A Vacant Lot Near Eaton Wash Will Become Pasadena’s Newest Park — With a Stormwater System Underneath

A long-vacant city-owned parcel next to Eaton Blanche Park is about to become two things at once: a passive park with gardens, walking paths and a dog run, and an underground stormwater capture facility designed to clean polluted runoff before it reaches the Los Angeles River.

The Pasadena Department of Public Works will unveil the 90% park design at a community outreach event on Thursday, May 14, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Willard Elementary School, 301 South Madre Street. The open house — the fifth public engagement event since winter 2025 — will include family-friendly activities and an opportunity for residents to review the design that four earlier rounds of community input helped shape, according to a city press release issued May 4.

The Eaton Wash Stormwater Capture Project sits on a vacant city-owned parcel east of the Eaton Wash Channel, adjacent to Eaton Blanche Park. The site was first identified as part of the city’s Storm Drain Master Plan, according to the Public Works Department. Underground, the system will divert storm and dry-weather flows from the channel into a subterranean concrete basin for treatment and infiltration, with a capture capacity of 3.4 acre-feet, according to a state environmental filing. The process is intended to remove trash, sediments and pollutants from water that flows downstream through the Rio Hondo River to the Los Angeles River and, ultimately, the Pacific Ocean, according to the city’s Public Works Department.

Above ground, the plans call for bioswales and other stormwater features, shaded gathering areas, walking paths, outdoor classrooms, demonstration and community gardens, a dog park, and interpretive signage highlighting the site’s history, according to the city. A pedestrian bridge over the Eaton Wash Channel will connect the new park space to Eaton Blanche Park, according to the city’s Planning Department.

The project draws on a 10,294-acre upstream drainage area. It is intended to help Pasadena meet water quality compliance targets under the federal Clean Water Act, according to the city’s project website.

Funding for the design phase comes from the Los Angeles County Safe, Clean Water Program, a regional initiative created after LA County voters approved Measure W in November 2018. The measure established a parcel tax of 2.5 cents per square foot of impermeable surface area to fund stormwater capture and treatment projects countywide; the program invests approximately $280 million annually, according to the LA County Flood Control District. The city secured $2.3 million in design funds through a Safe, Clean Water Program feasibility study application, and a separate feasibility study was funded through the city’s Measure W Local Returns, according to the Public Works Department. The California Department of Transportation is contributing $6.5 million toward construction. Construction is anticipated to begin in July 2027 and last approximately 22 months, according to the city’s Planning Department.

The project site has a history that predates the current effort. In 1967, the city’s Director of Parks approved the Eaton Canyon Area Development plan, which proposed an interconnected system of parks and open spaces along the drainage channel. The site was also home to the Pasadena Earthside Nature Center, which operated from 1971 to around 1995 and featured California native wildflowers maintained by volunteers and local service clubs, according to the city.

The environmental review process is running in parallel. The city released an Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration under the California Environmental Quality Act in April 2026. The public comment period for that document closes May 11, 2026. Written comments are being directed to Dawn Petschauer, the city’s Stormwater Program Administrator, according to the city’s Planning Department.

Most of Eaton Blanche Park, located at 3100 East Del Mar Boulevard, is expected to remain open during construction. The portion of the park designated for the pedestrian bridge landing connecting the existing park to the new space across the channel would be closed during that phase, according to the city.

The May 14 event is free and open to the public.

For more information, residents can visit the city’s project page at cityofpasadena.net/public-works or contact the Stormwater Program Administrator at SWAdministrator@cityofpasadena.net.