Sierra Madre’s Plan for Business District Runs Into Hard Reality

When fire ravaged six businesses in Sierra Madre last December, some saw the disaster as an opportunity to build from the ashes a dream downtown for which the city had hungered for years.

City officials and architect Don Watts envisioned a large plaza stretching along the south side of Sierra Madre Boulevard from Baldwin Avenue to Renaissance Plaza, the area hit by the $721,000 fire.

Under the dream plan, the town’s premier corner would have underground parking for 25 cars and 12 new, retail stores to lure the city’s 11,250 residents from nearby malls and back to hometown shops.

But those dreams have since collided with the reality of small-town life, said Ron Hutson, the city’s Main Street project manager.

“Everything you need, from cooperation to dollars to expertise, is in shorter supply here than in larger communities,” Hutson said.

The result is not a totally revamped downtown, but three fairly standard two-story buildings totaling about 9,000 square feet.

Nonetheless, City Manager James McRea believes the new building plans, now being scrutinized by city planners, represent progress for Sierra Madre, which lags far behind other San Gabriel Valley cities in sales tax earning power. The city earns only about $160,000 annually in sales tax revenues--about $16 per capita compared to the valley average of $50, McRea said.

“It’s not a solution, it’s a beginning,” McRea said of the development proposals. “I don’t think it will substantially improve the tax base, but it will put in motion Sierra Madre’s commitment to retail.”

The Dec. 6 fire began when a faulty extension cord ignited paint thinner in the back of one of the shops. The blaze gutted buildings housing the Treasures of Sierra Madre gift shop, Webb & Gordon Realtors, the Spinning Wheel gift shop and the Soft Touch Nail Salon.

Rooftop flames also put the Tequila Sunrise gift shop out of business and damaged Happy’s Wine & Spirits.

After the fire, town merchants rallied to aid the fire victims, raising about $6,000 at a sidewalk sale. Another $400 remains in an account kept by Harlequin Gallery, which sold photos and videos of the fire, said Frank Van Dongen at the gallery.

Although most of the fire-damaged businesses struggled to reestablish their shops earlier this year in temporary quarters in town, Hutson and others tried to persuade about six Sierra Madre Boulevard property owners, including some on Baldwin Avenue untouched by fire, to band together to create a major project for the corner.

But the plan seemed too risky for some.

“To be honest, it wasn’t a very good deal for us,” said Tracy Miller, whose family owns Happy’s. “They wanted us to tear down the building for the good of the town, spend half a million dollars just to improve a corner.”

Instead, Miller said his family preferred to collect $90,000 in insurance money to repair their shop and continue in the building they have owned since 1934.

The plans now submitted have been scaled down. Two buildings, one of 2,400 square feet and the other 2,600 square feet, would be built on land owned by Helen Elliot and Fred Crockett.

A 10-foot wide corridor separating the two-story buildings would lead to a courtyard with access to a back parking lot and the city’s public parking lot on Mariposa Street.

Next door to the east, property owner Berge Yeghiaian has submitted plans for another two-story building with a back entrance.

Lower floors of the buildings would be reserved for an unspecified number of retail establishments, with offices on the second floors.

To speed work on the project, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency promised to pay for the architectural plans, now estimated at $20,000. If those plans are approved, the building owners must pay back the city. The owners could also qualify for low-interest redevelopment loans.

But the very modesty of the new plans could pose a stumbling block for their approval and for the granting of the loans.

The plans do not meet the city’s parking ordinance, which requires one parking space per 300 square feet of retail area. The City Council, which has taken an increasingly stern position in getting developers to meet parking requirements, would have to be persuaded that the project is of sufficient value to allow a variance from parking requirements.

In addition, a smaller project with fewer tax benefits for the city becomes harder for the council to justify spending public money on as a redevelopment project.

“There may be some reluctance on my part to do anything unless there is something that is really going to benefit the community,” said Councilman Clem Bartolai.

To assess just what benefits Sierra Madre would derive from the proposed buildings, the city plans to hire a consultant to look at the economic and legal issues involved. The package could come before the council in another month.

Meanwhile, Sierra Madre residents are eager for their city to recover from the most devastating downtown fire in its history.

“The whole city is waiting for the opening,” gallery employee Van Dongen said.