City Council to Consider $83 Million Senior Housing Project

The Pasadena City Council on Monday will vote on key business terms of an amended development and lease agreement with National Community Renaissance of California, advancing plans for a 100-unit affordable housing complex for seniors at 280 Ramona St. in the City’s Civic Center.

Approve would also amend the Housing Department’s fiscal year 2026 operating budget to recognize $5 million in State Local Housing Trust Fund dollars for the project, including $4.75 million in construction loans and $250,000 for administrative support.

The $83.1 million Ramona Senior Housing development will include 99 units for low-income seniors and one unit for a resident manager. Amenities include a community room, courtyard, and on-site management offices. Some units will be reserved for unhoused seniors.

The five-story complex, approved by the city’s Design Commission in 2024, will not include on-site parking. Instead, it will feature a covered loading zone and a dedicated paratransit pickup area along Ramona Street.

City support totals $19.2 million, combining a $14.49 million ground lease value with the $4.75 million in state housing trust funds. Additional funding includes $2.76 million in federal HOME program allocations and $8.19 million in loans from Los Angeles County’s No Place Like Home program, which also provides rental vouchers for 48 units.

National Community Renaissance has also applied for state Multifamily Finance funds, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and Federal Home Loan Bank support to close a funding gap of nearly $50.7 million.

The developer would lease the city-owned property for 99 years at $1 per year and operate under a regulatory agreement ensuring affordability for the same term. The project is subject to Pasadena’s minimum wage and local hiring ordinances.

Officials said the budget and lease amendments are administrative actions not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act. The development itself was previously deemed exempt under the in-fill housing category.

Here are the remaining items on Monday’s consent calendar.

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• A five-year contract with Kelly Spicers, Inc., doing business as Kelly Spicers Stores, for sheet-cut paper, parent-size paper, no-carbon-required forms, and envelopes at a cost not to exceed $1,226,685. The proposed agreement includes a base contract of $736,011 and allows for two optional one-year extensions valued at up to $490,674, at the discretion of the city manager.

The action also authorizes the city manager to approve no-cost amendments, including time extensions. According to a staff report, the Finance Department’s Printing Services division relies on a steady supply of specialized paper and envelopes not typically available through office supply retailers.

The materials are used for in-house printing orders across city departments. Officials said the city has purchased more than $200,000 in paper supplies from Kelly Spicers Stores since 2015.

The contract’s cost will be covered in the current fiscal year’s adopted operating budget for the Finance Department. Future costs will be included in subsequent annual budgets.

• Amending five contracts with local nonprofit service providers to add more than $1.1 million in Los Angeles County Measure A funding for homeless services and prevention programs. The proposal would add $351,962, $197,145, and $287,054 to three contracts with Union Station Homeless Services, bringing their totals to $1.78 million, $996,127, and $1.98 million. Two contracts with Friends In Deed would receive $168,587 and $106,310, raising their totals to $1.02 million and $712,203.

The funding comes from Pasadena’s allocation of Measure A, the county’s Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions, and Prevention Now tax approved earlier this year.

The city, which serves as lead agency for the Pasadena Continuum of Care, is set to receive $1.32 million in fiscal year 2026. According to a staff report, the amendments will support rapid rehousing for up to 15 households, housing navigation for up to 25 individuals, and more than 2,500 motel nights of emergency shelter through Union Station.

Friends In Deed will provide about 1,500 motel nights and homelessness prevention assistance for 25 very low-income households at risk of losing housing.

The proposed actions also authorize the city manager to extend the contracts for up to five years and add future Measure A allocations, with exemptions from competitive bidding requirements.

City staff said the amendments are consistent with Pasadena’s General Plan Housing Element and related housing strategies. Funding is already included in the Housing Department’s fiscal year 2026 operating budget.

