South Pasadena Review from South Pasadena, California • 1

Published continuously since 1888. The only Newspaper published in the City of South Pasadena. 1024 Mission St, South Pasadena. Cali! 91030 CITY OF SOUTH PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 1974 SYcamore 9-1161 MUrray 2-1412 $5.00 A Year Single Cepy 10 Cents VOLUME 86 NUMBER 2 Plan To Provide Lease Stables Could City With Budget Surplus sultant would be used to help prepare the city's response to this state report, and is being added at the request of the freeway commission. $6,500 is being added to the budget to finance the settlement of a suit that is now pending against the city, to which settlement the council has agreed.

Other increases in expense are being allowed to the Police Department, building maintenance, maintenance of median strips and the street division due to the fact the city council has already authorized expenses in these areas since the budget was passed. The total of new expenditures is expected to be in the neighborhood of $94,000. Thus, in summary, the lease of the stables will go to cover the money that was originally intended to be raised by the sale of lot 117. Increased revenue over last year from other sources is expected to be a great deal higher, even when the projections for the next six months are on the pessimistic side due to the gains made during the first half of the fiscal year. When the additional expenditures are taken into account, the city can look forward to a modest surplus at the end of the fiscal year.

There is, as yet, no concrete financial agreement on the stable matter, and Coleman has the council's approval to prepare such an agreement for council approval. Money raised thru the stables can't be used to pay off any of the old bank loans that are still outstanding against the city, due to provisions of the law. Pleasure at the prospect of a balanced budget was evident on the part of the city council when the city manager had completed his report. of men and taking Lowers rain has done Meridian Sts. the weather.

Children have been off it for some time, and the the rest. Float is at Mission and Review photo. FORLORN FLOAT South Pasadenas entry in the Rose Parade wont have an official post-parade period when it will be on view'. The float, looking bedraggled in the vacant lot where it was built, has suffered at the hands City Joins Suit That Could Bring So. Pasadena $300,000 per Year Heavy Rains Dump 6.32 Ins, Of Rain On So Pasadena Apartment Unit Floor Space, Land Areas Set By Council After two public hearings last Wednesday night, the South Pasadena City Council voted to to amend the zoning ordinance, giving the code a new set of figures for minimum floor space for apartments and designating how many square feet of land are required for each dwelling unit.

The figures on the minimum floor space per dwelling unit in South Pasadena reads as follows: council would have to grant the developer a variance before he would buy the property in many cases. The council has been, it was pointed out, reluctant to grant variances to people other than the legal property owners at the time. The council also briefly mentioned the idea of a planned unit development zone (PUD). A PUD has almost no restrictions in terms of zoning, but all plans for projects to be built on it must be approved by the council. The idea sparked a show of interest, as it was found out many other cities use this concept in their zoning, but nothing was done to follow up on the idea.

Tlie present rain storm which has dumped 2.10 inches of rain in South Pasadena over the past 24 hours, according to Fire Department figures, has not caused any damage to the city. One of the main reasons for this, according to Bill Spence of the City Department of Public Service, is that the storm drain that was installed recently on Columbia Street has knocked out the possibility of flooding at the intersection of that street and Orange Grove, a long time flood area during heavy rains such as this one. Spence says that all the storm drains are handling the heavy run-off from the storm very' well. The Columbia project was one of the last remaining major projects planned to make the city able to handle almost any type of storm. Robert Berlin of the Department of Parks and Recreation, reports that two trees have been downed so far during the storm.

The city council discussed budget and the stables at last Wednesday night's meeting. The council heard that, within the boundaries of a complicated arrangement involving the stables and higher revenues than expected, South Pasadena can look forward to a cushion, or possible surplus in the budget for this fiscal year of $14,518. The core cf the balanced budget involves the city owned stables. Basically, a non-profit corporation, to be named the Community Service and Recreation Corporation, would be formed. This corporation will not buy the stables from the city, but will rather take on the management of them for a period of about 20 years.

