City Council to Meet in Special Meeting on Friday

The Pasadena City Council is scheduled to hold its third meeting this week, at 2 p.m. on Friday.

The meeting will once again focus on the City’s response to the windstorm and Eaton Fire.

At the meeting the Council will discuss crucial items that will allow City government to continue functioning, an update to the local crisis caused by the Eaton Fire and windstorms. Also the Council will deliberate on a motion ratifying the City’s leaf blower ordinance.

The City Council will also vote to authorize the General Manager of Pasadena Water and Power to pause or suspend the billing process due to the crisis.

Earlier this week, the City Council met on Monday and in an emergency meeting on Wednesday this week. Councilmembers have been adamant on meeting to make sure information is passed along to the public.

The Eaton Fire, described by Fire Chief Chad Augustin as a “once in a 20 year” wind event, began on January 7 and has burned 14,117 acres as of Thursday morning. The fire decimated Altadena and left more than 100 primary residential structures in Pasadena uninhabitable.

Containment of the fire is above 50%.

On Wednesday Augustin announced that all mandatory evacuation orders in Pasadena have been lifted.

The City Council also voted on Wednesday to opt-in to a federal program for fire debris removal.

The two phase program starts with Federal Emergency Management Agency removing hazardous waste from sites and debris removal from red-tagged homes in Pasadena. The second phase, involves site clean up. Homeowners must opt in to the program and grant right of entry for inspection, signage, assessment and debris removal.

The homeowner will be notified at the end of the process so they can begin the rebuild permitting phase.

The program is free to homeowners, and free to the City for the first 180 days. After that the City would pay $10,000 per property in the program. The homeowner will absorb no cost.

The program is voluntary, and homeowners retain the right to clean up their own property without entering the program.