The Housing, Homelessness and Planning Committee will review a staff report on California’s State Density Bonus Law at a special meeting Monday, examining how the law has reshaped local development and limited the city’s ability to reject the concessions and waivers developers use to build larger projects. The item is informational; any policy change would require action by the Pasadena City Council, which holds final authority.
The law, in place since 1979, lets developers exceed local zoning limits in exchange for below-market units. A project that could build 100 units, for example, could reach 135 by reserving 20 units for low-income households. Statewide, approvals under the law rose from fewer than 15,000 in 2019 to more than 48,000 in 2024, staff reported. In Pasadena, 23 major projects of 70 or more units are under review or construction, totaling 4,160 units, of which 1,525 would be reserved as affordable.
Cities face an extremely high burden to deny concessions and waivers, staff said. Staff is updating the city’s density bonus ordinance to align it with state law and presented the update to the Planning Commission on Sept. 9.
Need to know: The Housing, Homelessness and Planning Committee is scheduled to take up the density bonus concessions and waivers review at its special meeting Monday, Sept. 14, at 5 p.m. in the Council Chamber, Room S249, at Pasadena City Hall, 100 North Garfield Avenue, in Pasadena. The meeting is open to the public, in person or by videoconference. Join by Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/161482446 or by phone at 1-669-900-6833, meeting ID 161 482 446. For more, call (626) 744-7311 or visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/agendas/.
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