The City Council will consider reopening a public hearing and revive a stalled environmental review tonight for a proposed safe-parking program at All Saints Church, setting the stage for renewed debate — and potential legal challenges — over whether the move complies with City law and state requirements.
The Council’s action rescinds the closure of a November public hearing and the deemed denial of California Environmental Quality Act findings after the proposal failed to receive the five votes required to advance.
The proposal would allow overnight vehicle parking at All Saints Church, 202 N. Euclid Ave., for people living in their cars. Similar programs operate throughout Southern California, often pairing monitored parking with case management and access to social services.
The item was brought back at the request of Councilmember Steve Madison, who said he was absent during the Nov. 17 vote, which ended 4–3, one vote short of approval.
While the Council’s action focused on reopening the All Saints application, the discussion broadened to the overall structure and location of any future safe-parking program in Pasadena.
Mayor Victor Gordo urged Councilmembers to avoid concentrating the program in a single neighborhood and called for a broader review of potential sites, including City-owned properties.
“I would ask that if the Council does support the motion … that we have alternatives before us that don’t concentrate [the program] in one area,” Gordo said.
The City Council so far has received one letter in opposition to reopening the hearing, including warnings of possible legal action.
In a statement submitted to the City, Stefan Fauble, president of the Maryland Home Owners Association, said the group does not believe the hearing can legally be reopened under the Pasadena Municipal Code or California case law.
“The Maryland does not believe the hearing can legally be reopened,” Fauble said, calling the association’s comments a formal threat of litigation under the Brown Act. He urged the City to seek advice from legal counsel in closed session before proceeding.
Fauble said pursuing the All Saints proposal could result in protracted litigation that would delay any safe-parking program, and argued the City should instead identify a location that complies with City code and allows for appropriate environmental clearance.
“Rather than engaging in protracted litigation which will significantly delay the start of a safe parking program, we think it makes more sense for the City to locate the project in a suitable location that does not violate the Pasadena code and that permits the appropriate CEQA clearance,” he said.
The renewed debate comes as Pasadena continues to face rising homelessness and increasingly visible vehicle habitation.
Supporters of safe-parking programs say they provide a safer, regulated alternative for people living in cars, while critics cite concerns about neighborhood impacts, public safety and legal compliance.
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