The corporation will lease the stables. Once the corporation is formed and given the green light from the Internal Revenue Service as a tax exempt organization, as well as from the Securities and Exchange Commission, it will issue bonds, at about six per cent interest, to the tune of $300,000. Roughly $125,000 of the money raised will go into stable improvements, for instance, building more stalls and thus raising the capacity of the stables to board horses in stalls from about 18 to 125. It is felt that with 125 stalls being rented for $75 per month, the stables will be self sufficient, and may even turn a small surplus amounting to $10,000 per year, which would go to the city. The other $175,000 of the bond issue would go to the city in the form of advanced rent on the stables.

Robert Guilot, an expert in non-profit municipally sponsored corporations, said that such actions have been taken in other cities in California for the past 25 years, very successfully. He assured the city council the bonds were salable, and described the corporation as "strictly a financing arm of the city." He said the council would be in effective total control of the company, but without any obligations to the city. Community Center City Manager Ted Coleman also described how the corporation might be able to, with the assistance of the CRA and using similar financing, construct a Community Center on the site of the present Youth' Center. Such a center would, in Coleman's projection, provide office space for such organizations as the Red Cross, Chamber of Commerce and RSVP. Facilities would also be open to the Youth Center, the Senior Citizens groups and other groups in town who have need of a community meeting room, which would be provided.

Balanced Budget Coleman led off his remarks about the budget by telling the council "We can end the fiscal year with a balanced budget. We must count on the stables." He said that the council knew at budget time last summer that some special means of raising money would have to be found. At that time, it was proposed to raise the money thru the sale of lot 117, but the decision was reconsidered, and it was finally decided not to sell the lot, which would have brought $150,000 into the city coffers. This, coupled with increases and changes in the payment schedule for workmen's compensation, left the city with a projected budget deficit of over $200,000, prompting the city council to instruct Coleman to arrive at a method of re-balancing the budget. Coleman will use the $175,000 in advanced rent on the stable's lease as the chief source of revenue to accomplish this end.

Using figures from the first five months of activity of this fiscal year, Coleman projected that revenue to the city should total $2,849,380, while expenditures will come to $2,834,862, leaving a small cushion of about $14,518 at the end of the year. One of the reasons for the expected cushion is the fact that city revenues are running above what was expected, with expenditures basically staying where they were projected in the original budget. Among the sources of the increased revenue are: Inflation. Sales tax revenue has gone up because the prices of goods sold have increased. This does not mean the merchants are having a banner year, merely that prices, and hence the sales tax, have been forced up due to inflation.

The city expects about $25,000 in additional revenue from sales taxes. Fines. "Police Department revenue is also substantially ahead of last year, because of increased personnel, and therefore a better job of law enforcement. This source of revenue was based on last year's performance, and I estimate it will add about $30,000 of increased revenue," Coleman said. Sale of land.

Proceeds from the further sale or lease of city owned land will increase the revenue a total of $22,000, Coleman feels. The total of extra revenue to the city is expected to be about $105,000, but much of this will go into expenses which were not foreseen at budget time last summer. Workmen's Compensation. Because the State of California has changed the payments schedule on workmen's compensation, the city will have to pay its normal share in advance, rather than at the end of the year, meaning that $52,000 not expected to be paid for this function until the next fiscal year will have to be paid out this year instead. will be used to hire a consultant in connection with the Long Beach Freeway Environmental Impact Report, which is under preparation by lhe state.

The con MIKE MONTGOMERY Mcnfgcmery Injured On Snowmobile City Councilman Michael Montgomery was injured in an accident recently. Montgomery, a candidate for the Republican nomination for California secretary of state, was unable to attend the last city council meeting due to tire in juries. The councilman had apparently borrowed a snowmobile from some friends in the Lake Arrowhead area. The vehicle struck an obstruction and catapulted Montgomery thru the windshield, causing the councilman to lose some of his teeth and cutting liim. Altho painlul, the injuries are not described as serious, altho their treatment will entail several unpleasant visits to the dentists office.

Montgomery will be ready for his, councilmatic duties at the Jan. 16 meeting, however, and is expected to attend. BLAZES From The South Pasadena Fire Department YOUR SOUTH PASADENA FIRE DEPARTMENT January 1. 1:41 a.m. A collision on the Pasadena Freeway resulted in an alarm reporting an injury.

