With one member absent, a divided Pasadena City Council on Monday failed to reach a decision on whether to uphold a Board of Zoning Appeals ruling allowing a safe parking program on the All Saints Church campus, leaving the matter unresolved and likely to be revisited at a later date.
Mayor Victor Gordo joined Councilmembers Tyron Hampton and Justin Jones voted in opposition leading to a 4-3 vote, just one vote short of the five needed to approve the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) findings for the program, which are required to move the project forward.
The failed vote effectively halted a motion either to affirm or reverse the zoning board’s prior 5-0 approval of a Minor Conditional Use Permit (MCUP) for the project.
“Since the CEQA findings were not met you can’t approve the project unless there is a motion to reconsider the project or,” said City Attorney Michele Beal Bagneris.
The project would allow up to 25 vehicles to park overnight in the northern lot of All Saints Church at 202 N. Euclid Ave., providing a secure space for individuals living in their vehicles — particularly seniors, low-wage workers, and families.
The site has operated a temporary shelter, Safe Haven, for years in partnership with nonprofits including Shower of Hope.
A staff report affirmed the program complies with zoning regulations for safe parking as an accessory use to religious facilities. It also found the program qualifies for a Class 1 CEQA exemption, arguing there would be no significant environmental impact and no physical expansion.
But residents near the site disagreed. Two appeals were filed by property ownership groups, who claimed the proposal did not qualify for zoning allowances and would increase safety risks and noise in the area. They also raised objections to the CEQA exemption, saying the parking lot’s use would expand significantly.
“The City Council correctly rejected staff’s proposed CEQA findings,” said Strefan Fauble, HOA president at the Maryland in Pasadena.
“Recognizing that camping in one’s car is not the same as ordinary parking, the Council rightly rejected staff’s assertion that the proposed safe parking program would not be a change use. And recognizing that the proposed site’s hours of significant operation would expand by more than 100% and the number of vehicles by 50%, the Council rightly rejected the staff’s assertion that the proposed program would be a negligible expansion of use.”
Under city rules, without a prevailing side on CEQA findings, the MCUP cannot be finalized even though the underlying zoning approval stands. The hearing, which went more than six hours, revealed both logistical and legal friction over the future of the proposed safe parking site.
District 7 Councilmember Jason Lyon, who voted in favor of the program said the failed vote would leave the 25 people who would have been part of the program vulnerable.
“Unfortunately, after city planning staff, an independent hearing officer and all five members of the Board of Zoning Appeals recommended approving All Saints Church’s safe parking application, a minority of three members of the council were able to kill the proposal because one councilmember was absent,” said Lyon. “Their reasoning wasn’t all that clear, but the bottom line is there are going to be 25 older women and men sleeping in cars on our streets without the benefit of access to services, restroom facilities and security to keep them safe.”
Council deliberations revealed divisions over the program.
Councilmember Jones pressed staff on whether the money earmarked for Safe Parking would be better used as direct rent support.
“Could we use that 25,000 a month to essentially help pay the supplement rent instead of having them park in the parking lot?” Jones said.
Mayor Gordo called Jones’ approach more humane and asked if the church could bring people indoors to its rectory, conference rooms or auditoriums.
“…I think that’s a much more humane approach,” Gordo said.
Community members have been closely involved. Over the last year, All Saints and its partners held two public open houses to discuss operational details, rules of conduct, and security measures. The program prohibits drug or alcohol use, loud music, and camping structures. Participants must be registered and abide by a code of conduct, with vehicles permitted overnight from 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. A security guard is required to be on duty each night.
“Our homeless count two years ago was 34 folks out on the street parked in cars that we counted, and this last year it was 37,” said Councilmember Rick Cole, who voted in favor of the program. “So they’re out there and they do tend to be the kind of people who clinging by their fingernails to some kind of stability. They often have jobs. The ability to register, ensure, and keep up a car means that they have some level of stability. So we have a bigger problem, and yes, we could devote more resources to this population than a safe parking, but that’s resources we’re taking. It’s a zero sum game. We don’t have enough resources to house 300 people and 300 people are out in the rain tonight, because we don’t have a bad weather shelter that doesn’t operate until mid-December.”
Cole called on All Saints to meet with neighbors concerned about the program.
“The reason I’m so supportive of this program though, and why I supported it back in 2023 when we authorized this sort of entitlement back in 2024 when we entered the contract with Door of Hope and back when we authorized the program with Trinity and tonight here at All Saints, is that ultimately this is preventing people from ending up on the streets where they’re causing quality of life issues or they’re causing public safety issues and in a more human or to speak more humanely, we’re meeting an immediate need of human beings in our city who need a safe place to rest every night,” said Councilmember Jess Rivas.
Despite council inaction, the zoning board’s approval technically remains on the books. However, without CEQA clearance from the council, the MCUP cannot be implemented. One councilmember noted history in the making when discussing the unusual lack of outcome: “We haven’t had that situation in at least 20 years.”
The council was missing one member during the meeting, prompting another to suggest postponing the decision. “We are missing one councilmember… so we could have a majority make a decision,” a councilmember said.
No future date was set for the item’s continuation. The city manager’s office did not immediately respond to inquiries regarding when the matter may return to the agenda.
Pasadena adopted the safe parking ordinance in September 2023 as part of its housing element. In April 2024, the council authorized a $305,000 contract with Shower of Hope to operate the site — contingent on attaining a permit.
The fate of the All Saints safe parking program now hinges on when — or whether — the council can reach consensus. For now, the city’s ongoing efforts to provide car shelter for its unhoused residents remain, at least in part, stalled by process.
“Putting people in a parking lot is not getting them off the street, putting them in a hotel or in a place with four walls and a roof and hopefully a restroom and a refrigerator and a kitchen is getting them off the street. Parking lots are not getting them off the street,” said Gordo.
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