Stop The Mater Dolorosa Housing Project
As you read this, a proposal is moving forward to sell a significant portion of the Mater Dolorosa Monastery to a developer to build a housing project. This project must be stopped before it’s too late. The project itself will require a zoning change from institutional to residential.
For most of us, we first heard the news of this project in the Mountain Views News
article of November 16th entitled: "Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center Contemplating
Housing Project." Only after this news was leaked out did the Monastery send out a letter on November 19th to nearby residents to inform them of this development.
Since then, there has been a groundswell of concern and shock, that this 88 acre oasis of beauty is about to be carved up, sold to a developer and lost forever. Amidst the increasingly frenetic pace of modern life, do we really want to lose this beautiful property with its majestic vistas and open space to another unnecessary housing project?
What makes this property special is the buffer of land separating the Monastery structures from the hustle and bustle of modern life. Without that buffer, the essence of this property will be ruined.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!
If you have ever taken a walk on the Monastery grounds and enjoyed its natural beauty, we need your help!
If you are from a nearby Parish and have ever taken a retreat there and enjoyed the solitude and spirituality of this unique place, we need your help!
If you are a long-time Sierra Madre resident who fondly remembers the annual Fiesta and other events held at the Monastery, we need your help!· If you are a Catholic or non-Catholic who has ever made the annual pilgrimage on Good Friday and followed the Stations of the Cross, we need your help!
If you simply live in Sierra Madre and want to preserve 88 acres that has been a city landmark since 1926 and a refuge for a wide array of wildlife, we need your help!
If you are a homeowner living near the Monastery and don’t want to endure a lengthy construction project lasting for years with caravans of noisy, smelly, grinding trucks parading up to the once tranquil grounds only to end up with increased traffic and congestion, widened streets, a significant decline in your property values, and maybe Sierra Madre's first traffic light, we need your help!
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Send us your email address so that we can contact you and give you the latest information and news alerts.
Email us and ask for a “Stop the Monastery Housing Project!” yard sign.
Call the Mater Delorosa Monastery at 626-355-7188, Archbishop Gomez at 213-637-7534 and Father Donald Webber at 773-631-6336. Share with them what the Monastery has meant to you.
Contact your Sierra Madre City Council members and let them know how you feel.
Contact everyone you know who may share your concerns about this project.
If you have any special expertise that you can lend to the cause, let us know. We are interested in retaining formal legal representation to assist us in our efforts.