since about   2006. So we're really looking good uh for our  local water supply for this current water year.   We measure the water year from October 1st to  September 30th and of course with all the rain we   got back in October and November so far we're not  we're in really good shape. Um but we know most of   our rainfall comes in January, February and March.  So, if those months are dry, this could evaporate,   no pun intended, very quickly. Uh, but we're we're  on a good start. We're off to a good start for our   local water supply. So, that's the good news.  Uh, we're in good shape. And it's it's it's a   good thing that we are because on September 24th,  LA County Public Works turned off our deliveries.   We deliver to the San Gabriel River uh just below  Morris Dam that comes down the river to the Santa   Fe spreading grounds you're all familiar with at  the intersection of the 210 605 freeway and you   probably noticed there was water in there on Labor  Day and on Halloween there wasn't any water there  

because the county shut us off because of their  concerns about the golden muscle. Now the golden   muscle has not been detected here locally. Uh  it's been detected moving down the state project   system. Uh the detection in August was at Lake  Silverwood, which is over by Apple Valley. Um and   that's when the county said, "Oh, it's getting  too close and it could be here. We recognize,   you know, it's little microscopic larvae that  you're trying to find. It could already be here."   So the county was being cautious and stopped  deliveries. Um, in September, uh, the California   legislature passed legislation adding the golden  muscle to, uh, the law that allows you to, uh,   if if you allow an invasive species to be moved  without a control plan, you're in violation of   state law. So, technically, Department of Water  Resources knowingly was allowing that muscle to   move through the state. They can't turn it off.  I mean, it was impractical, but the legislature   adopted that. Uh, the governor signed it. So, with  a control plan approved by the California Fish and   Wildlife Service, we could resume deliveries,  but the county also has to be satisfied uh   that were mitigating and managing potential  impacts to their system. Um, for Metropolitan,   invasive muscles are not new. Uh, they've been  dealing with the Kaga muscle on their Colorado   River system since 2007. Uh, they add chlorine.  They do other ways to manage that. It cost them 7   to10 million a year to deal with that on their 250  mi long aqueduct. Um the the Koagas do not do well   in low calcium water. Uh the Colorado River has  higher calcium. The state project supplies lower   calcium. So we haven't found them in the state.  Golden muscles do survive at much much lower   calcium levels. So that's why they're an issue.  So we're working with five water agencies in the   St. Gabriel Valley Metropolitan Water District to  develop control plans for every delivery point in  

the St. Gabriel Valley uh so that we can resume  those deliveries as soon as possible. Um with   the chart I showed you on the key well for for  upper waters deliveries, we we can go months,   years. We're in such good shape. We've got so  much water in storage without deliveries, but we   don't want to miss an opportunity to deliver water  when it's available. So, we're trying to we we've   prioritized the resolution of this so that we can  turn our connection back on as soon as possible.   It's not going to happen uh until uh after we get  our winter rains. So, we usually turn it off for   the winter time and allow the winter rainfall  to be captured and stored in our basin. So, we   hope to have this this resolved by April or May so  that when the winter rains are done, we can resume   deliveries and make sure we continue to sustain an  adequate uh in this case robust water supply. Um,   so at this point, we are doing our due diligence  with the county and the public works department,   the director and and and the director staff  uh working through uh their concerns. Um,   we hopefully will get them comfortable enough to  allow us to resume deliveries in the relatively   near future. Um, if if not, we may have to uh  uh approach the the supervisors to address this   issue. We cannot go long-term without delivery  of imported water. It's 30% of our supply in   the St. Gabriel Valley. So, it's really essential  that we are able to resume those deliveries. Uh,   with that, I'll pause and see if there's  any questions. Um, any questions? Mr. Love,   the um ships that that are possibly bringing  in these um muscles, how many decontaminating   um stations are there within California? For  oceangoing ships, it's zero. Um so if you if   you're moving a recreational boat from one lake  in California to the other, they are inspected,  

they're disinfected. it and they've just really  increased how how much they are inspecting those   boats. Same thing on the Colorado River, the Quaga  muscle. If you have a boat moving from from Havsu   to a body of water in California, it has to be  inspected and sanitized. Oceangoing ships, no,   there there's not. And so what's likely to happen,  a cargo ship um who had, you know, in a in a semi   freshwater harbor because the goldens don't like  salty, super salty water filled its ballast tanks,   sailed to Stockton, released its ballast  into the uh into the Delta water, and it   it has established colonies in the Delta. It is  surprising how quickly since its first detection,   now it may have been in California for more than  a year and nobody found it, but since its first   detection in October, how rapidly it has moved  down in a year all the way to Southern California   through the state water project. Um, and it  cannot be eradicated. It's in the system. Um,   for us, it's it's in the state water project. Uh,  they are working on control measures to protect   their most sensitive mechanical equipment. Um  MWD is the doing the same thing to make sure uh   equipment like heat exchangers don't get clogged  up for the big conveyance pipelines and canals,   you're just going to manage the population and  that's the best we can do. I will say it is   um there is a likelihood that in spite of all the  control measures we're able to apply, the muscle   will get into the St. Gabriel River and we'll  have to work with the county on how to manage,   control, manage uh and mitigate the impacts uh to  the the stretches of the St. Gabriel River. But   we recognize that and we are working on uh that  contingency as well. And again, the problem is it   reres havoc on all the the water infrastructure.  Ex. Exactly. So it grows you can see the picture   in the in the handout there how it just grows  on top of each other. It can clog pipeways,  

valves. Um, you know, for a big pipeline  conveyance, it it's it's not a problem for   for MWD's Colorado Rackqueduct, but at their pump  stations and where they take cooling water out to   cool their equipment, that's where they have to  really apply their control measures to prevent   uh those from clogging up any of those critical uh  mechanical systems. And I know that you said we've   got plenty of water, but I know the message should  always be conserve. Absolutely. Never waste.   Absolutely. That's what I was going to ask just  what are some of the other um fallbacks in case we   we're going to encourage more conservation to make  sure we have some time to to address this in the   future. And I have a second question. It's um I  don't know how small these are, but do some of our   uh membranes out there actually could you block  it with membrane tech? I know it's expensive, it's   challenging, hard. So the adult muscles are really  easy to to screen out um because they're one inch   or two inches. The velagers are microscopic. Yeah,  there are filtration systems. Um, in fact, uh,   for, uh, and and at the flow rates we're talking  about, you would have to have acres of filters   and then those filters have to be backwashed,  and then you got to figure out what to do with   the back. We we're looking at those pre-treatment  methods which include chlorine, uh UV treatment,   um treatment with with copper or other mlescides.  Um even uh turbulence can have an impact,   but it's high energy turbulence. Uh in fact, we're  writing a technical memorandum right now that we   we will turn into the county on Friday about  the pre-treatment methods so that we at least   are able to start that dialogue. The other control  measures are number one containment. So where you   can contain the water and put it into a a a basin  um and don't allow it to go down the river. Uh so   containment post delivery treatment. So turn  it off and then get in the channel and clean  

anything out that you have to monitor and then if  you have to do removal then do removal. Um that's   a little more challenging when we're delivering to  the natural riverbed of the St. Gabriel River. So   that that's a challen for our main delivery point.  That's a bit more of a challenge. And again,   what's our our kind of drop dead date that we  have to get this working so that we can make   deliveries? So, the the what we call the Canyon  Basin, which is um uh up above the the main part   of Isuza uh actually reacts quicker to lack of  water than the rest of the groundwater basin. So   here in the what we call the main basin under  Monrovia um if we're not able to turn on that   connection for two years we're okay. I don't  want to rely on that. I want to get it ready   much sooner. Um because in two years we may have  it ready to go but there won't be water available.   So that's why we need to move quickly. Is that two  years based upon uh will will it be it be affected   by the rain that we're expecting and if we do not  get the rain? Yeah. So, so no, if if we get rain,   if we have a normal or above normal year, uh then  it's longer than two years. Two years is if it's   a dry year. If it's if it's dry, we don't get any  local water. We can't deliver any imported water.   Uh it's it's about two years. For Isuza, uh they  perhaps it's six months. Wow. For their connection   that and they get delivery from a different uh  pipeline than than us and they can contain it.   Um which is a good thing. Um, and I think we'll  get there sooner than fairly soon on that issue   with the county. They would like to turn that one  back on in December if if they can get the county   comfortable. Well, keep in touch. We'll do. Thank  you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Alex, you   have anything else? Thank you. Thank you. Come on  back here. Okay. Thank you very much uh for that  

presentation. Um then we are going to move on to  our consent calendar which are items CC1 through   CC12 and those are considered ordinary and routine  in in nature and can be enacted by one motion. Um   unless someone is requesting something be pulled.  I'll move for approval. I'll second it. We have a   motion and a second. Then without objection  then the uh consent calendar is so approved.   Uh, moving on then to public input. Thank you  for coming. This is the public's opportunity to   address the council on items not on the agenda.  So, if you're speaking to us under the public   hearing, that's another matter. So, anything not  on our agenda, that is what uh you can address   us here this evening and you will be allowed  three minutes to make your comments. And Alice,   do we have any speaker cards? We do, Madame  Mayor, beginning with Martha Mack. Martha. Hello. Good evening. Um, my name is Martha  Mack. I previously lived in Monrovia and now   I live in Arcadia. Um, I am here again  because I have um concerns about ICE in   our communities. I witnessed a raid at the Home  Depot in um in Monrovia a couple months ago and   um it's very scary. There's big guns  and they're pointing them at people   who have no guns and are very vulnerable.  Um and we have one man who did pass away,   Carlos Roberto Mononttoya Valdez. So, I continue  to ask that the city put up a permanent monument   of some sort and considered other options  for protecting our community against being  

kidnapped and being stripped of their rights and  due process. Thank you. Thank you, Sher Lochner. Good evening. Hello. Good evening. My name is  Sheri Lochner and I'm sure you are probably   tired of hearing from me. I grew up here  and have lived in the same house for well,   my mom has lived in the same house since the  1970s. I'm here this evening to advocate for   day laborers and other people who are immigrants  targeted by ICE. As you would be well aware,   as my colleague has said, I was with her that day  that um ICE um raided the Monrovia Home Depot.   That was October 1st and it was really uh scary.  Um I'm here to advocate to have the memorial for   Carlos Roberta Valdez um a permanent memorial. My  colleagues and I have reinstalled the memorial.   Um if you visited Home Depot, you can see the  memorial there. It's just off of Evergreen.   We want to see a permanent memorial for Carlos  to commemorate his life and acknowledge his   death as a result of the brutal unjust tactics  of ICE. I was pleased to recently attend a a   a meeting with local clergy leaders and  the city manager on how to move forward   our request to have a permanent memorial for  Carlos. While it was a preliminary discussion,   I would like to urge the city council to dedicate  time and resources to make the memorial happen.   24 people have died as a direct result of  unlawful ICE action that has no place in our   community indeed throughout these United States.  These are the names of the people who have died.  

