City Council to Revisit Rose Bowl Riders Lease Termination After Brown Act Complaint

The City Council rescinded a notice terminating Rose Bowl Riders’ lease Tuesday in response to an alleged Brown Act violation.

And then the City Council voted to issue a new notice requiring the equestrian organization to leave its longtime home within 30 days, by the same Jan. 31 deadline.

The vote addresses a challenge to the process surrounding the original termination notice while maintaining the city’s planned departure date for the organization at 4750 Oak Grove Drive in Hahamongna Watershed Park.

“I understand that managing a public facility comes with challenges and responsibilities, and I recognize that there may be differing perspectives surrounding this situation,” wrote Nancy Sarti in correspondence to the City Council. “However, it is deeply disappointing that things have reached this point. There has been so much conflict and controversy surrounding this issue, and it saddens me that ending this longstanding relationship is being viewed as the only solution.”

Although some held out hope that the City Council would extend the lease, others supported the city’s decision to terminate the tenancy and raised questions about Rose Bowl Riders’ management, organizational restructuring and the disposition of its assets.

“Supporting this lease termination does not mean opposing the equestrian history of the foothills,” wrote a group identified as Friends of the RBR. “Rather, we believe it offers a necessary ‘total reset’ for the facility. By ending the current tenancy by the January 31, 2027 deadline, the City wiU finally be posidoned to find a well-managed, transparent, and compliant partner to run the Pasadena Equestrian Center moving forward.”

Rose Bowl Riders was founded in 1946 and moved to its current location in 1952, when it began hosting horse shows, according to the report.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the property’s former owner, entered into the lease with the organization in 1970. Pasadena purchased the property in 2005 and assumed the lease.

The most recent lease amendment expired Dec. 31, 2023. Since then, Rose Bowl Riders has occupied the property under a month-to-month arrangement that either party may terminate with 30 days’ written notice, according to staff. The agreement does not require cause for termination.

The 2023 amendment required additional public benefits, including riding lessons and scholarships for participants in the city’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department summer camp. Staff said the short-term agreement was intended to allow the city to evaluate those benefits before considering a long-term lease.

The report does not identify a specific performance failure as the reason for ending the tenancy.

The report also recommends authorizing the city manager to negotiate short-term emergency management of the stables and arena.

Hahamongna’s other equestrian users include Tom Sawyer Camps and Ride On Therapeutic Stables. The report’s termination recommendation concerns Rose Bowl Riders’ lease.

Ending the tenancy would reduce city rental income by $1,250 a month. Staff also anticipates that future use of the property would entail costs to replace structures and improvements removed by Rose Bowl Riders.

A 1994 lease amendment transferred ownership of the property’s structures and improvements to the organization, according to the report.