On Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, at 7:00pm the City will hold a Community Meeting at City Hall to discuss a planned large rail line maintenence and ops facility for the trains as part of the “mixed use” facility at Station Square.  Currently, our tax dollars are committed to Station Square via an amendment to the Monrovia General Plan. The Station Square plan includes high-rise apts. and hotel buildings, office and “research and development” facilities, plus small retail shops (and similar minimum-wage-level employers).  It is a vast, ambitious project with no prospective tenants.

As we all know, Monrovia has a glut of houses and apartments for rent, with several hundred more under construction on Myrtle; There is also a glut of commercial and retail space available, much of which hasn’t been rented or leased for several years now.  We have witnessed the “redevelopment” fiasco of the Colorado Commmons condos (now apartments), which was promised to “revitalize” Old Town, but has in fact only been more of a burden to Old Town by decreasing parking for customers of local businesses without providing any noticeable increase in their commerce, as was promised.

In the past, local schools, residents and businesses ALL voiced opposition
to the Station Square project, but the City did not heed their
concerns.  There is STILL NO PLAN for the City to provide additional
police, fire, school, water, traffic and street services to the >1,200
additional families they hope to house at Station Square. Plus,
provisions must ALSO be made and funded for the ‘daily-use occupants’, the
businesses and commuters.  Do we now have adequate water, fire, police,
etc. for the residents currently in Monrovia over the next 15 years ?

If you want more development in Monrovia —-more rental units,
commercial units and other multi-story development built on “spec”, with
no tenants in sight—- then please go to this meeting to show
your support for the Station Square project and timeline as planned.

On the other hand, if you would like to see the Station Square
project as planned shelved for the foreseeable future or modified
to a more modest, less overwhelming, more ‘rentable’ and more protectable
size then please go to this meeting to show your opposition to
this tax-subsisized development, a project that was never voted for
nor approved by the majority of the citizens of Monrovia.  

Either way, PLEASE make sure your opinion is heard.  Our
City should not be undertaking such large, permanent changes
without the participation of more Monrovians. 

PLEASE attend this important public meeting to learn more and voice
your opinion about this large project that is impacting our community
and spending our tax dollars.

The official City announcement of the meeting is at: LINK