Ishmael Ayella Ureby Oscar Dwarte Rasone Lorenzo  Antonio Batres Vargas Chaen Gay Sean Schwan Fan   Isedro Perez Johnny Noiello Jus H Jesus Molina  Vea Eilardo Aenda Delgado Marie Angie Bla   Non Nuk Nuin Brian Reo Garzone Maxim Chernyak  Sowit Gazah Dean Jeanri Ruiz Gillion Ramis   Amachand Pankash Karan Singhqataria Jose  Manuel Sanchez Castro Santos Ray Bened   Gabriel Garcia Abiles Jose Castro Ria Sylio  Viegas Gonzalez Haime Alanis Garcia Carlos Roberto   Mononttoya Valdez I stand here this evening  because I and my colleagues refuse to allow the   government to sweep these deaths under the carpet.  I noted in the latest city manager update that the   theme for this year is the city is a welcome  place. Is Monrovia really a welcoming place   for everyone? My questions for the city council  this evening are as always one, what progress has   been made on securing the report investigating  the circumstances resulting in Carlos Roberto   Mononttoya Valdez's death? How can my colleagues  work with the city council to secure an  

appropriate site for the erection of a permanent  memorial for Carlos Roberto Mononttoyo Valdez and   the 23 other people who have died as a result of  ICE actions? And when is the city council going   to stand up to the authoritarian actions of this  federal government and denounce the ICE raids and   secure justice for Carlos Roberto Mononttoya  Valdez? As Muhammad Gandhi said, I've almost   given you four four minutes. Thank you. I stand  for justice. I stand for compassion. Where do   you stand? Thank you, Mr. Nelson. And I I want to  remind you that three minutes. Okay. Thank you. Good evening, council. I hope everybody  had safe travels and a good holiday. Um,   as usual, I would like to categorically  denounce political violence and corruption,   both big and small. emphasis on small. Speaking of  which, regarding community media of the foothills,   KGM TV, and the city in general, may wisdom guide  our path. Last public comments, Tim brought up   some matters and they were categorically denied.  I would like to categorically confirm the matters   that Tim brought up because I'm witness to those  matters. I would also like to remind the council   and voters that there is video of the March  2024 CMF board meeting. Video that refutes   categorical denial of involvement in internal  nonprofit matters. I'd also like to state that   there's plenty of documents that do the same. As a  reminder, I've been coming to several meetings. I  

have over 100 points of interest that also support  such matters. There's still a lot to go. Um I want   to wish everybody a happy holidays and may again  wisdom guide us on this path. Thank you. Thank   you. Have no other speaker cards. Mayor. Okay. And  this we have someone who has a card. Thank you. Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. Just provide your name.  All right. Thank you. Uh my name is Jennifer   McDonald. I'm a Monrovia resident and I would like  to uh speak to consent calendar item number 11. I   was really Oh, that is on our agenda. And can we  Yeah. And it's passed. Um so that would have been   the time when we should this this time. Okay. Go  ahead. Okay. Um, so I actually wanted to say that   I was excited to see it on the agenda this week  and I would like to thank the Well, first of all,   so I'm here as I speak um when I come up. I'm here  for the Monrovia tree canopy and our urban forest.   I'm here for the trees. Uh I do want to thank  the city and the council uh for the independent   report on trees including a report on our tree  canopy uh vacancies specy recommendations and   the development of a tree plan in between Foothill  and Huntington. Uh so again thank you for that.   Uh the second thing I wanted to comment on was  uh I think this is a great opportunity now to uh   amend and update our oak tree protection ordinance  uh in conjunction with this tree plan and this new   report on trees in the city. Uh the report stated  that its purpose was to improve the tree canopy   in Monrovia by planting larger trees and also  to emphasize native trees. Uh so again, this is  

a great time to update our oak tree protection  ordinance. Our ordinance protecting oak trees,   which is great. Uh however, our ordinance is 31  years old. Neighboring cities like Sarah Madre,   Pasadena, Arcadia, uh city of LA, County of LA  have all updated their tree protection ordinances   in the last 10 years. LA County is in the process  of updating their oak tree permit ordinance   uh because it is also more than 30 years old and  so they are trying to update um as science has   improved and looking into things like tree canopy  have improved in the last 10 years or so. Um,   I'm asking the city to update the ordinance to  protect more trees, especially native trees,   including sycamore trees. Uh, and also to  protect trees in all areas of the city,   including private and public property.  And finally, um, to add mitigation,   otherwise known as planting requirements, if trees  are allowed to be removed. Uh, I'm excited for the   new trees and the tree report and the tree  plan. Thank you. Thank you, Jennifer. Anyone else? Hi, Rosemary. I didn't fill out a card.  Sorry. Um, you can just state your name for the   record. Um, good evening. My name is Rosemary  Cavidia and um I want to begin by expressing my   sincere appreciation for the work that went into  this agenda item. Um the tree planting agenda   item. I don't remember what it was. Um whoever  made the decision to hire independent arborist   to prepare this planting plan absolutely  deserves recognition. the thoughtfulness,   um the long-term vision and the commitment to  selecting species that will thrive in our city,  

especially the emphasis on oaks and other large um  native canopy trees is something many of us in the   community have been waiting to see for years. I  also wanted to commend city staff for putting the   planting work out to bid. This ensures better  outcomes for our tree planting. Um, this plan   centered on native species, trees that support  biodiversity, provide real shade, reduce heat,   and fill our um and fit our ecological region  is exactly the direction Monrovia should be   moving in. I do have um a question regarding the  um due deck uh survey. Once their assessment and   recommendations are complete, will those findings  be used to update our current planting guidelines   for developments? For example, aligning with  recommendations to remove the crepe myrtle and   the southern magnolia from our approved planting  pellet. These trees struggle in our climate,   requiring more water, and do almost nothing for  habitat. Updating our planting list would help   ensure we are lose we aren't losing ground with  development while also moving our city toward   climate resilient character building species.  I'd also like to speak briefly about Foothill   Boulevard. Um over the last several years,  residents and businesses have repeatedly advocated   for the trees um this corridor urgently needs.  Petitions were circulated, emails were sent,   the and council members were invited to walk with  us on hot afternoons to experience firsthand the   lack of shade. Many of us have stood right here  at this podium to express the need for action.   In 2000 um 2021, during one council meeting,  residents packed the meeting and submitted   nearly 100 letters urging the city to plant trees  on Foothill. According to our previous mayor,  

he had never seen that many people show up for a  single item. Yet today, Foothill still has more   empty parkways than parkways with trees. It is  our main our city's main corridor, our gateway,   and the city has planted only one tree on Foothill  Boulevard in the past 15 years. With that in mind,   I'd like to um propose um an addition to this  year's planting plan. um use the unused tree   planting allocations from 2022 and 2023 to address  foothills empty parkways. As you may recall,   in 2022, the city council voted to halt tree  planting due to the drought and that extended   um that pause extended through 2023. If  the funds allocated during those years were   uh restricted for tree planting and ultimately  went unused, I respectfully recommend that they   now be directed toward adding Foothill Boulevard  to this year's plan. Rosemary, can you can you   wrap it up? Thank you for the thank you, but  yeah, wrap it Um, this would honor the original   intent behind these allocations and respond to  a community that has consistently, passionately   advocated for canopy equity and environmental  improvement along this major corridor. Um,   thank you for listening and thank you again  for the thoughtful planning reflected in this   agenda item. I uh truly appreciate the direction  the city is taking and I hope Foothill Boulevard   can be included in that vision. Thank Thank you.  Anyone else wanting to address the city council   on items not on the agenda? Not seeing any, then  we will close that portion of our meeting and we   will move on to our um public hearing uh which  is PH1 general plan amendment GPA2 2025-00002 to amend the land use element to create  plan development area 29 etc etc. Um,  

so with that, I'm going to uh turn this over  is Mr. Meyer or Thank you, John Meyer. It our   planning division manager will provide the  presentation this evening. Yes. Thank you.   Thank you very much, mayor, and good evening.  Good evening, council members. Uh, tonight,   uh, we are presenting the 701 South Myrtle,  uh, specific plan and development project.   This includes the environmental review,  the general plan amendment, zone changes,   the specific plan, the parcel map, and the  conditional use permit. All for the all for   the project. And just as a quick road map of  what we'll cover tonight, I'll begin with how   the 701 South Myrtle project fits into the city's  long-term vision for the South Myrtle corridor.   Um, I'll walk through the phys feasibility work  that led to the preparation of a a new land use   designation for the site PD29 and the creation  of a specific plan. From there, we'll go through   the project design and how it fits in with the  surrounding context along with the public realm   improvements. And after that, I'll summarize the  environmental review process, including the final   EIR before you tonight, and then touch on the  planning commission feedback. and then we'll   wrap up with the staff's recommendations and  the actions before the council this evening. So, this this is a map of the South Myrtle Avenue  corridor. Uh this area has been part of the city's   long-term vision for a very long time. Back in  2008, the general plan identified South Myrtle   as a place where Oldtown's character would  continue south towards the uh Interstate 210   freeway. The goal here was really to transform  what was then an aging industrial corridor into   a more walkable mixeduse extension of Oldtown  Monrovia. And as part of that 2008 update,  

the city put a strong focus on design, recognizing  that this area just outside of Oldtown was where   the higher density housing would be the most  appropriate and built this design criteria   uh to support that vision. site planning, massing,  and especially active ground flooror pedestrian   uses with residential above to maintain  that Oldtown uh pedestrian experience. So,   the project site you're seeing here is sits  right in the Oldtown Extension District,   which is exactly uh where this type of walkable  mixeduse development was was envisioned to occur.   And we've already seen parts of that vision taking  shape here. Projects like the Avalon and Paragon.   These developments uh brought new activity uh  new housing and storefronts into the corridor   and helped extend Oldtown's pedestrian oriented  character further south. We like to say that these   projects really put feet on the street in Oldtown,  Oldtown Monrovia. Uh so the project before   you tonight is considered the next step in that  long-term plan. This slide shows the current site.   Uh it's a singlestory 1979 office light industrial  building with a very large surface parking lot.   It's one of the key remaining de uh redevelopment  sites in Oldtown Extension District and it's well   positioned to continue Oldtown's extension  um Oldtown's uh walkable character southward   uh consistent with the general plan vision. So,  how we got here, the applicant team uh approached   the city with a larger and taller mixeduse concept  within what our current standards allow. The city   paused the proposal so that staff can take a step  back, evaluate what truly would be appropriate for   the site. We looked carefully at the design  context, the economic feasibility, and the   long-term goals for this corridor. And that led  to a a more collaborative approach where the city  