Maxwell F. Taylor, 19, of Altadena declined hospital transportation. January 1, 2:46 a.m. The ambulance was dispatched to Oak and Meridian. David B.

Scott, 25, of 1707 Meridian was found to have injuries and was transported to the Huntington Hospital. January 1, 2:52 a.m. The rescue truck responded with oxygen to 307 San Pasqual. The resident, Robert Thompson, declined hospital transportation. January 1, 6:02 a.m.

Celeste A. Rankin, 18, of 1203 Pine was transported to the Huntington Hospital for treatment of a severe headache. January 1, 12:08 p.m. A resident was reported to have suffered a possible stroke at 1118 Glendon Way. Chester Kalkstein, 71, was transported from his home to the Hunting-ton Hospital for treatment.

January 1, 1:29 a.m. Fire units responded to an alarm from 1320 El Cerrito Circle. Wood paneling above the heater in the basement area was found to have burned. A loose vent pipe was believed a possible cause for the alarm. Damage was estimated at $5.00.

January 2, 12:43 a.m. Carroll C. Barbour, 1801 Court St injured his back in a fall at his residence and was taken to the Huntington Hospital. January 2, 3:50 p.m. A brush fire reported in the 300 block of Monterey Rd.

proved to be smoke from a chimney in a rear apartment at 317 Monterey Rd. January 3, 3:16 p.m. An alarm reported a resident having breathing difficulty at 1900 La Fremontia. Sam Rossile was transported to the Huntington Hospital. The South Pasadena City Council has decided to respond positively to a plea from Baldwin Paik for financial aid in that citys fight to have sales tax revenue distributed to cities on a per capita basis rather than on the present formula system.

South Pasadenas share in paying for the suit will be about $600 to $700 per year. If the suit is successful, it could bring the city arr "additional $313,565 per year, according to the city of Baldwin Park's figures. City Attorney Charles Martin indicated that the odds on the suit, in terms cf money put up for the possible return, were about as good as they could get. Martin also indicated that the suit stood a reasonable possibility cf succeeding. Under the present system, larger cities like Pasadena and Los Angeles fare better than smaller ones like South Pasadena.

The larger cities would lo.se this advantage if the formula system was thrown out by the courts and a per capita payment schedule installed. For this reason, the laiger cities are fighting the plan. Mayor Leo W. King of Baldwin Park made the plea to the South Pasadena council in the form of a letter. "The Orange County law firm of Rutan and Tucker was retained for this litigation.

the letter staes. "and they are now ready to start legal proceedings after completing a very thoiough preliminary analysis. Based upon the expressed inteiest cf 74 cities representing over 1.8 million people, we are confident we now have sufficient support to formally ask these cities to join us in this effort. You are asked to approve tlio enclosed agreement and return an executed copy to our city manager. Those agreements will not be forwarded to the law firm until enough cities have joined in to lower the cost to three cents per capita, at which time litigation will commence, he continued.

The $313,000 figure is above and beyond what is currently garnered by South Pasadena in sales tax revenue. Martin told the council that it will probably take from four to five years to bring to termination. A quick glance at some recent court and legislative actions tend to confirm that the suit does stand a chance. For instance, the recent one man one vote decisions, as well as SB 90, which seeks to assure that children in all school districts will have the same amount of money available for their education. It is not known, however, if these cases can be used in an actual legal battle, but they do serve to indicate, to a small extent, the tone of the times." CRA Plan OK'd By Mayor Sullivan During Debate The arctic front has dumped 6.32 inches of rain on the city during the past few days, bringing the seasonal total to almost 9 inches.

Last years rains, which were considered heavy, dropped 7.19 inches of rain by this point in the year. South Pasadena, then, has held up well under the storm, and has not been plagued with black outs or mud slides as have other areas of Los Angeles County. San Marino, for example, experienced a brief black out due to tire storm. In the Altos, there is a bit of nrud being washed down from the hills, but nothing major. Some of the steeper hillsides, as well as areas that have experienced recent brush fires, are being watched closely by city personnel.

No serious accidents are reported as being caused by the rain, but a couple of fender benders might have been triggered by the poor visibility and slippery streets. objective 'of the plan) is to revitalize the downtown core. It wont go into residential areas. "The object of the plan is to get the sales revenue up. he continued.

