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Planning commission receives annual review of Alverno Heights event permit after monitoring shows compliance
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Summary
Sierra Madre Planning Commission unanimously received a report on Conditional Use Permit 22-03 for events at Villa Del Sol D'Oro on the Alverno Heights Academy campus, finding monitoring data showed general compliance and few complaints during the review period.
Sierra Madre Planning Commission on Oct. 16, 2025 unanimously received a staff report on Conditional Use Permit 22-03, the permit allowing adaptive reuse of the Villa Del Sol D'Oro at Alverno Heights Academy for private rental events.
The item was a file-and-receive annual review covering the period Oct. 1, 2024 through Sept. 30, 2025 (with event counts reported through Sept. 30). Senior Planner Wolf summarized earlier City Council actions that altered the permit conditions: Council increased allowed events for 2025 and moved some review responsibility between Council and the Planning Commission before remanding the annual review to the commission tonight.
Why it matters: CUP 22-03 governs private events on school property within Sierra Madre, and the review examines whether event monitoring, off-duty police details and conditions of approval are limiting community impacts as intended.
Staff reported that the total number of rental events through Sept. 30, 2025 was 20, with 15 of those between April 1 and Sept. 30; staff said all of the events during that six-month span were weddings and that no filming events occurred. Police Chief Barrientos told the commission there were a small number of decibel readings taken during events and that none exceeded 70 decibels; there was one recorded call for service on June 14 that was handled by on-site security. The chief also reported one staffing issue on May 24 when an off-duty officer assigned to monitor an event was sick and did not notify the department, a lapse that staff noted but said produced no other calls.
Ken Farsing, chair of the Alverno Heights board of trustees, thanked the commission and city staff for assistance in managing events. "I just wanted to take just a second to thank the commission for their time and reviewing the permits," Farsing said, and he named facility manager Andrea Bertolini and city staff including Claire for their roles in event coordination.
Commissioners who spoke praised the improved management of events and the monitoring checklist. Several commissioners said they had attended the neighborhood meeting Alverno held in September and reported that neighbors raised no objections to recent events. The commission noted one recurring administrative detail to fix: quarterly notices that are part of the reporting process have not consistently been received by commissioners.
Staff also told the commission that for the next review period (Oct. 1, 20259/30/2026) rental events held on or after Oct. 23 will be required to comply with an updated city noise ordinance; staff described this as a forthcoming compliance requirement but did not provide an ordinance number in the meeting.
After brief discussion, Chair Dennison asked for a motion to receive the report. A motion was made and seconded; the vote was recorded as unanimous and the commission received the report.
The Planning and Community Preservation Department reminded commissioners that the next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 4, 2025, and that the department is tentatively scheduling several design-review items and the final environmental impact report for the Stone House project for that meeting.
