According to a letter obtained by Pasadena Now, City officials are calling on the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to place a hold on the sale of certain tenant-occupied Caltrans homes along the former State Route 710 corridor, citing unresolved legal and compliance concerns tied to the state’s ongoing surplus property process.
In a letter dated Feb. 13, sent to Caltrans Director Dina El-Tawansy, Assistant City Manager Nicholas Rodriguez sent a request that the agency pause sales of tenant-occupied homes — except for transactions involving existing tenants — while the City and state work through outstanding issues.
Caltrans obtained the homes in Pasadena, South Pasadena and El Sereno during plans for an ill-fated extension of the 710 Freeway. After the project was officially terminated in 2018, the fate of these properties remained in limbo.
“… We respectfully request that Caltrans place a ‘hold’ on the sale of tenant occupied property, except for sale to existing tenants, meet with the City to discuss outstanding issues, and commission a special Caltrans team to take a fresh look at the occupied properties with respect to sales to existing tenants,” Rodriguez wrote. “The City wishes to avoid controversy with respect to these properties and seeks resolution of all outstanding legal issues and duties, and, in that regard, the City stands ready to work with Caltrans to resolve outstanding issues toward the ultimate return of all properties to local use.”
The request stems from Caltrans’ July 18 Notice of Solicitation issued under the Roberti Act for properties within the 710 right-of-way in Pasadena.
Authored by former Sen. David Roberti that governs how excess state freeway property is disposed of — particularly land acquired for highway projects but no longer needed.
The law requires Caltrans, when declaring property surplus, to prioritize public and community-serving uses before selling on the open market.
This includes offering the land first to local governments, housing authorities and nonprofit developers for affordable housing, parks, transit-related uses or other public purposes, often at below-market or negotiated prices.
The act was intended to prevent speculative resale of publicly assembled land and to ensure that property originally taken for transportation projects continues to serve a public benefit, especially for housing near transit corridors.
The City is prepared to move forward with the purchase of all properties identified as vacant. However, limited information regarding occupied properties forced the City to conduct its own due diligence, which uncovered ongoing litigation, a property incorrectly labeled as occupied and concerns about whether Caltrans complied with laws governing tenant-occupied sales.
The lawsuit filed on Dec. 16 in Los Angeles County Superior Court by Priscila Izquierdo, Joseph Becerra and Julia Cox involves a property on St. John Avenue.
The property is one of 15 occupied properties offered to the City under the solicitation.
The City hopes to resolve disputes before any additional sales proceed. The City said it hopes to avoid controversy and ensure all legal obligations are met as efforts continue to return the properties to local use.
City and Caltrans officials have previously worked together on several property transfers along the corridor, and Pasadena said it remains ready to collaborate to resolve outstanding issues.
“We are hopeful that Caltrans will be in a position to work with the City in resolving these issues,” said Rodriguez. “We look forward to hearing from you,” the letter concludes.
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