SMPD Officer Fisher, Chief Barrientos and Mayor Lowe welcome Cora as “Mayor for the Day!” (Photo – SMPD)
Sierra Madre’s City Council on Tuesday weighed whether to begin charging Public Facilities Fees on larger accessory dwelling units while also revisiting a contested school-zone traffic issue near Sierra Madre Middle School.
By Shashank Tongaonkar
The May 12 meeting opened with proclamations marking Public Works Week and Older Americans Month, along with a special recognition honoring Dane Lenton as Sierra Madre’s Older American of the Year. The YMCA delivered its annual report on programs and services.
Two public hearings carried the most weight. The first was a first reading of Ordinance No. 1493, a relatively tidy update to the city’s house and building numbering rules. The measure shifted administrative responsibility to the Planning and Community Preservation Department, aligned the code with the city’s fee schedule, and required address numbers to meet California Building Code visibility standards for emergency responders.
Ordinance No. 1494 was the heavier lift: a comprehensive rewrite of the city’s Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance to comply with a batch of new state laws. The thornier question before the council was whether to begin charging Public Facilities Fees on larger ADUs. Staff reported that since 2020 the city has reviewed 147 ADU applications and forfeited as much as $1.76 million in fee revenue, roughly $294,000 annually, by not charging those fees. State law exempts units of 750 square feet or less, and the council was presented with options ranging from full fees on larger units to a continued blanket waiver.
The 10-item consent calendar included a couple of items larger than their routine billing suggested. One item restructures the city attorney agreement with Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, dropping the monthly retainer in favor of a fully hourly model: $300 per hour for advisory work, $375 per hour for litigation, and $400 per hour for reimbursables. Staff estimated the change could increase annual costs by roughly 20%. Another item, a $50,000 appropriation for emergency planning consultants, revealed that the city’s federally required hazard mitigation plan remains stalled awaiting FEMA approval because of the government shutdown.
Among discussion items, the council took up an all-way stop at East Grand View Avenue and North Canon Avenue near Sierra Madre Middle School. The intersection did not meet warrants identified in Willdan Engineering’s traffic study, so the matter had been continued for legal review. The city attorney advised that the stop signs are permissible, but that any decision should rest on documented pedestrian-safety grounds. The council also reviewed a boards and commissions attendance policy and executive management labor market equity adjustments.
The council adjourned to its next regular meeting on May 26, with both the ADU fee question and the school-zone traffic issue still unresolved.
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