Sierra Madre Council Member Statement on the DSP

In early June 2006, on the eve of the Downtown Specific Plan Study Session, Council Member Joe Mosca released a statement about his position on the controversial initiative.

"Recently, a lot of questions have arisen about the Downtown Specific Plan (DSP), and why Sierra Madre needs a DSP.

The process of developing the draft DSP was initiated over a year ago when several key properties in our downtown area were sold to developers who wanted to develop the parcels.

Residents of Sierra Madre and members of City Council wanted to draft a plan to guide the future of our downtown and protect our downtown from developers and over-development.

Our current zoning laws are about 50 years old and allow for over-development and development that is not in synch with the charm of our downtown, such as the building on the corner of Baldwin and East Montecito.

So, the DSP was initiated to restrict development, guide a vision for our downtown, and also ensure Sierra Madre’s zoning laws comply with state law.

Close to 400 Sierra Madre residents and business owners in Sierra Madre provided input through workshops, forums, and meetings.

The result was the DRAFT DSP that we have before us today.

The emphasis here is that it is a draft only at this point.

There will be several more community-wide meetings, so that every Sierra Madre resident can have the opportunity to contribute and make their voice heard as to what they want included in the final DSP.

The current DSP is not perfect and it has some flaws that need to be changed.

But it is a start for our City to begin the discussion on what the future of our downtown should look like.

Up next for the DSP is the release of the Environmental Impact Report, which mandated by the State to study all environmental impacts the DSP can have on our city and how best to preserve our community.

Also, the City has begun meetings for Sierra Madre residents to have their voices heard as to what they envision this DSP should include and not include.

Once the DSP has taken shape and the process has been completed in the coming months, it will be put to a vote by the people of Sierra Madre, hopefully with our County elections this fall.

As a City Councilmember who represents all of Sierra Madre and also believes in preserving our jewel of a community here, it is my hope that through the DSP and with voter approval, we will be able to restrict development and promote a plan that preserves and protects our downtown.

There is a lot of misinformation/fear being spread about the DSP and some correct information.

I encourage you to please get involved and attend meetings on the Downtown Plan, so that we can shape the eventual document into something that will preserve our community and also be something we can all be proud of.

In the end, I hope we are successful in shaping the document into something that will protect and preserve our community.

Ultimately, it is up to the people of Sierra Madre to decide.

I believe in and will support a city-wide vote on the DSP.

Thank you very much and please feel free to contact me with any concerns."

Joe Mosca

joemosca@joemosca.com

626-807-1142