and the San Gabriel Valley COG actually worked  together on an independent feasibility study   for this uh site. Uh this graphic shows where we  are today versus what the proposal could become,   moving from a low inensity industrial site to  a pedestrianfriendly uh mixeduse corridor uh   that continues that oldtown Monrovia street  experience. So the EPS analysis uh this was   an independent feasibility study prepared  through the San Gabriel Valley COG uh to   help the city evaluate the applicants request  for increased heightened density. Economic and   planning systems or EPS is an independent economic  consulting firm that cities often use to evaluate   project feasibility and land use scenarios.  The study tested whether a mixeduse project   could realistically be built under the existing  general plan standards. What EPS found was that   the project designed under those old limits, 54  units to the acre and four-story height limit,   would not be financially feasible on this site.  EPS also found that modest increase in height   and density could support on-site affordable  housing while still maintaining strong uh design   quality. These findings became the foundation  for creating PD29, a new uh plan development   designation tailored specifically for this parcel.  PD29 allows increased height and density, but only   when paired with general plan design standards,  objective streetscape requirements, and uh the   required affordable housing. We'll walk through  those PD29 uh standards in the next few slides. So, as I mentioned, this is a new land use  designation just for this property. And if   the council approve it tonight approves  this tonight, this will replace the older   designation that only allowed 54 units to the  acre. Under PD29, the site can have a higher  

base density up to 105 units per acre, but only  if the project includes two required components,   the affordable units and the specific plan. The  affordable housing requirement is a minimum of 10%   of the units for low-income households plus three  additional units at the moderate income level. If   a project did not include the required units,  then the higher density just would not apply   here. The specific plan establishes the rules  for the height and design quality and how the   building sits on the site. For example, it sets  a firm maximum height of five stories at 65 ft.   And even if a developer offered more affordable  units in the future, they would still could not   build taller without coming back to the city  uh for amendments to this. So a specific plan,   just to explain, is essentially a detailed  rule book for this project site. In this case,   the proposed 701 South Myrtle specific plan is the  document that would implement PD29. It establishes   the land use, the design and development  standards that are are unique to this property.   It also ensures that the pro the project fulfills  the city's general plan vision for that walkable   mixeduse corridor connecting Oldtown to Station  Square. The specific plan also provides a clear   rulebook for design quality, building form, and  public realm improvements. These are standards   that not that cannot be waved by the applicant.  It also enforces the affordability requirement   in PD29 and it requires ongoing city oversight  through plan administration and design review. This slide uh focuses on the development  itself. This is the actual building that   would be constructed under the specific  plan. The project covers a 1.61 acre site   and proposes a fivestory mixeduse building with  a maximum height of 65 ft along Myrtle Avenue.   The top floor includes a very generous  15t stepback to help reduce the apparent  

scale from the street and helps create a  more comfortable pedestrian experience.   The building includes a total of 204 residential  units made up of 20 studios, 147 onebedrooms,   and 37 twobedrooms. The project also provides  a mix of public and private open spaces,   including a corner plaza, interior  courtyards, balconies, and a rooftop deck. This slide highlights the project's landscape  and open space areas along Myrtle Avenue. This   the plan keeps the existing trees. And along Olive  Avenue, new street trees will be added to enhance   the pedestrian experience. At the corner of Myrtle  and Olive, the project includes a public plaza   with widened sidewalks and space for seating,  shade, and plantings. And inside the site,   the courtyards and the small dog park provide  some additional open space for the residents   with drought tolerant landscaping throughout.  Overall, the landscape plan uh design helps tie   the project into the old oldtown character while  creating comfortable outdoor areas for for both   the residents and the public. This is a view  from the southwest corner of South Myrtle and   West Olive looking towards the corner plaza. The  design incorporates a brick clad arcade at the   ground level with commercial storefronts helping  to activate the street and consistent with old   town's pedestrian environment. This slide also  gives you a sense of the overall architectural   character of the project. The design blends uh  some contemporary mixeduse architecture with more   traditional materials and articulated bays to help  break up the building scale. The ground floor is   very open and transparent with large storefront  windows and active street frontage to keep the   pedestrian environment lively and connected. You  can also see how the upper floors step back as the   building rises. The stepbacks off uh help soften  and uh the massing and create a more comfortable  

scale along Myrtle Avenue. So overall, the  materials, the transparency, the stepbacks are all   intended to make the project feel uh compatible  with the Oldtown Extension District and supportive   of a a walkable public realm. This view is looking  south along South Myrtle Avenue. This shows uh how   the project meets the corner plaza and relates in  scale to the Paragon building across the street.   And here you can see widened sidewalks,  new street trees, and active storefronts,   all helping to create a comfortable walking  environment along Myrtle. Uh, this image also   highlights how the architecture steps down towards  the street and how the materials and transparency   all support a pedestrian-friendly experience.  Here's another view along South Myrtle Avenue   showing how the storefronts are framed with  canopies providing shade and helping to create   a comfortable pedestrian experience. You can  also see the large windows and the transparent   ground floor helping to keep the street active  and visually engaging. This view looks northwest   along South Myrtle Avenue and shows the building  southside where the s the service functions are   located. Uh you can see the loading entry  and areas that accommodate the deliveries   and resident moveins all designed to be organized  and contained on the alley side of the project.   This massing view is looking northeast from the  rear alley. And because this is a service side   of the building, the design is a little more  simplified here compared to the Myrtle Avenue   side. And even so, the specific plan does require  lighter materials and breaks in the facade so that   the building avoids a very flat uh appearance.  And finally, this rendering is looking southeast   uh toward the project across West Olive  Avenue. And along this edge, the ground  

floor includes residential entries um along the  sidewalk, creating a more residential scale here,   uh reinforcing a neighborhood feel on West Olive.  You can also see how the West Olive frontage is   broken into three distinct building blocks here,  separated by two podium level courtyards. Those   also help to break up the overall massing and  provide some visual balance along the street. So before uh starting the formal environmental  review, we held some early outreach with the   community. Uh people shared a wide range  of feedback, not all of it related to the   California Environmental Quality Act, but still  important for us to understand as we shape the   project. Um we heard comments about height and  scale, architectural compatibility, tree removal,   parking, traffic, cumulative development  fatigue, and concerns about construction.   And these all of these early  comments uh helped inform   the design and focus of the specific  plan and the environmental analysis. We also heard some early feedback asking how the  project might relate to the historic character of   Oldtown. So as part of the environmental review,  the team SQA consultant working with Debbie Hawa   Ardella, a senior architectural historian and  preservation planner completed a very detailed   historic resources analysis. And that study  looked at the surrounding area, including Oldtown,   to determine whether the project could affect any  historic era buildings or community character. And   because the site is several blocks away  and separated by major intersections and   non-historic buildings, the study found that  the project would not alter the character of   Oldtown Monrovia or impact any historic resources.  The project step back traditional materials and   pedestrian orientation also help it fit in with  the broader context. So in short the analysis uh  

con concluded that there were no significant  impacts to historic resources under SQA and the slide just explains why SQUA required  us to prepare historic resources study. Uh SQA   does not limit its analysis to formally  designated landmarks. It also requires   agencies to look at older buildings  and surrounding areas to determine   whether a project could affect their historic  character. And because of this requirement,   our secret uh consultants included the  historic resources analysis in the EIR for 701 South Myrtle. The environmental review  was completed under uh SQUA uh beginning with   early outreach and issue scoping uh to  formally understand what the topics of   the community are and the agency what agencies  cared about most. The city prepared a draft   environmental impact report or what we call  a draft EIR uh which was available for public   review from July 3rd to August 18th, 2025. And  during that 45day period, residents, agencies,   and organizations have the opportunity to review  the document and submit comments. Uh the final   EIR is now prepared which includes responses  to all those comments and identifies mitigation   measures. Uh those are the specific steps that  the developer must take to avoid or reduce those   environmental impacts. Certification of the EIR  and the adoption of its mitigation monitoring   program are actions before the city council  tonight as part of the formal project approvals. The the EIR uh looked at a wide range  of environmental topics, everything   from an air quality and transportation  to cultural resources, noise, utilities,   and public services. For each topic, the analysis  evaluated whether the project would create any   significant impacts and whether mitigation  measures could reduce those impacts. Across   all the 15 areas studied, every potential impact  was uh reduced to the less than significant level,  

which means that the project has no unavoidable  or unmititigatable uh environmental impacts under   SQUA. Uh some issues like aesthetics, air quality,  and transportation were already below significant   uh thresholds. Others such as cultural resources,  noise during construction and geology required   to mitigation measures which are incorporated in  the mitigation monitoring program. Staff is also   requesting a small clarification to the mitigation  monitoring program for noise mitigation measure   MM2C which simply specifies the type of temporary  noise barrier to be used during construction. Uh   this clarification is included on the slide and  under SQA guidelines is not considered a change to   the impact analysis. So overall the environmental  review shows that with the required mitigation the   project does not result in any significant  environmental impacts. The city did receive   two comment letters from safer. This is the um  safer stands for the supporters alliance for   environmental responsibility. One was submitted at  uh the planning commission hearing and another was   received here yesterday. Um both were submitted  after the close of the draft EIR public review   period which was August 18th but we still made  them available uh to the city council. A city   SQA consultant prepared a very detailed technical  evaluation of those letters with assistance from   subject matter experts and that evaluation has  been provided to the city council this evening   as part of the public record. Uh this evening,  the applicant SQA team is also available here   uh tonight and will respond to any technical  assertions raised in the safer letters during   public comment. Um from the city's standpoint, the  final EIR remains complete and adequate under SQA   and the uh the consultants written responses  are included uh in your materials tonight.