He went on to note that, while the council had held the propertv tax rate at $1.86 fer almost a decade, it couldnt be held down forever. Unless the sales revenue to the city is increased, he warned, it will be hard to maintain the present pioperty tax rate and the level of service piovided by the Police and Fire Departments and other city services. Well have to raise taxes next year. he said, indicating that tiie CRA plan could help avert this action. A raising cf the property taxes would hit hardest at retired persons.

Sullivan continued, because many of them are on fixed incomes and couldnt afford a gher rate. We dont want peo-pe to leave, he said. Sullivan stated that there wreie many rumors in the air about the plan, and further said that he, CRA chairman Bruffy or James Magncr would be glad to meet with any sized group about the plan. If anything is w'rong (with the plan) I want to know about it! continued the mayor. We dont want to jeopardize any-( Continued On Page 6) POLICE BLOTTER FROM YOUR SO.

PASADENA POLICE DEPARTMENT Since Jan. 2, criminal activity seems to have been dampened" by the rains. One attempted burglary was reperted in the apartment area in the 1600 block of Amberwocd Drive and there was no loss. In reported thefts, a top coat was taken from a dinner house in the 1400 block of Huntington Drive, the second of such thefts being reported recently from such establishments. Two bicycles were taken from the 700 block of Bcnita Drive, and a tatteiy was taken from a vehicle in the 500 block of El Centro St.

Several complaints were handled in conjunction with the Pasadena Humane Society regarding stray dogs. South Pasadena does have a city ordinance which requires that dogs be kept on owners property, or when off the property, to be on a leash and in the care of a competent person. It can be a rather costly incident if your deg is apprehended by the humane officers. Tire dog will be impounded at the Humane Society in Pasadena and1 will have to be picked up by the owner plus payment of an impound fee. Police and humane officers are authorized to issue citations to dog owners for this violation, requiring an appearance in the Pasadena Municipal Court.

It is a misdemeanor! The heavy rains have caused some damage, but not as much as might be expected. Several trees were reported down and several instances of flooding of (Continued On 6) tion, the minimum dwelling unit floor space for any zone was square feet. The council also made 1,250 square feet the minimum amount of land that had to exist for each dwelling unit, regardless of zone, upgrading the amount of square feet from 1,000 for apartment projects. The lowering of the minimum apartment size in terms of floor space was designed to allow smaller apartments for senior citizens and young people, while the increase in minimum land area was aimed at decreasing density in South Pasadena. Realtor Glenn Young spoke in favor of lowering the apartment sizes, saying that economics dictated that apartments built under the un-amended code would force a near minimum rent of $275 per month.

He said that regulating the floor area of apartments would not serve the function of lowering density. The large minimum floor area, he stated, w'ould make South Pasadena unattractive to developers and preclude building apartments for senior citizens. Councilman Joseph Biesek went on record as being against the lower floor space amendments, saying that as the city was able to issue variances when the situation warranted it, they should keep the higher floor space section, and thus effective control of the size of apartments, forcing developers who wanted lower floor space areas to apply to the City Council for the variances they would then need. It was argued by other members of the council, however, that if a person wanted to sell a piece of real estate to a developer, the Mayor John L. Sullivan vigorously defended the CRA dowm-town revitalization plan at last Wedresday nights council meeting.

The mayor was reacting to a chalenge from a member cf the audience to show that the CRA was under firm council contxol. Sullivan started by stating that the CRA as it had existed during the earlier phases of the construction of the Altos de Monterey development had indeed gotten out of effective control as far as the city council of that time was concerned. One of his major aims when he was elected, Sullivan said, was to control the old CRA agency. In the end, the old CRA board, which Sullivan credited with a good job in the Altos, was dissolved by the city council, and the council tock over the function of the CRA board as well. The present CRA beard, Sullivan stressed, is presently an advisory arm cf the council.

He out that the present CRA had been appointed by the council and had been selected on the basis of their dedication and their responsibility. Not one member of the CRA is a businessman in this community, said Sullivan, speaking to possible conflict of inteiest. The.