The City Council on Monday conducted the first reading of an interim urgency ordinance extending Pasadena’s prohibition on urban lot splits and two-unit developments allowed under Senate Bill 9 in very high fire hazard severity zones within the Eaton Fire burn area.
The measure would extend Ordinance No. 7455 and keep SB 9 applications on hold in single-family zones inside the fire boundary, according to a City Attorney’s fact sheet.
City officials say the restriction is intended to prevent concentrated SB 9 construction in neighborhoods at elevated wildfire risk.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s July 30 Executive Order N-32-25 suspended portions of state law — Government Code sections 65852.21 and 66411.7 — in very high fire hazard zones within the Palisades and Eaton fire areas to the extent those sections limit local discretion over SB 9 projects.
Pasadena’s extension would continue using that authority to block ministerial approvals for qualifying two-unit developments and urban lot splits in the defined area.
If the council does not successfully conduct the second reading, property owners inside the Eaton Fire boundary could again submit SB 9 applications for ministerial review, the memo states.
The Planning and Community Development Department would implement the ordinance.
Get our daily Pasadena newspaper in your email box. Free.
Get all the latest Pasadena news, more than 10 fresh stories daily, 7 days a week at 7 a.m.