Um on uh October 15th uh the the project was uh  presented to the development review committee   which uh recommended approval to the planning  commission. On November 12th, the planning   commission held a fully noticed public hearing  um and the full set of related entitlements.   The commission spent some time discussing the  project consistency with the long-term vision for   south myrtle corridor including how the building  transitions from Oldtown the pedestrianoriented   design of the ground floor and how the affordable  units were integrated throughout the project.   A key part of their conversation was focused  on landscaping and tree preservation. Uh that   discussion led to a recommended modification to  a condition of approval just ensuring that the   final landscape plan returns to the development  review committee for some coordinated review.   The commission also acknowledged uh a SQA comment  letter that they received the day before the   hearing um clarifying the issues raised uh  did not uh introduce any new information   or recirculation of the draft EIR. At the end of  their deliberations, the planning commission voted   unanimously 4 to zero to recommend city council  certification of the EIR and approval of all   entitlements including the general plan specific  plan and the land use approvals. So before we move   into the formal recommendation, I just want to  take a moment to explain uh what it means for the   city council to certify the environmental impact  report under SQA. And uh certification really   just means the city council is the lead agency uh  finds that the environmental document was properly   prepared, that it provides a full disclosure of  the project's potential impacts, and that the city   has exercised its own independent judgment  in reviewing and relying on that analysis.   uh certification also means that the mitigation  monitoring and reporting program will be   implemented ensuring that every mitigation measure  and design feature and regulatory requirement  

identified in the ER is carried out throughout the  uh of the construction and long-term operation.   So with that staff is recommending um uh the  following actions tonight. a series of resolutions   um adopting the resolution for the environmental  impact report. A resolution regarding the general   plan amendment establishing the plan development  area 29. a resolution approving the 701 South   Myrtle specific plan, introducing a um an  ordinance approving the zoning map and text   amendment to reclassify the property from its  office research development light manufacturing   to SP, which is specific plan. And finally, um,  a resolution approving the tenative parcel map,   combining the there's two parcels into one parcel,  uh, on this project site and the conditional use   permit um, which contains a number of conditions  uh, to approve the construction of this building.   So that concludes my presentation this evening.  Um I along with the applicant and the entire   development team are here in the audience and  Sher B mayher our director is here to um answer   any questions of the council at this time. Any  questions of Mr. Mayor and the presentation not hearing any we will go at this time then we  will open our public hearing and I will ask do   we have speaker cards Alice? We do not, but I'll  take this opportunity just to note that there is   one person online and so um this would be the  time to raise their hand if they were wishing   to speak. Hi. Um can you hear me? Hold just  hold one second. Not not just yet. If you'll   just uh raise the hand and then when it's  the appropriate time we'll uh unmute. I did  

want to open this up to the applicant at this  time if they wanted to make any statements. Good evening, mayor and council. My name is  Brad Griggs, uh one of the managing partners   of Blicks Properties. Uh first of all, I  wanted to let you know we're very excited   to be here tonight. Uh we appreciate all the  hard work that's gone into the property and   the project. Um a little bit of our background to  give you a sense of who we are. Um I uh have been   uh in a partnership with my partner Brad Blake,  two Brads, Brad Griggs and Brad Blake, uh for   the last 15 years. Uh we come out of the retail  slash uh multifamily housing uh backgrounds. I've   been doing multif family development for the last  40 plus years. Um I have just my career built um   doing the math on this about 40 of these projects  like this over the course of my career. Um and it   ranges from both working as the chief investment  officer for BRE properties which is a public REIT   as well as our own properties we do. Uh we're very  proud of this property. Uh by way of background,   um I grew up in Pasadena. Uh and so I very  familiar with the whole San Gabriel Valley   area. I have a lot of affinity towards it. Um  I was involved with the uh development of the   Stewart building over in East Pasadena if  you're familiar with that one. That was a   really nice renovation we did. And then a  little historic background. In about 2005,   I had the opportunity to uh meet the Federers  uh who are here in the audience. Uh I've known   Blaine and Linda uh since for almost 20 years and  I worked early on with them on station square down   there at the by the train station and then as time  went on um I actually uh got involved with started   a new company called opportunity housing group  and we were very much instrumental in terms of   acquiring MODA on behalf of CSCDA the joint powers  authority and turning that into moderate income  

housing. Um we currently are the asset manager  for that asset and it's doing quite well and   we're very proud of that asset to bring a lot of  good quality affordable housing here to Monrovia.   Um so in summary um when Blaine called me back uh  a few years ago and said look I think I have this   site that the family's had for a long time. We  think this is a great opportunity to do infield   development. Uh we came and looked at it and knew  right away we could really make a great statement   of a quality development here for you. So we're  very excited to be here. Um, I'd like to turn over   to Scott Griggs, development manager, and he'll  tell you introduce our team to you. Thank you. Good evening, council members. Uh, my name  is Scott Griggs, development manager of Blake   Riggs Properties. Um, I first would like to take  a moment and thank John for uh such a thoughtful   and in-depth presentation. Um, you know, I run  the day-to-day operations on the project and   John knows it just as well as I do, uh, inside it  and out. And I thought that his presentation was,   um, you know, is sequentially done well and kind  of showed the history, um, and collaboration that   we have had uh, over the past couple years  getting this project to where it is today.   Um, touching on that history, we um held a  community meeting down here in in 2023 where we   uh gained some valuable insight. Um, and we also  met with uh the historical preservation group in   2024. Um, it's really just helped shape the  character of this building. Um, as Brad said,   we're we're very pleased with how it's turned out  and we think that um, you know, it's going to be   a great staple uh, for this community. Um, our  design team is here tonight. Um, we have Tobin  

and Kenneth from AO Architectures. We have Tracy  Zen from team B Planning. Uh, Dale Goldsmith,   our council. and Debbie Hal Ardia with Shat  Chattel. Sorry, I just said that one wrong. Um,   I just want to say thank you again for your time.  Um, and we fully support staff's recommendation   and look forward to your support. Thank you  very much. Is there anyone from the developer   the applicant side that wanted to address the  council? Okay, we do have then a at least one   speaker online that would like to address  right you can go ahead and unmute Chase. Good evening honorable city council members. My  name is Chase Presciato from the law firm Lizo   Jury here on behalf of supporters alliance  for environmental responsibility or safer.   Safer is respectfully requesting that  the council refrain from approving this   project and its EIR at this time. Instead, the  council should send the EIR back to planning   staff to ensure that it fully complies with  SQA prior to approving the project. The first   issue is the EIR's failure to adequately  analyze the health risks of this project,   specifically from diesel particulate emissions  during construction. Diesel particulate matter   is a known carcinogenic toxic air contaminant.  The EIR states that any increase in cancer risk   above 10 in 1 million would be significant. But  then the EIR never quantifies the construction   related cancer risk from this project in order  to compare it to that 10 in 1 million threshold.  

safer retained air quality experts to conduct  the health risk assessment that is missing from   this EIR. Those experts found that without further  mitigation, the increased cancer risk to infants   would be 86 in 1 million exceeding a 10 in a  million threshold. The EIR should be revised with   a quantified health risk assessment to ensure that  these health impacts are properly disclosed and   mitigated as required by SQA. Safer also retained  a noise expert who found numerous deficiencies   with the EIR for construction noise. The EIR  claimed that it was using reference noise levels   established by the Federal Highway Administration.  However, SAFER's expert found that the levels   used in the EIR did not match the Highway  Administration's levels. When modeled correctly,   our expert found that the construction increase  would be 22 dB, almost double the threshold.   The EIR has failed to disclose and adequately  mitigate this impact and must be revised to do   so. For these reasons and the other reasons  in our written comments, SAFER respectfully   requests that the council not approve the project  and instead send the EIR back to planning staff   so it can be revised to comply with SEAL. Thank  you. Thank you. I know there's a gentleman in   the back. Does anyone else have a card they  want to bring up? Gent gentlemen. Yes, you. And if you could state your name, please.  Yes. Sorry, I'm not a public speaker here,   so that's okay. Please forgive me. Yes, my name is  Carlos Delgado. And um I really wasn't prepared to  

I wish I would have brought proper uh terminology.  uh John uh your presentation was quite good. Um   but I did have some certain concerns in one of  the slides. I think you brought up a fact that   you did talk to the residents and you did  try to get feedback from the residents. Um,   and looking at the scale of this building, um,  I really think that in terms of impact to the,   uh, local architecture and to the local  feel of Monrovia, uh, as much as it is a   beautiful building, to the architects, uh, it is  a beautiful building, but I don't think it quite,   um, fits the profile of Mr. a street. If you look  at the history of Myrtle, uh it's a very low,   very quiet, peaceful street. And this thing just  uh really it's an exclamation point at the end of   a very peaceful walkway of five stories, which is  something where I I know it's probably late in the   game to kind of go back and redo all this. But I  really do think that um in terms of impacts um I   really would like to uh kind of like what the what  the other speaker was saying to really look back   and really analyze really what we're doing here  because if we're allowing projects like this to be   um allowed and certified uh by the council,  I think it just opens up a gateway for other   projects in the future to slowly creep up  myrtle. and to um just little by little uh  

take away um the character of uh this city that we  we all love. So, thank you. Thank you, Rosemary. Hello again. Um uh I'm here tonight because  the proposed 701 South Myrtle development   as currently designed will permanently and  irreversibly damage the character, safety,   and livability of our downtown. The project  removes mature 40 to 50year-old pine trees over   60 ft tall that currently support owl owls,  hawks, and other wildlife. and replaces them   with 10-foot saplings that will take 30 years  or more to provide comparable shade, cooling,   and habitat. Monrovia has developed a worrying  trend of approving new developments that involve   heavy large tree removals with no meaningful  mitigation. These losses are reshaping our   neighborhoods and erasing the character of our  city. In just three recent developments alone,   close to 40 mature shade trees were removed. This  is happening in a city that already has less than   12% can canopy coverage below uh Foothill  Boulevard and experiences some of the worst   air quality in our region as pollution from Los  Angeles settles against our mountains. We cannot   afford to keep losing the very trees that protect  our health, shade our streets, support wildlife,   and define Monrovia's identity. These trees are  not ornamental as stated in the um report. They   are infrastructure living infrastructure providing  shade, filtering air pollutants, cooling our   streets, housing wildlife, and contributing to  our small town character. Once they are gone,  

they are gone for generations. This isn't just  about aesthetics. It's about fire safety. It's   also about fire safety. Mature hydrated canopy  trees help intercept embers, reduce ground level   heat, and slow the spread of winddriven fire.  Replacing them with dense buildings, hardscape,   and heat retaining concrete increases fire risk,  especially in a foothill community already exposed   to wildfire conditions. I also want to remind  council of something very important. You're not   obligated to approve the exemptions requested  for this project. The general plan amendment,   the specific plan, the increased height, and the  reduced setbacks. All of these are discretionary   approvals. You have the full legal authority  to deny them when a project conflicts with the   character, values, or long-term environmental  health of this community. And the community has   made its position clear. We do not want this  project as proposed. We want a project that   respects our downtown, protects mature trees,  reduces heat, and keeps Monrovia the charming,   walkable, welcoming place that people care about.  You represent the residents, not the developer.   And the residents are asking for something  very simple. Slow this down. Require a smaller   footprint, preserve the existing pine trees,  and protect the character and tree canopy of   our downtown. Once these trees are cut down, you  cannot bring them back. And once our downtown is   reshaped, you cannot undo it. Tonight, I ask you  to stand with the community and require a redesign   that preserves our mature trees and protects  the long-term health and identity of Monrovia.   I'm also stating for the record that this project  raises significant SQA concerns. removing mature   trees, degrading the visual character of our  downtown, increasing heat and fire danger,   and failing to meaningfully analyze a reduced  scale alternative that preserves these trees or  

all potential significant environmental impacts  under SQUA. These impacts must be fully evaluated   before any approvals are granted. I urge the  council to slow this project down and require   a redesign that protects our canopy, our downtown  character, and the long-term environmental health   of Monrovia. Thank you. Anyone else wanting  to speak either for or against the project? Right. I'm just asking if there's anybody  else. No one else then. Yes, please. Uh good evening honorable council members. My  name is Dale Goldmith. I'm a partner with the   AG law firm where we're uh we are uh acting a  squa council for the applicant. Uh as you know   the law firm of Lo Drury submitted a letter on  the eve of the planning commission meeting. They   submitted another letter just yesterday. It's the  identical letter. It just has a different date on   it. Uh the letter both letters assert that the  project's EIR uh did not adequately assess air   quality and noise impacts of the proposed project.  The applicant's team of technical experts prepared   a pointby-point response to each of the arguments  in the two letters. These responses demonstrate   that those arguments are utterly without merit.  I'd like to briefly respond to the public comment   by the representative from Lo Drury via Zoom this  evening. uh that uh safer first claims that the   ER should have included a detailed health risk  assessment or HRA to assess risks from diesel   particulate matter or DPM. Safer submitted a crude  screening level HRA that purports to show that the   project will result in significant health risk  impacts uh due to construction emissions. The  