• A $1.9 million contract to Toro Enterprises, Inc. for trench repair and pavement restoration on Fair Oaks Avenue and Madison Avenue. The project follows Pasadena Water and Power’s completion of a water main replacement earlier this year that required trenching along Fair Oaks Avenue from Washington Boulevard to Montana Street.

Rather than limit work to trench repair, city officials plan to resurface the entire roadway from Washington Boulevard to the north city limit with fiber-reinforced rubberized asphalt, which is expected to improve ride quality and raise the street’s Pavement Condition Index from 57 to 100.

Toro Enterprises, based in Oxnard, submitted the lowest bid of $1,722,830, roughly 12 percent below the city engineer’s estimate and about $600,000 less than the earlier trench-only repair proposal.

The contract amount includes a $1.66 million base bid and a $248,822 contingency for potential change orders. In addition to the Fair Oaks work, the contract includes resurfacing Madison Avenue between Villa Street and Orange Grove Boulevard.

The approach—grinding the edges of deteriorated concrete streets and overlaying asphalt—is expected to provide cost savings and smoother surfaces compared to traditional concrete repair. The project may also involve a lane reconfiguration on Fair Oaks Avenue, subject to a community engagement process. Striping changes would be finalized after public input.

Construction is expected to begin in October and conclude in December. Funding will come from Pasadena’s Annual Citywide Street Resurfacing and ADA Improvement Program and from the Water Capital Fund. City staff said there will be no impact to the General Fund.

• Amending the city’s fiscal year 2026 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), adding more than $13.3 million in carryovers and new appropriations for infrastructure, parks, police, and water-and-power projects.

The proposal includes $1.37 million in carry-forward funds from closed 2025 projects and $12 million in budget amendments across multiple departments.

The Department of Public Works is recommending a $4.3 million General Fund appropriation and $775,000 from state road funds for the Annual Citywide Street Resurfacing and ADA Improvement Program, boosting its 2026 budget to nearly $11 million.

Other public works items include $200,000 in county grant money for restoration of the Chuck Ballard Bridge, which was damaged in the Eaton Fire, and $420,921 in Measure A funds for a new playground at Brenner Park.

Sewer system improvements would receive $1.9 million to fund relining work covering 500,000 feet of sewer mains. The Jefferson Park Stormwater Capture Project would gain $191,181 in Safe, Clean Water Program grant funds for public education and outreach, while a San Rafael wetlands project would receive $7,830 to complete its grant allocation. The Police Department is requesting $2.1 million for replacement of its mobile data computer system in patrol vehicles and $1.5 million to modernize its radio dispatch consoles.

The Department of Transportation is seeking $63,479 for pedestrian crossing upgrades on Marengo and Hill avenues, and $556,000 in state-approved funds to install a traffic signal at Del Mar Boulevard and Kinneloa Avenue. The Water and Power Department proposes transferring $300,000 for upgrades to Glenarm Receiving Station equipment and $405,000 for refurbishment of GT-3 and GT-4 generators, using savings from completed wastewater and rainwater projects.

If approved, the amendments would increase the city’s FY 2026 CIP budget by $13.39 million. The General Fund would account for $7.9 million of the adjustments, with the remainder coming from grants, fees, and utility funds.

• Revisions to its speed hump policies that would make it easier for neighborhoods to qualify for traffic-calming devices.

The proposed changes would lower the minimum daily traffic requirement from 1,000 to 500 vehicle trips, update the voting threshold to 67 percent of returned ballots instead of all households, and add city-designated Greenway bicycle routes as eligible streets.

Pasadena first adopted speed hump guidelines in 1984 and has updated them several times, most recently in 2020. The policies set physical, operational, and administrative criteria for where humps may be installed.

Under the current rules, eight street segments with documented speeding between January 2023 and April 2025 did not qualify for speed humps because they fell short of the 1,000-trip minimum. Staff said reducing the threshold to 500 trips would make those locations eligible.

