Help us preserve Old Town Monrovia...
 
Let the voters decide our future!
 
As residents of Monrovia, we're proud of the improvements we've
all made to the Old Town community over the past few years. 
We've supported the events and family entertainment sponsored by
the Old Town Merchants Association, the Monrovia Chamber of
Commerce and other friends of Monrovia.  
 
We're concerned about the impact the ambitious 12 auditorium
theater will have on our charming Old Town community.  The
article in the November/December issue of Monrovia Today confirms
information that we've been telling our neighborhood community
for the past few months:
 

• The size of the theater project is overwhelming for our small town community. This is a 50,000 square foot facility that will cost $10.8 million dollars to build! It is described as "like none other in the San Gabriel Valley".
• The hours of operation will extend beyond what is normally recognized for a residential community. The merchants plan a 15 hour a day operation, seven days a week. Since most Old Town businesses open after 9:00 a.m. daily, this confirms that hours of operation will extend after 10:00 p.m.
• The city has modeled the planned growth of Old Town Monrovia, supported by a city of 37,000 residents, against Pasadena (131,000 residents), Burbank (93,000 residents) and Long Beach (429,000 residents). All of the cities we're emulating have a population of at least twice the size of Monrovia!
• The theater will provide the "same type of economic catalyst as the Family Festival". An event of this magnitude can be tolerated when it's once a week, not every day!

 
Our grass roots effort to notify the community has resulted in a
community awareness of the project that wasn't previously
provided by the City of Monrovia.  As we contact our neighbors,
we find that most aren't aware of the size and scope of the
theater project.   We are pleased that information is now being
provided to concerned citizens on a regular basis.   
 
We encourage interested residents to join the theater steering
committee to learn more about the project.   We were invited to
three of the nineteen meetings held with citizens of Monrovia
over the past few months.   At each meeting, we were updated on
the project, but only provided an opportunity to discuss our
concerns after major decisions were already made.  Unfortunately,

the project progressed from a four to an eight, then to a twelve
screen project without input from area residents.  
 
The City Council has already approved the theater project and a
zoning ordinance that will allow construction in early 1997.   As
concerned citizens of Monrovia, we are circulating a petition for
a referendum against the ordinance which will allow the voters of
Monrovia to decide the future of the Old Town Community.  The
petition will be delivered to the City of Monrovia by December 4.
 The City Council will review the referendum (hopefully, at it's
December 17 meeting), and decide whether to place the referendum
on a ballot in March 1997.
 
We hope you share our concerns and ask you to sign the petition
when you are contacted by one of our concerned citizens.  If you
haven't been contacted, please call 358-7986.   
 
Citizens To Preserve Old Town Monrovia