HA used a program known as airscreen. It's a  screening model that doesn't take into account   key factors such as meteorological conditions  or geographic and temporal uh distribution of   the emissions. And all these are very very  important to adequately assess potential   health impacts. Therefore, this screening model  uh always overstates impacts and indeed their   analysis did overstate the impacts. This the ER  didn't include a HR um for construction emissions   because the city follows the guidance of the  South Coast Air Quality Management District,   which does not recommend uh such an analysis for  short-term construction emissions. According to   the district's methodology, health effects from  DPM are based on continuous exposure for a 70-year   lifetime. Given the short-term duration of the  project's construction of 22 months, the project   would not result in any long-term source of DPM  emissions. Therefore, an HR was not required.   Nonetheless, uh, Air Quality Experts urban  crossroads in response to the comment prepared   a detailed refined HR using uh, a program known as  ARMOD. that is the preferred and recommended model   by the US EPA. This refined HAR which uses very  conservative assumptions including some of the   assumptions from the screening model shows that  the health risks from the project construction   will be well below the applicable uh significance  thresholds uh promulgated by the south coast   air quality management district which the city  follows. uh the analysis uh the the letters also   make a number of quite frankly inscrable arguments  regarding noise. They're highly technical and   very difficult to follow. I'll try to translate a  couple of them. Uh Safer claims that the U noise  

analysis in the EIR was missing key missing  information but as shown in in our response   the technical response all of the key important  information was included in the draft EIR or its   technical appendices. In addition, Safer asserts  that the reference noise levels that are used to   analyze for the construction equipment used to  analyze noise were inconsistent or incorrect.   In fact, all of those reference noise levels were  consistent with the Federal Highway Administration   standards, which is the gold standard that's  commonly used for analyzing noise impacts. Safer   also questions the methodology of the noise study  and suggest an alternative methodology. Uh, first   of all, it's up to the city to decide methodology  is not safer. But nonetheless, in response to the   comment, urban crossroads prepared a supplemental  noise analysis using safer preferred and proposed   methodology. That anal an analysis shows that  impacts are less than significant. So in summary,   as the expert technical responses show, uh, the  safer arguments are without merit. Therefore,   we respectfully request that you follow the  planning commission's recommendation and approve   the project. Thank you for consideration. I'm  available for any questions you may have. Thank   you. Uh at this time, we've heard for and against  and from the developer as well as a rebuttal of   this. Uh Mr. Steel, can you provide any other  direction before I close the the public hearing?   Well, I would never dare to provide direction to  the council mayor, but um I can just uh give you a   little bit of extra information regarding this  um late set of comment letters, duplicate com   comment letters that were um provided by Safer  as well as the um response which is uh a lengthy  

technical document that was submitted yesterday  and and distributed to the council and is in the   record. I just want to let you know that um when  staff uh and the planning commission received the   letter from SAFER originally, it was um provided  back to the the uh team that prepared the EIR on   behalf of the developer. Um and so the city did  request a response um and and an analysis of of   the claims that were made. And there essentially  two um claims in that letter, groups of claims   if you will. One um as council just said, sort of  questioning the methodology of the construction um   error um air analysis, air air impact analysis and  another questioning the methodology on the noise   analysis. That uh response from the applicant's  team came back. staff then uh distributed to the   city's independent kind of third-party reviewer to  make sure that the city had a a third set of eyes   um on that response and um the city's reviewer  um provided some con comments but also   um concurred in the the conclusions that  had come back. So from staff's perspective,   staff in the city attorney's office, um we think  there's substantial evidence in the record that   the information presented at this late date  by safer um during the public hearing and at   the planning commission stage um does not  constitute significant new information as   defined in the SQA guidelines and thus does not  require that the EIR be revised or recirculated.   um or sent back to the planning commission, which  is what safer recommended. We don't believe that  

um the information that's been provided is uh  evidence that that the ER needs to be revised   or recirculated. And so, um, staff and and our  office continue to recommend that, um, should the   should the city council, um, deem it appropriate  that the EIR is appropriate to be certified as   having been prepared in compliance with SQUA. um  that it also serves as a good faith effort at the   full disclosure of the environmental impacts of  the project which is the basic requirement for   um an adequate EIR and we continue to recommend  um that the city council take the actions that   are recommended um with regard to the project in  your staff report. Thank you very much. Then at   this time I will close I'm closing the public  hearing and I'm bringing back the discussion   to the council for uh final discussion  and further action. So council I'll start I want to thank the public that came out this is  very excuse me madam I want to thank the public   that came out um for this very important issue. I  want to thank the property owners, the the Feders   who have so much faith in their investment  here in Monrovia, as well as the staff that   created this report. Um, I have some concerns.  Um, for example, one of my concerns deals with   what I feel is negative impacts on the Oldtown's  historic charm. Um I disrespectfully disagree that   there's no negative impact on and the historical  resources here in Monrovia. Um the Oldtown area   is in the process right now of applying for our  National Register of Historic Places designation  

and that is exactly across the street from this  project on facing Olive Avenue. Um, this is a   very significant designation for Monrovia and  it'll bring lots of opportunities and I don't   know if that's been taken into account. This is  nothing new. It's been going on for many months   this application. Um, that wasn't addressed at  all. Um, I also have serious concerns with regards   to the aesthetics. Um, I know that aesthetics is  something personal. Everybody has their own idea   of what looks good. My definition of what looks  good is, for example, the Paragon building, which   is a newer building, but it includes elements  that keep Monrovia's uh traditional historic   legacy in place. Looking at the report that  staff did, page one, five lines from the bottom,   and I quote, says to reflect a cont, this is the  goal, to reflect the contextual architectural   design inspired by Monroe's historic downtown.  Unquote. Okay. Uh, second page, the and I quote,   "Compatibility remains central consideration."  Uh, close quotes. Eighth page, and I quote,   "The building's design was developed with guidance  from Monrovia's Oldtown Design Traditions." Um,   I disagree that those any of those quotes are  reflected here in the project. I just don't. Um,   with regards to the density and affordability,  I want to applaud both the property owner and   staff for coming up with uh, housing, affordable  housing units. My only question is, did we give up   too much? We went from 54 units up to 204 to get  17 affordable housing units. So, that those are my  

concerns. There's both positive elements in this  project, uh, really positive ones, but there's   also the concerns that I have laid out, and  that's where I'm at on this project. Thank you,   Madam Mayor. Yeah. Um, I just want to um add um  to that, I believe the project um I'm excited   about the idea that there could be some lowincome  housing um available for the community. So off the   top, that's always exciting because we definitely  need lowincome um availability for the community.   However, um looking at the project, while it  is beautiful and architecturally um admirable,   I do believe where it's placed within the old town  is just something it just seems bigger um than   what our downtown can even hold. So, I'm really  torn on this project because again, I believe that   we definitely need lowincome housing in Monrovia,  affordable housing in Monrovia. That is the cry   of our community. Um, another note I would like  to make is that um it was said tonight that uh   as council, we need to do what's right by the  community and what the community is asking for.   Um, I'm a little taken back that there's not more  people here to speak up for this because we do we   represent our community and we want to stand up  for our community and and hold the voice of our   community, but we're not we didn't get did we  get any letters uh Alice outside of the from   community members right here? Well, those are not  comm community that's not from this particular   community. Those are I'm talking about from  Monrovia. then received for tonight's meeting from   Anroia residents that I Yeah, that's a different  that's not from here. So that's where we're torn  

just for anybody that's paying attention because  when we say that we want to stand for community   and community, we want to do that, but if you're  not coming out to these meetings, if you're not   sending letters, if you're not making your voice  and your desires known, while we appreciate the   ones that did come tonight, th those things make  a big difference in our decision- making. Um,   but for me again, I'm I all I can say right at  this moment is that I am torn on the project. I I   think it's a beautiful project, but as relates to  uh downtown, it does seems a little off-putting. I   do appreciate the opportunity uh for lowincome. I  do agree with council member Jimenez as it relates   to we could use more um and if we can negotiate  more lowincome housing for the overall project Edward. Sure. Thank you. Um well I'll start off by  just saying change is hard. I realize that I have   that problem myself. I don't like to see things  change in Manurvia. Um but I think that's kind of   a common problem we all have, right? uh and it's  definitely natural to be concerned with the growth   in Monrovia. We have a lot that we just uh have  seen and I think many members in our community   are probably more affected than than a lot of us  in South Monrovia right now. Um so I hear that   concern from the public from a lot of folks and  I totally understand it. Um I'd like to thank all   the folks from Monrovia around that have come out  and helped shape this project. Um I know it has uh   gone through some iterations and I think I think  it's it's been blended together to try to address   a lot of those along the way. Uh and I think  it's because people did come out at least along   in the early stages and voice their concerns and  share their concerns. And I think a lot of those   um I'm optimistic that maybe some of those folks  aren't here tonight because they feel there is   some reflection in the new design here. Um, I  know that we need more housing in Monrovia like  

many of us said and and that's not going away the  desire and the needs here in the whole Southern   California region to have those. And so, um, I  think that's we also need more affordable housing   options here. And we do need to really be smart  where we plan and where we put those uh to make   the sure that we we're reducing those impacts as  much as possible. um and and make me makes makes   sure we're really really smart on those impacts  to resources from fire, police, water, power,   our parks, and also help cover those resources  and the cost of those. Um many of you know,   uh I I I love our street trees. I love our  trees and natural areas. I love our natural   areas. I love the habitat they provide. Uh so  definitely I always um feel a little uh twinge   when I know that there's going to be trees coming  out. Um, but I do also understand there's there's   renewal opportunities and there's options  and and maybe there isn't even an option   for folks to help support trees in other places  because that's always somewhere. I don't know if   there is any offsets right now outlined. I know  there's new plan. We're going to replace kind of   as is. We're going to make nice landscaping  then, but maybe this is another opportunity   as well. People said throughout city's about to  start planting more trees in in Monrovia. Maybe   there's more ways to help encourage that offsite  in locations too as an as an approach to helping   address that issue and that concern. Um, but this  is in many ways uh a smart way and a smart place   to put a a dense housing development right  next to a central part of the community. Now,   I hear people's concerns on the historical nature  of it, but when you want to make sure that people   have access and don't have to drive their car,  they don't have to emit emissions on the street,   they can walk and they can bike and have access to  places we all gather like a library, like a park,   like our downtown community area to the to a  market. Having that housing in that location  

