Council Creates New Council Committee on Planning, Housing and Homelessness

The Pasadena City Council approved the creation of a new standing committee focused on planning, housing and homelessness.

“Tackling street homelessness was one of the five priorities the Council targeted at our recent budget session,” Cole told Pasadena Now. “This new standing committee will provide augmented leadership, accountability and oversight to pursue that issue as well as the broader challenges of affordable housing and community planning. I’m pleased the mayor has lent his support to sharpen our focus on these issues.”

The Planning, Housing, and Homelessness Committee will review land use and transportation planning issues, housing policy and homelessness-related matters.

The committee will also serve as a liaison to citizen advisory bodies, including the Planning, Human Services and Transportation advisory commissions.

The committee will consist of up to four City Council members appointed by the mayor. Three members would constitute a quorum if four are appointed, or two members if three are appointed.

The committee will meet twice a month, alternating meeting times with the City Council’s Finance Committee, and would operate under the state’s open-meeting laws, with minutes distributed to the full council.

The City Manager or a designee will determine which department will provide staff support for the committee, with the Planning and Community Development and Housing departments expected to handle most of the workload.

The recommendation followed meetings of an ad hoc committee made up of Gordo and Councilmembers Rick Cole, Tyron Hampton and Jason Lyon, who evaluated whether a new standing committee was needed to oversee the expanding policy workload in those areas.

No new staff is being added initially, and existing departments will absorb the additional responsibilities.

The Pasadena Municipal Code will be amended to remove references assigning affordable housing and community development project oversight to the Economic Development and Technology Committee, shifting those duties to the new panel.