Monrovia : Gold Hills Grading Delayed

The City Council has voted unanimously to delay issuing a grading permit for Gold Hills, the largest and most sensitive foothill subdivision ever to be undertaken in Monrovia. The permit will be considered again in May, 1987, when the rainy season is over. Although the Public Works Department had recommended that the developer be allowed to begin the six-month project this month, the council, listening to concerns of hillside residents about water and mud flows in the event of heavy rains, decided it was unwilling to take any risks.

Gold Hills was one of the most controversial issues ever to surface in Monrovia when it was proposed in 1980 as a 60-parcel, 90-acre subdivision. The City Council approved those original plans. But when opponents, who objected to the high density and amount of grading involved, gathered the necessary signatures to qualify the issue for a referendum election, the council reversed itself and voted to call a special election. In 1981 voters, by a 65% margin, decided to repeal the plan.

Later the city and opponents agreed on a compromise, which will involve 54 lots on 60 acres, with the remaining 30 acres to be held as permanent open space.