does make a lot of sense. Um, so I I am torn as  well. But if you don't want it here, where do we   put it? Right? there is no good place in Monovia,  then everyone's gonna say put it somewhere else   and usually it's not next to their house. Um, so  I I hear people's concerns, but I think from a a   density perspective, this is probably the better  place to put density. Um, and it also still has   good access to the train and rail uh buses  in the area. Uh, so I I do think there's one   thing that people have already mentioned, the the  opportunity to increase the number of affordable   units I think would be important. Uh I know that  the the project here right now is providing about   88 more parking spaces than it needs uh from a a  current requirement perspective. I I don't think   we need to add more units in terms of no more  than 20 24. Uh but if there's an opportunity,   I would would really appreciate the the team  to look at ways to even reduce some of their   parking as a way to cut costs and then allow some  of those units to become more affordable as well.   Um, and as we already mentioned, I mentioned  the preservation of any of the existing trees,   I would really like to support or if there's even  other opportunities to look at uh supporting other   trees elsewhere in the community to make sure  we're making up for those losses because yes,   those are older trees. They do have have a long  history with a lot of different species, but uh   they're using those trees. So, thank you so much  for your time. Appreciate it. And thanks again   honestly to the development team, Mr. Feder uh and  the team there. I know you guys have put a lot of   time and effort in Monrovia and and we appreciate  you guys looking at trying to do this in a good   way and I definitely appreciate the public as well  for sharing their concerns as well. Thanks Larry.   Yeah, for the past um couple of years, you know,  um the Feders has reached out to the residents in  

order to get their opinion on the building and um  they made the changes within the structure, within   the design of the building in order to make it fit  Monrovia. And I think they did a pretty good job.   Um, I don't want to just keep repeating everything  that people was talking about, but we do have the   opportunity to be able to put another building in  a place that is available and if it's like Edward   said, if it's not in this location, where are we  going to put it or where would it go? Also, the   young people nowadays, they want to have access  to the like the uptown without having to get in   a vehicle and drive to where they're going. They  have access walking distance to be able to go to   the different things, the amenities that we have  here in the city of Monrovia. Um, as far as we   holler about we need affordable housing. We have  the opportunity to add a few more, but I mean,   do we or don't we, you know, but to me, this  project really fits in the location where it   is coming in. I mean, it could have been seven or  eight stories. I mean, if you look at the state,   I believe. Am I right or wrong? No, it couldn't.  Dylan, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, Dylan.   It It's certainly possible if they if they had  different intentions and came in with a with more   affordable units, higher density. Um, one of the  density bonus requests they could make is a redu   is a elimination of height requirements, right?  But that but but that so it's a hypothetical.  

Okay. So, it's a hypothetical. So anyway, I  believe that this project that we're seeing now,   I believe it's a good clean project. And as far as  the trees, um the planning commission even put in   um on one of the conditions that I believe it  goes back to the DRC on the landscaping, right?   So I believe the trees um the issue with the  trees and the canopy and things of that nature   would be covered in within that scope of the  um DRC. So that's where I am. Okay. Thank you   very much for everyone's comments. Thank you  to staff, to the developers. This is a great   uh conversation. I do have a couple of questions  and clarifications uh in terms of uh what you were   asking or by right projects. I know that in by  right projects obviously we lose our ability for   design um design standards. we also in certain  cases would not have to and be forced to pro   uh approve a project that wouldn't require any  parking. Uh in terms of this particular site,   uh I know you said it's a hypothetical, but  hypothetically, could this site then be developed   in a byite situation where we would lose our  design standards and requirements for parking? Um, any project that uses utilizes the density  bonus um automatically has rights to using the   reduced parking requirements under state density  bonus law. Um, so that's that's part of your   parking question. Was there another part that I  that and the design standards you lose? Yes. So  

when when you're most most pro um projects  that are invoking the state density bonus,   it's very difficult to enforce design on those  types of projects. Um due to the the need for   housing and the waiverss and the concessions that  come with that. um for this particular project,   I think staff had um the same initial pause that  I think some of the council members are having and   um which is why on the onset we conducted  that feasibility analysis um and the the   the components of this project has really been a  balance of both the general plan goals that are   I was going to say a great marriage a marriage a  balance of um the general plan goals, right? And   which are very easily to to lose sight of if we  don't have a document that enforces those. And so   um the whole uh kind of idea behind the general  the general plan amendment for the PD was to   incentivize um the production of this affordable  housing but in a way that didn't lose our city's   control over quality design that was already  outlined in the general plan. And um also the   other balance to this is that the city's housing  element as the council knows has these goals and   policies for housing production. So staff kept  that in our minds as well. And we also kept at the   forefront the fact that states policy continues  to urge cities and counties to streamline housing   development. Um, and so really the purpose of this  PD29 helps offset the cost of by integrating the   affordable housing into a mixeduse project while  also achieving the goals of the general plan and  

the city's reena production goals in a way where  we don't lose the control that we could lose   um in a in a regular development project that is  processing according to the standards we have.   And I just want to thank staff and also the  developers for working together to get the   both the best possible balance between the  two. Um I also understand that in terms of   the financial feasibility originally this wasn't  exactly what you would say is a a real financial   um winner for them. the current uh evaluation  of it does increase that feasibility,   but it's still not something that they will remark  make some remarkable uh profit uh from. And so I   commend them for wanting to continue on with the  project under those circumstances as well. Um,   I wanted to ask um and clarify on the historical  designation and although I really commend the   people for coming forward and wanting to and apply  for that historical designation, I understand that   it does not preclude either within the historic  designation or outside preclude a property owner   from developing their property. Is that correct?  That is correct. Um, but it's always nice and that   is an extra layer and it it's an acknowledgment  that we do want to preserve our values, but it   does not preclude the development of of property.  Um, and this is a a real technical question and I   apologize for not asking u prior. Um, I'm really  familiar with track maps especially when you're   talking about that number of units. I understand  this is not a for sale product. It's for rent. And  

so if it were to be a for sale product, would they  have to come back and apply under a track map?   Yes. Okay, that was a pretty easy easy answer.  Okay. Because as as soon as I read it and I saw   it said parcel map and I paused and I thought it  must have had to do with the initial um use. Now   in terms of uh approving the project though is it  approved according to or by current condominium   or subdivided units and could easily be if they  wanted to convert it for for sale product. Yes,   they could come back and propose a tenative  trackmat to um create condos. Okay. All right. And   I Oh, and in terms of the trees, uh, and I know  the planning um, uh, commission did add an extra   layer on the trees. Um, I would just ask and I  would think that would be a real easy fix to add   or to maximize the size of of any new trees and to  ask for additional trees uh, around that uh, the   area or in Monrovia period. And I would think that  that would be something that we could definitely   work with the the developer on. Um, let me see.  I think that is all my questions, but thank you   again for uh really working in and working with  the COG and with the developer and working to   to bring forth the best project and preserve our  design standards. Uh with that then uh are there   any further questions of councel? If not uh can  we entertain a motion? More questions. Okay. Had   we not pursued the bonus density then the maximum  number of unit as the project was was 54 rather  

than 204. Is that correct? Um it's um give us  one. We'll calculate that for you. It's based on   54 units per project size. So it's 54 time 1.61  roughly 85. Yeah. About 85 units. Okay. That is   assuming that you took two separate properties and  you joined them together. But as it is right now,   all you could build is 54. Is that correct? And  the total project site, the total land area under   the ownership could produce approximately 85  units. Okay. And it went from four stories   to five stories. Is that correct? Um that was  the design that was proposed under PD 29. Okay. No further questions.   I would like to make a motion to adopt  resolution number 2025-61 2025-62 2025-63 2025-64 and introduce read by title only and wave  further reading of ordinance number 2025-12. Do we have a second? I'll second. Okay. Can we have a roll call vote,  please? Council members Beldin, yes. Jimenez,   yes. Spicer, yes. Mayor Prom, Dr. Kelly, yes. And  Mayor Shublin, yes. Well, thank you very much,   Mayor. We just need to read that ordinance  title. That's ordinance number 2025- 12,   an ordinance of the city of Monrovia, California,  adopting zone change ZA2025-001 to amend the   official zoning map for the city of Monrovia set  forth in Monrovia Municipal Code section 17.04.040  

9040 to change the O RDLM office research  and development light manufacturing zone   designation of the property located at 701 South  Myrtle Avenue assessor's parcels numbers 851633 and 031 to SP specific plan zone and to amend  section 17.04.035 035 to add the 701 South   Myrtle specific plan. Um we'd note that that  ordinance will come back to the council at your   next meeting for adoption. The other um items that  the council acted on this evening are all final   um and there is no further appeal of those actions  and the time to challenge those actions is set   forth in state law. Thank you very much. And I  do ask obviously this isn't a part of the formal   uh motion but that staff and developers continue  to work collaboratively with each other and   provide as much concession or whether that that  be trees or uh exterior modulations or whatever we   can do to make it as much of a Monrovia centric  project as possible. And thank you. Thank you   very much. Thank you to staff again. Thank you to  the developers and the fedters. Thank you. Okay, we are now moving on to our reports of city manager and staff.  And we do have the one item we did move up   uh uh earlier in the meeting and that was RCM2. We  will start with uh RCM1-1 for uh Mr. FE and I will  

ask if there are any uh things that you wanted  to refer to regarding the public comments. Um and   so there you go. Um yes, thank you, mayor. I'll  speak first to the meeting that I attended. I I   had planned to give an update today. Um the night  before the prayer breakfast, I met at the request   of city council with a couple local pastors as  well as um uh Sher who is who had spoken earlier   uh who represented just a resident who wanted  to honor Carlos Roberto Mononttoya Valdez. Um   part of the the purpose of the discussion was as  community members attend city council meetings   and speak during public comment. What they may  not realize is the city council cannot discuss   or debate or act from those public comments.  And so oftentimes the role of city manager is,   you know, I'll go meet with people outside  of the meetings to hear what the concerns,   what the thoughts are. Um, at the meeting it was  clear there are people in the community who want   to find a way to honor uh uh Mr. Montoy Valdez.  Um, I provided information about uh here's some   suggestions and ideas particularly if the city  were to be involved. Um, for example, if a if   a public art project, a mural or a monument were  considered, you know, is it going to be on public   land versus private land? Is it going to be paid  for with public dollars or private dollars? A lot   of considerations need to be made, particularly  if and when it involves the city. Um, obviously we   have different requirements if it's if someone is  requesting something be placed on public land or   with the use of taxpayer dollars. So, I provided  information. Uh, I believe the group will continue   discussing how they want to honor Mr. uh, uh,  Mononttoya Valdez. Um, and then I expect that   there will be follow-up meetings and I'll provide  those reports back to city council. Um, the city   um, has not received any information despite our  formal request to the governor and the attorney   general for the investigative report related to  the incident on the 210 freeway where Mr. Montoy  

