City Council Considering General Plan, Old Pasadena Concerned

The Pasadena City Council will consider more elements of the City’s General Plan at a public meeting Monday night before they move forward with studies on the plan’s impact.

A staff report for the meeting, found here, lends background to what will be discussed: 

On April 22, 2013 the City Council received an Agenda Report with additional information and revised recommendations on the General Plan. The City Council approved staff's recommendation, without any changes, for five items (New Policy Topic Areas, Land Use Element Policy Outline, Updated Mobility Element Objectives, Mobility Supporting Initiatives Goals and Objectives, and Proposed Specific Plan Boundaries) and deferred the remaining items (Guiding Principles, the General Plan Land Use Diagram, and the Development Caps) to April 29.

Documents that detail more about the development caps, changes to the guiding principles and general plan land use diagram can also be found in the agenda here.

At least one major group in Pasadena is concerned about potential development caps in the Central District of Pasadena, where the core of restaurants, shops and entertainment exist.

The Old Pasadena Management District, the self-described “non-profit business organization that creatively plans, manages and develops Old Pasadena,” sent an email blast Friday urging locals to sign and send an attached letter to City Clerk Mark Jomsky and ask him to forward it to City Council members for their consideration.

The letter reads as follows:

Dear Mayor Bogaard and City Council members,

My name is _______________________, and I am a (resident/property owner/business owner) in Pasadena.

     I am concerned that the current General Plan update will be detrimental to the Central District, and thus the entire city. A vibrant and economically viable Downtown is essential for the city's financial well-being and sustainable future. There is discussion of significantly reducing future development in the Central District, and that would be wrong. The city wants to reduce traffic, improve public transit systems and walkability, strengthen its retail and dining market share, and ensure an ecologically and economically strong future. This will be achieved by continuing the vision of downtown residential growth that supports the core retail and entertainment base, as well as the lifestyle amenities that enable sustainability, such as live/work models and comprehensive public transit. Allowing commercial retail and office space to grow, evolve, and adapt to currently-unknown future industry needs is crucial to staying strong and competitive.

    It is difficult for me to attend all of these meetings, but that doesn't mean I don't follow the discussions or care about the outcome. I also closely follow the remarks and recommendations of the downtown leadership organizations, such as Old Pasadena Management, The Playhouse District, and the DPNA.

     I know that the levels of development allowed, both commercial and residential, will be crucial. I ask you to allow the higher levels recommended by these organizations to be used in the environmental impact studies. Based on those studies, a more informed decision can be made for the final General Plan. Using lower development numbers for the study would be disastrous. Reducing those levels after the study is complete is relatively easy, increasing them is impossible.

     I know that the building mass allowed to be developed is crucial to certain projects and the density needed to support things like transit and walkability. I ask you to keep the floor area ratio (FAR) for the Old Pasadena area at city staff's recommendation of 2.25, which is consistent with other downtown areas.

     The Central District is the city's engine. We need to be fully capable of considering important options for downtown over the next 20 years. Please support my request for your vote when you consider the General Plan impacts to the Central District.

Sincerely,

____________________

The City Council’s public meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and public hearings begin at 7 p.m. in the Pasadena City Hall Council Chamber at 100 North Garfield Avenue, Room S249.

Are you planning to attend the meeting or speak out about any of the General Plan? Share your thoughts in the comments.