AgendaLink

Packet

Planning Commission

Packet

** Revised **

CITY OF

SIERRA MADRE

PLANNING COMMISSION

REGULAR MEETING AGENDA

Thursday, April 2, 2026, 5:30 PM

City Council Chambers, 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, persons with a disability who require a disability related modification or accommodation in order to participate in a meeting, including auxiliary aids or services, may request such modification or accommodation from the City Clerk at (626) 574-5455. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to assure accessibility to the meeting.

PUBLIC COMMENT & ACCESS

The Brown Act provides the public with an opportunity to make public comments at any public meeting. As an alternative, public comment may be submitted by e-mail to publiccomment@sierramadreca.gov by 3:00PM on the day of the meeting. Emails will be acknowledged at the Planning Commission meeting, filed into public record, and scanned onto the City website for public review.

A copy of the posted agenda and a live video stream of the meeting can be found on the City’s website at sierramadreca.gov , on Foothills Media website at foothillsmedia.org/sierramadre, and broadcast on Government Access Channel 3 (Spectrum).

If you require special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (626) 355-7135 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.

CODE OF CONDUCT

The purpose of a Planning Commission meeting is to conduct City business. Members of the public that behave in a manner that interrupts or obstructs the Planning Commission’s ability to conduct City business may be asked to leave the meeting. Any and all demonstrations which disrupt, interrupt, or obstruct the Planning Commission’s ability to conduct City business are prohibited. No signs, posters, or other large objects shall be brought into the Council Chambers or other meeting place if doing so would disrupt, disturb, or otherwise impede the orderly course of the meeting.

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. ROLL CALL OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS

Thomas Denison, Chair Patrick Simcock, Vice Chair, Kevin Brennan, Commissioner Chrstine Moran, Commissioner Yong Yoo, Commissioner

3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

4. REPORT FROM CITY COUNCIL LIASON

5. PRESENTATIONS

6. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA

Any person wishing to speak before the Planning Commission is asked to complete a Speaker Card and provide it to staff prior to the start of the meeting. Speakers are generally limited to three (3) minutes per person and time may not be delegated; any changes to the allotted time will be announced prior to the Public Comment period. Under the Brown Act, the Planning Commission is prohibited from discussing or taking action on any item not listed on the posted agenda. Addressing the Planning Commission from the audience is not permitted; all comments addressing the Commission must be made from the podium. Only public comment made from the podium will be recognized by the Planning Commission and entered into public record.

7. PUBLIC HEARING

Any person wishing to speak before the Planning Commission on a public hearing item is asked to complete a Speaker Card noting the agenda item number and provide it to staff prior to the start of the public hearing. Separate and apart from the applicant (who may speak longer in the discretion of the Commission) speakers are generally limited to three (3) minutes per person; any changes to the allotted time will be announced prior to the Public Comment period. Under the Brown Act, the Planning Commission is prohibited from discussing or acting on any item not listed on the posted agenda. The applicant may additionally submit rebuttal comments, at the discretion of the Commission. Following the closure of the public hearing and prior to the final decision, Commissioners shall disclose any ex parte communication that has taken place pertaining to the public hearing item. Planning Commissioners shall also disclose all visits to a site that is the subject of a quasi-adjudicatory proceeding before the Planning Commission. The disclosure will include whether the site visit was organized by staff, upon the invitation of the applicant, or on the Commissioners’ own accord. The Commissioner must disclose all information learned from the site visit that is not included in the agenda packet and that informs his or her decision-making.

Public Hearing to Investigate a Potential Public Nuisance at 281 W. Carter Ave

CEQA: Not a Project Recommended Action: Provide Direction

8. CONSENT CALENDAR

All matters listed under the Consent Calendar are considered to be routine and can be acted on by one roll call vote. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Planning Commission requests that a specific item be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate discussion and action.

9. DISCUSSION ITEMS

California Legislative Update Part 2 - Land Use and Housing

CEQA: Not a Project Recommended Action: Receive and File

10. REPORTS FROM PLANNING COMMISSION

11. REPORTS FROM CITY STAFF

12. ADJOURNMENT

The Planning Commission will adjourn to its next regular meeting on April 16, 2026.

INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC

The Planning Commission will consider the last item at 10:30 p.m. and they will adjourn the meeting by 11:00 p.m. The Planning Commission will continue all unfinished business to an adjourned meeting on the following Thursday at 5:30 p.m. or to a different time and date certain.

Copies of the Agenda are available for your convenience at the rear of the Council Chambers. State legislation (Govt. Code Section 54954.2) limits the Planning Commission’s ability to take action on specific requests. Govt. Code Section 54954.2 limits the placement of items on the Agenda for action 72 hours prior to meetings, except for specific findings.

No action or discussion may be undertaken by the Planning Commission on any item if not posted on the agenda, except that Commissioners or staff may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by the public, a Commissioner or staff may ask a question for clarification, make a brief announcement, or make a brief report on his or her own activities. A Commissioner or the Planning Commission itself may provide a reference to staff to report back to the Planning Commission at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter or may direct staff to place a matter of business on a future agenda.

REQUIRED FINDINGS

Conditional Use Permit and Variance considerations are “quasi-judicial” decisions made by the Planning Commission. As such, these decisions may be challenged in court. Accordingly, courts require an adequate “record” to exercise judicial review. This means that the documentation supporting the approval or denial of a project must include an explanation of how the Planning Commission processed the raw information and evidence considered in reaching its decision. The California Supreme Court has laid down distinct, definitive principles of law detailing the need for findings when a public agency approves or denies a project while acting in a “quasi- judicial” roll. This decision is based upon the case, Topanga Assoc. for a Scenic Community v. County of Los Angeles (“Topanga”). The “Topanga” court outlined the following 5 purposes for making findings:

Provide a framework for making principled decisions, enhancing the integrity of the administrative process;
Facilitate orderly analysis and reduce the likelihood the agency will randomly leap from evidence to conclusions;
Serve a public relations function by helping to persuade the parties that the administrative decision making is careful, reasoned, and equitable;
Enable the parties to determine whether and on what basis they should seek judicial review and remedies; and
Apprise the reviewing court of the basis for the agency’s decision.

For more information on the necessary “Findings” that the Planning Commission must make, please contact the Planning and Community Preservation Department at (626) 355-7138.

(Source: Curtin’s California Land Use & Planning Law, Daniel)

Date Posted: March 26, 2026