Valdez uh, was hit and killed by a vehicle. Um,  I do not expect there to be any information come   from California Highway Patrol anytime soon, if at  all. Uh, but we have made the request. Um, and so,   uh, despite the the continued request from the  public, whether we ever see that or receive it,   um, is we just won't know. Um, but we'll  continue to ask and I'll continue to follow with   city council, which has been your request. Um,  additionally, um, I would just like to speak to,   uh, following our last council meeting, the school  superintendent provided a report to the Monrovia   Unified School Board, uh, about her recommendation  for, um, middle school consolidation. There is a   uh, presentation uh, deck that is circulating  around. Um she ultimately after making a   presentation recommended to close Santa Fe  Middle School or to consolidate all middle   school operations to uh Clifton. Um there  were quite a few questions and input and   feedback from the school board. Um there was not  a decision made at that night. The decision will   be made at their December 17th meeting. Um but the  school district has has asked for a maybe a joint   meeting or a discussion with the city council at  some point in the new year to discuss you know   what what do they do with the school that they  will have to close a school. Um and while they   haven't yet decided what that will be um they feel  that the city's involvement and support and help   is very important to that discussion moving  forward. Um, we also thought in context of,   uh, just collaborations around the, you  know, open space at elementary schools,   uh, the high school pool renovations, third  grade program, other programs. There' be   a nice chance to check in with them. We've  been requesting a joint meeting for a while,   and it's just a matter of getting schedules to uh  to jive. Um, it's it's something that I think I   we we have made that we're very clear. We've even  offered to schedule the meeting times. Um and so  

we're very hopeful in the beginning of the new  year uh to set a meeting with them. Um and that   is my I'll leave that as my report this evening.  Thank you. Any questions of Mr. Thank you, Dylan. Okay. Again, we have already heard Oops. We  have already heard RCM uh to I didn't want   you to listen to me chomp on my candy. Um we will  move on then to our report reports of city council   members. Uh and Mr. Belden, we'll start with you.  Thank you, Madam Mayor. Just uh a brief update as   uh as the council's leaison with Clean  Power Alliance, we have our next board   meeting coming up on Thursday. Uh one of the  items that they're going to be covering is   uh um a uh a rate modification. uh those changes  are going to be taking place on CPA's rates to   make sure they align with Edison's rates. So the  idea just for everyone is that if you uh for clean   power alliance is always trying to make sure that  a full bill compares to a full bill if you were   just getting using Edison directly and not CPA.  So there's going to be some modifications. Um,   in some instances it's the the cost is going down  for some user for depending on the the tier that   you're in, the type of uh power you're getting and  then there'll be a small bump I think as well for   folks that are um all green but it's small. Um,  but in other words, it's going to line up with   what you would be paying if you were using Edison  and in most instances still um cleaner and greener   in this use case. And uh I uh I think that's  my short update for today. And oh, there are I   guess one other update from Clean Power Alliance.  They have a grant programs. Um I know that the   city manager is talking to them right now about  some of the grant opportunities they have for  

um power share and and ways we can use some about  $250,000 they have available for either building   or or another space for power consumption. But um  one of our uh grants we went after the incentive   um it's kind of a innovation grant that we applied  for. We did not receive this round, but they're   they're going to have a third round, and there's  a lot of other cities that were in the third round   that had some similar characteristics to ours. So,  they thought there's some opportunity there coming   up soon for us to get some more money there.  That's it. Thank you. Thank you. Um, whatever   your name is, Larry, Mr. Spicer, I understand. I  understand. Okay. This Thursday evening, Oldtown   Monrovia will once again shine with their holiday  cheer as we host our annual holiday parade. The   parade will step off at 7 p.m. from Chestnut  Avenue and proceed north along Myrtle Avenue and   conclude at the park. Residents and visitors can  look forward to festive lights, joyful music, and   the smiling faces that make the tradition such a  highlight of our season. It is always a wonderful   opportunity to celebrate community spirit and  welcome the holidays together. After that, we also   invite everyone to join us as we ring in the new  year with two special celebrations. Familyfriendly   noon Years Eve at Library Park from 10:00 a.m.  to 100 p.m. A daytime celebration designed for   families and children complete with activities  and a countdown to noon. the evening celebration   on Myrtle Avenue which will happen on Myrtle  Avenue and Lime Avenue starting at 10 p.m. to  

12:30 a.m. A lively adult gathering in the heart  of Oldtown and Culminating in the countdown to   2026. As we gather for these celebrations, may we  be reminded that Monrovia greatest gift is the joy   we share together. And that's my report. What is  that? Anybody? Well, you can do it, mayor. Okay,   I'll do it. The Monrovia Holiday Home Decorating  Contest, last day to register is Friday,   December the 5th. All decorations must be in place  by 128th. Judging will take place on the 9th and   awards will be presented here at the city council  on what is it 12:16. It's 6 Yeah. 12:16. Yeah.   Okay. 1216. For more information and registration,  contact the community services. Thank you,   Mayor. You're welcome. Anything else? No. All  right. No, I don't I don't think so. Uh, Sergio,   Madame Mayor, as all of us were witnessed to, we  saw a very successful community prayer breakfast.   I think we had the largest attendance. What was  the title number? It was 196. I think it was   the greatest attendance we've ever had. But who's  counting? The greatest attendance we've ever had   at the community prayer breakfast. Um, I think the  real value of the community prayer breakfast is   that you get to fellowship with people that have  not the same faith tradition that you're from, but   from a different faith tradition. We've all heard  that saying, oh, you're just, you know, singing to   the choir. You're just when worshiping usually  whatever our faith may be, it's with people   that share our faith. But this is special because  you're sitting there with people of all these many   faith traditions and I think that's what makes it  so special. So that was a wonderful experience and  

it was right before Thanksgiving. Um so it was  appropriate time to have it. Um I also wanted   to thank the Chamber of Commerce. I was hoping  they were going to be here so I can thank them in   person for having a very successful small business  Saturday in Monrovia. They also gave out um they   had a raffle uh as well for those shoppers that  visited cert designated sponsors there in Oldtown   Monrovia u to kick off the holiday season and it's  uh you just need to walk down Myrtle and you see   just how successful Christmas season we're having.  So that ends my report. Madame Mayor, thank you so   much. Thank thank you uh Dr. Kelly. Thank you. Um  yes, Small Business Saturday was a great success.   I spent my uh good share of money in about five  stores until I ran out and then but it was a lot   of people there. It was a lot of every store I  went into. Um they had a good crowd inside the   store. So I hope that the businesses fared pretty  well. Um so did you buy something? I didn't buy   you anything. I Yeah, I spent it all on myself.  You'll be seeing it for the next few months. I'll   be wearing them. No, but um I really enjoyed that  and so kudos to the chamber and their excellent   work. And also I really appreciated the passport.  Um it was a passport uh where you would uh take   the book to the participating stores and they  would stamp your book and that's how you would   uh uh enter the raffle. So it was very well  organized and so I would like to hear about   the report regarding um how the businesses fared  as a result of that. Um, further in my report, I   would like to uh give an update on Oldtown as well  as the library. There are many reasons to get out   and enjoy Oldtown Monrovia this holiday season.  On Saturdays throughout December from 3 to 6,  

enjoy holiday carolers. It's that time again in  Oldtown. Catch them as they stroll through town,   stopping along the way to bring holiday joy. On  Sundays throughout December from 3 to 6, you can   bring your friends and family into Oldtown for a  holiday carriage ride. Um, what's going on with   the library? Well, I'm glad you asked. If your  little one is looking to send a message to Santa,   by the way, I'm going to be a grandmother, so  in April, so we'll be able to participate in   this letter next year. But anyway, I I I you will  hear a lot from me on that message to Santa. come   to the library to drop off your letter to Santa  through our direct mail system. The letters will   be accepted through December the 12th. And guess  what? We hear Santa will reply by email only.   Okay? Or join us on Saturday, December the 13th at  9:30 a.m. to be a part of our Santa story time. We   will have music, craft, and of course a story time  with our special guest. Can you guess who that is?   Santa Claus. Santa. Your child may even get a  chance to speak to the special guest in person.   That's my report. Thank you very much. Um, yes.  And and going back to the prayer breakfast, it was   really nice. and that the history on that it used  to be held on Good Friday and it wasn't as maybe   as inclusive of of other religions and whatnot,  but over time and I think it was when Rob was   uh mayor, we changed it to November and it really  is more appropriate and community thanks and   thanksgiving and so it really has really worked  out u much better and so and the clergy are much  

happier too not to try to do something on a a Good  Friday. But uh and also if you notice at least the   last couple of years we've said community prayer  breakfast because it really is not my prayer   breakfast. It it is the a time for community to  come together and celebrate um with with thanks.   So uh in our our theme this year was uh resiliency  through faith and Brock um Milhorn his message was   really I wish it had a happier ending but it  was very very inspirational and and how he had   lost his wife and um at any rate but how he has  been resilient and little Monrovia is a pretty   resilient place as as well. So, we can be thankful  for many, many things. And so, it was a great   time. And it is nice to know that we had a record  attendance. Shame on me. Um, at any rate, um,   I did want to say that I continue, I've mentioned  I'm a part of the Los Angeles County Executive   Committee on Regional Housing Alignment and we are  continuing to review and make recommendations to   the board of supervisors regarding the measure A  spending plan. And let me tell you, that's really   difficult. uh and uh the city of Los Angeles makes  no bones about it. I mean they are definitely   against and feel that uh they don't like local  solutions that the monies that get distributed   to areas such as like the Sanro Valley COG and  other areas uh and feel that it is not equitable   um and uh it is a a fight to make it a balance. it  is. They do have obviously uh a higher number of  

homeless, but in terms of anyone experiencing  homelessness, you are in no less pain because   you happen to be in Monrovia or LA. So, it's a  tragic situation no matter where you are. And so,   it it is a real struggle. uh and we will be  meeting on December 12th to make uh some final   recommendations to the board of supervisors and  they will be making their decisions in um January,   late January. Um there's been a lot of talk about  uh federal dollars that have been cut and it's not   necessarily that they've been cut as much as  there are additional restrictions on how the   monies can be spent. the per the the money's uh  a lot of permanent housing. It was um u relegated   to whether it be permanent housing or outreach or  whatever and those percentages have changed. And   I had to laugh because I said and they they find  that to be a big challenge. And so well now they   know how we feel because the monies that trickle  down to us what monies we do get are always come   with so many restrictions on how we can spend it.  So at any rate it it's a challenge for everyone   to make um make the system work. Um they're going  to be a lot of they're going to be there's going   to be some pain and challenges but uh I'll report  back. Um but again the board of supervisors will   be making and this is just the measure A dollars  which aren't as um lucrative as they had thought   the that's sales tax uh revenue and it's not as  high as they had thought. So that's impacted. Um   there are other funding sources that that come  through down to um Department of Mental Health   for instance and things like that. So, but I'll  I'll come back and I'll I'll report when I've got  