Voting requirements have also been a barrier. Between 2023 and 2025, three neighborhoods failed to reach the required 67 percent of all households, even though ballot approval among respondents ranged from 75 to 94 percent. The new approach would require a minimum 50 percent response rate and two-thirds approval of those ballots returned.

The Transportation Advisory Commission endorsed the amendments in June, and the Municipal Services Committee backed them in August with additional recommendations on ballot response rates and bike facility eligibility.

Pasadena Department of Transportation staff reviewed industry standards and practices, finding that many agencies set daily traffic thresholds between 500 and 1,000 trips. Neighboring Burbank uses 500 trips as its minimum, while Glendale uses 1,000.

City staff also noted community interest in extending speed humps to designated Greenway bike routes identified in Pasadena’s 2015 Bicycle Transportation Action Plan.

The city installs about eight to 10 speed humps per year, at an estimated cost of $4,000 to $5,000 each, using a mix of gas tax, General Fund, traffic reduction fees, and grants. Staff said expanding eligibility may lead to more corridors being approved, with final installations dependent on available funding.

The proposed changes would take effect immediately if approved.

• An ordinance within 60 days that updates local bicycle laws to align with state rules, adds electric bicycles to the municipal code, removes bicycle registration requirements, and sets sidewalk riding speed limits.

According to a Department of Transportation report, the action would amend Title 10 of the Pasadena Municipal Code, Chapter 10.60 (Bicycles), to:

Update the definition of “bicycle” to include “electric bicycle” consistent with the California Vehicle Code (CVC). Eliminate bicycle registration and licensing provisions, which are preempted by state law.

Revise riding regulations to include speed limits and conditions for when bicycling on sidewalks is allowed.

The Transportation Advisory Commission reviewed the proposed changes in May and June, supporting updates to the bicycle definition and removing registration, and backing revisions to riding rules after staff researched speed regulations. The Municipal Services Committee also considered the item on Aug. 26.

The staff report cites Assembly Bill 1909, the 2023 “OmniBike Bill,” which broadened access to bikeway facilities for Class 1, 2 and 3 e-bikes and prohibits local jurisdictions from requiring bicycle licensing. Under the coming ordinance, sidewalk riding rules would be clarified to require yielding to pedestrians and to impose a maximum speed of 10 mph on sidewalks, dropping to five mph when pedestrians are present, and prohibiting riding at any speed that endangers people or property.

The ordinance would also allow the City Council, by resolution, to regulate or prohibit bicycle use on specific congested retail sidewalks with posted signs. An exemption is included for on-duty Pasadena law enforcement officers.

• A resolution that would allow customers to install larger solar power systems in the city, part of a broader push to reach 100% carbon-free electricity by 2030.

The proposal from Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) would authorize solar system sizing up to 150% of a customer’s maximum annual usage over the past five years, subject to grid capacity. Installations exceeding 150% — up to one megawatt — would also be allowed if paired with energy storage, again depending on localized grid conditions.

City staff said the change would modernize outdated limits, provide customers with flexibility to prepare for increased demand from electrification, and expand the role of residential and commercial solar in Pasadena’s energy mix. PWP currently caps systems at 100% of a customer’s prior annual use.

The resolution also directs PWP to bring forward recommendations for battery storage incentives, such as a rebate program, ahead of implementing time-of-use rates. Officials emphasized that adding storage would help smooth peak demand and reduce strain on the grid.

Pasadena has seen steady growth in solar adoption since 2013, with an average of 2.4 megawatts installed each year. By the end of 2024, the city had more than 30 megawatts of solar and storage capacity in place, according to PWP.

Staff noted that system approvals would remain contingent on distribution grid sufficiency, with ongoing studies examining impacts on feeders, transformers and substations. Customer protections, streamlined permitting, and inspection improvements are also being advanced to encourage adoption.

The resolution carries no immediate fiscal impact, though future costs may arise from grid upgrades or incentive programs.

If approved, the changes would align Pasadena’s policies with state clean-energy priorities and accelerate the city’s transition to a sustainable power supply.