Fuller Theological Seminary is seeking City approval to significantly reduce its campus footprint and student capacity through 2045, reflecting a broader shift from in-person to online education accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Monday, the Pasadena City Council will consider multiple proposals regarding the seminary’s master plan amendment, which would cut maximum on-site student capacity from 2,014 to 500 students and limit faculty to 121 positions. When approved, the plan could extend Fuller’s master plan by 20 years.
Established in 1947, Fuller has grown to become the largest multidenominational seminary in the world, with campuses in Pasadena, Phoenix, and Houston. The institution currently serves over 2,800 students worldwide across 16 degree programs.
The proposed changes represent a dramatic scaling back of Fuller’s 2006 master plan, which had envisioned expanding the campus with 586 new housing units, a 500-seat chapel, and 180,000 square feet of new academic buildings. But only the library expansion and minor improvements like parking lot alterations and landscaping were ever completed from those plans.
In 2018, officials at the seminary announced plans to sell off the 13-acre campus and move to Pomona due to the high costs of remaining in Pasadena that they said would limit the ability to reach potential students.
That move was later called off, although the land was purchased.
Under the new proposal, Fuller would designate 15 of its properties as “core” campus facilities for classrooms, offices and student housing, while marking 14 other properties as “non-core” — meaning they could eventually be sold or repurposed for non-seminary use.
The seminary’s parking capacity would decrease from approximately 450 spaces to a minimum of 181 spaces for core properties, meeting City zoning requirements.
The plan includes subdividing a 2.24-acre parcel at 261 N. Madison Avenue into two parcels. The eastern parcel (76,746 square feet) contains the Chang Commons, a four-story, 179-unit student housing complex. The western parcel (21,013 square feet) at 260 N. Oakland Avenue houses a two-story, 10-unit student housing building and would be designated for potential future residential development.
The proposal follows several property changes in recent years. In July 2013, Fuller sold eight properties totaling 3.8 acres that were developed with multi-family units. In 2022, the City Council approved removing 282 N. Los Robles Avenue from the Master Plan to allow construction of a 105-unit multi-family development.
The Planning Commission reviewed and recommended Council approval of the new Fuller plans on October 9, 2024, adding a condition to allow shared parking arrangements with neighboring properties. City staff have determined the proposals align with Pasadena’s General Plan goals for educational institutions and neighborhood compatibility.
An environmental review found the changes would not create new significant impacts beyond those analyzed in the City’s 2015 General Plan Environmental Impact Report.
The City Council will consider six specific actions, including amending Fuller’s master plan, canceling a 2006 development agreement that expires next year anyway, approving the property subdivision, and changing land use designations from Public and Semi-Public to Central District Residential Multi-Family for the Oakland Avenue parcel.
The Planning and Community Development Department, led by Director Jennifer Paige, indicated the changes would have no direct fiscal impact on the City.
The matter will be heard as Agenda Item 4 at the February 3, 2025 City Council meeting, where the Council will conduct first reading of an ordinance for the proposed zoning changes.