more information. I did want to just FYI, um um  a friend of mine who sits on the Claremont City   Council was able to arrange a very small group  of people that will tour the Men's Central Jail   uh on December 10th. So, I'm going to be going on  a tour of Men's Central Jail and I'll let you know   what I think. I wanted to let you know in case  there's any photo ops there that you see see. No,   I'm not going to jail. I'm just doing a tour. Um  can you please share the ones with you behind the   Yeah. Yeah. Um so at any rate, um and there's some  items on the regional housing trust that and I can   report back on that uh later and I also gave Dylan  um some information. are is it P LHA or PHLA? PLA.   P LHA and uh those monies that can be used for  housing purposes and we have uh dedicated our to   go to the regional housing trust and some things  that have been put in place as to how it can be   applied to our actual membership there. Um but  uh I can we can report back later on that it is   late circumstance of the jail. I mean what is well  the the men's central jail e gads it's been do you   happen to remember Craig it's been at least it's  been several years in fact it was before co that   they the board of supervisors uh decided to close  men's central jail well they've made like zero   progress on doing that and actually men's central  jail could be considered one of the largest mental   health hospitals and the um it is in a world  of hurt. It's a very very aging and crumbling  

um building or structure. Um there's a lot that  needs to be corrected there, but there hasn't   been any positive movement that I'm aware of  to actually put in place the actual closure   um and what to do with the um people who are  currently um housed there that are jailed there.   So, at any rate, I'm sure we will be getting more  information. In fact, there's a a representative,   I've forgotten his title, I'm sorry. Um that he  actually lives in Monrovia that works for the   uh DA's office and um he's going to be assisting  in that um tour. So, I will report back   um on that with that then. And I want to uh oh I  did want to say excuse me since especially since   the chamber was not here this evening that  this Thursday it is the 4th that there is a   um copy social and that will be at the San Gabriel  Valley Habitat for Humanity at 800 West Chestnut.   It is a free event. Um, at any rate, that is  a a great opportunity um to go and mingle with   businesses. And it's from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m.  again, Thursday the 4th from 8:30 to 10. Um,   and then there were a couple others before we come  back. I wanted to announce the Monrovia Guild of   Children's Hospital LA. They have they're having  their annual toy drive at Tired Iron Works at   135 East uh Foothill Boulevard in Monrovia.  Donate an unwrapped toy. There will be food   uh and entertainment and goodies. And that's from  11:00 a.m. to 300 p.m. this Saturday, the 6th.  

Um, the Foothill Unity Center also has a European  market and toy drive at the Foothill Unity Center   on Chestnut. That's also on the 6th and that's  from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Um, and I think on   the chamber we'll also have a it's called it's  in conjunction with the Arcadia Chamber and they   call it the Holiday Mix and that's going to be at  the Courtyard by Marriott on Tuesday the 9th and   um I think those start at about 5:30. I don't  have the time on here and it is $15 a person.   So, um, with that, that ends my report  and I look forward to seeing everybody,   uh, on Thursday at the parade. I will be riding my  green bike. Oh, yeah. The Boys and Girls Club, I   don't know if there's still tickets available for  that. That's on this Saturday as well. their their   big festival of trees um uh annual it's their  15th annual if you can believe that 15th annual   festival of trees at the Anenddale Country Club  at one north San Raphael and Pasadena and you can   go to the Boys and Girls Club uh web page to um to  see if they still have tickets for that if you're   interested. So, okay. Now then 9:45 and we are  entering our administrative reports. So thank you   for hanging in there with us. uh AR1 determine the  existence of a majority protest in connection with   the proposed formation of the Monrovia citywide  lighting landscape and park maintenance assessment  

district uh 2025 number 2025-1. And obviously  we're hoping for a different announcement this   evening, but Rey, um, please, please give us  the report. Of course. Thank you so much. And   good evening, Mayor Chevlin and members of city  council. Thank you for your time this evening. So   tonight, I'm presenting the results of the ballot  proceedings for the proposed formation of the   Monrovia Citywide Lighting, Landscaping, and Parks  Maintenance Assessment District number 2025-1.   As council will recall, this proposed district was  intended to consolidate and replace the city's two   existing maintenance assessment districts.  In accordance with Prop 218 requirements,   the city undertook the necessary proceedings,  including the ordering of an engineer's report   and the mailing of notices and assessment ballots  to all parcel owners at least 45 days prior to   the public hearing. The public hearing was held  here on November 18th and following the close   of that public hearing on November 19th, the  city clerk, the city's assessment engineers,   NBS, and staff proceeded with a tabulation of all  ballots. The ballots were publicly unsealed and   tabulated in council chambers to allow interested  individuals to observe the process. Each ballot   was weighted according to the amount of the  proposed assessment assigned to the specific   parcel. NBS completed and certified the tabulation  results which are included as exhibit A to the   agenda report and the certification indicates that  72.35% of the weighted ballots were submitted in   opposition and 27.65% were submitted in favor  of the proposed district. This constitutes a   majority protest and as a result the city council  may not form the proposed citywide district.   The city's two existing districts, the Lighting  and Landscape Maintenance District and the Park  

Maintenance District will remain in place. I did  want to note that throughout this process, staff   heard from several community members who expressed  their deep appreciation for the city's lighting,   landscaping, and parks. One resident even came  in to share that although they wish to support   the proposed district, living on a fixed income  made the additional cost unmanageable. So they   had to vote no. And we understand that for many  opposition to the district was not due to the lack   of support, but to financial constraints during  these difficult times. With the proposed district   not passing, staff and city council will continue  working to address the ongoing deficit created by   the existing districts. This will be a longerterm  effort and we remain open to community feedback   as we evaluate potential paths forward. Based on  the certified results, staff recommends that the   city council receive and file the report and the  certification of tabulation results prepared by   the city's assessment engineer. And that concludes  my report. Thank you for your time. I'd be happy   to answer any questions you might have. Thank you,  Ry. Um, did we happen to have any public comment   that was online? Maybe. Okay. It does. Council,  any comments for Ray? Just thank you for the   report, but more more importantly, thank you for  all the work on the district and the effort there.   Thank you. Great job. Thank you. You did a great  job, Ray. I had people make public comments that   um it was a complex issue that needed to be put  in very simple terms. And I had some people say   if you had made it the explanation a little  bit more fundamental, a little bit simpler,   perhaps it would have passed. Some people had  said that in these hyper hyperinflationary times,   almost nothing's going to pass that's going to  increase your property taxes. So God only knows  

we'll just we'll find a way. That's it. So thank  you so much for your hard work. Thank you so much.   It was definitely a team effort and thank you  for your guidance throughout the process. Did   you want to say anything, Tim? No. Oh, and and  I do want to thank you. I think it was pretty   clear. We heard people it wasn't necessarily  that there isn't a need, but that they just   can't afford it and don't want to pay anymore. So  I know just like this evening Sher and your staff   how creative and I know community services all of  our departments Buffy with finance department and   Alex and public works and Mr. Fe you all work  together as a team and work with us and we are   very create we can come up with some creative uh  solution to this because there is truly a need.   It has to be resolved one way or another. And so  we will come forward, but we we understand and   um we'll try not to take it personally. Madame  Mayor, people like nice stuff. Mhm. But then   want to pay for it. Y yeah. Uh well, thank thank  you very much, uh Ray. Thank you. And this, uh is   a uh receive and file. It has been received and  it shall be filed. Thank you very much. Thanks,   Ray. Thank you. Okay. Then we are moving on to  AR2 which is amendment to title 17 zoning chapter   17.52 administration of the Monrovia municipal  code assigning to the planning commission the   authority to modify or revoke conditional  use permits and establishing related process.   Got it. Etc. etc. So Sherry I see you sitting  there. Or is it Craig? Craig. Okay. Uh mayor,   members of the council, uh state law provides  in the planning and zoning law that every city  

will have a what's called a planning agency to  carry out certain um functions. Um in Monrovia,   that's the planning commission and the municipal  code sets out the duties that the city council has   delegated to the planning commission. Um in the  course of uh preparing for some code enforcement   activity, we um noted that the planning commission  has never had delegated to it um the power to   revoke or modify conditional use permits. Um, now  we've never since I've been around almost 25 years   um even thought about really revoking or modifying  a conditional use permit, but because the planning   commission has the authority to grant or deny,  they should have the authority also to um modify   or revoke as we go through um any necessary  code enforcement processes. So that's what this   ordinance does is it provides that the planning  commission has the authority now wouldn't have the   authority now to grant, deny, revoke or modify  conditional use permits. Sets forth a process   um and also the the grounds for modifying or  revoking. So basically a permit would have to be   um doing something detrimental to um it its  neighbors or not complying with conditions that   are um imposed on the um use when it's granted or  the use has changed such or the or the character   of the surrounding neighborhood has changed such  that the use is no longer appropriate. There would   still be a public hearing uh required a notice to  the neighbors, a notice to the permit holder. Um,   so all of that due process would be um um  preserved. We anticipate this would be very rarely   used, but it's good to have it in the code in case  it's necessary. So, we're recommending that the   council um introduce and wave further reading and  read by title only um ordinance number 2025-13 to  

provide that authority to the planning commission.  And I assume also that with those changes there is   an appeal process to the city council. Okay. Any  questions of Mr. Steel? If no questions, can we   please entertain a motion? So, okay. Who who gets  the motion? Who gets the second? Edward. I'll move   to introduce wave further reading and read by  title only ordinance number 2025-13. I'll second   it. Okay. Can we can we have a roll call vote?  Council members Beldin. Yes. Jimenez. Yes. Spicer.   Yes. May. Mayor Prom. Dr. Kelly. Yes. Mayor  Chevlin. Yes. Um, thank you very number 2020. Oh,   sorry. Didn't mean to step on your line. Ordinance  number 2025-13. Ordinance of the city council of   the city of Monrovia, California, amending chapter  17.52 of the Monrovia municipal code to assign the   planning commission the authority to modify or  revoke conditional use permits and to establish   the process for such modifications and revocations  and finding adoption of the ordinance to be exempt   from review under the California Environmental  Quality Act. Thank you very much. And then um   we have come to the end of our meeting. We have  no further items before us. Our next scheduled   meeting, regular meeting is uh Tuesday, December  16th at 7:30 p.m. in these council chambers. That   will be the ugly sweater uh evening. Uh at  any rate, I encourage everybody to come out   for the the parade this Thursday at 7. And with  that, it's so nice to adjourn and not have to   adjourn in in memory of someone. So very nice.  and enjoy your holiday season with all the very  

uh special parties and things and be safe and  we'll see you back here on Tuesday the 16th.   But before that, the parade. Thank you. Good  night. And we are adjourning at 9:56 p.m. Larry mayor closes like a she