Governor Signs Portantino’s South Pasadena 710 Housing Bill

As a follow up to his successful negotiation to end the threat of the 710 Freeway and enact protections for non-profits operating in the 710 corridor, Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) worked closely with the City of South Pasadena to accelerate the transition of Caltrans owned homes out of the state’s hands. The collaboration led to the drafting of Senate Bill 381.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 27 housing bills, including SB 381 on Tuesday.

The bill gets Caltrans out of the real estate business in South Pasadena, and provides protections for existing tenants of Caltrans homes, including a strategy to protect historic homes, and gives flexibility to the city of South Pasadena to create more affordable housing.

“I want to thank the Governor for signing SB 381 and providing South Pasadena an opportunity to protect our historic homes and expand affordable housing options,” Portantino said. “Since the SR 710 freeway gap can no longer be built, South Pasadena expressed a need for legislative changes to the current sales process and existing tenants needed protections. With SB 381, we were able to achieve all these goals while offering the City the opportunity to control the process going forward.”

In 2017, Caltrans began dispensing properties as required by SB 416 and the Roberti Act. SB 416 and the Roberti Act govern the sale of surplus property and outline the priority order of who can purchase. In 2019, the Governor signed Senator Portantino’s SB 7, which ended the SR 710 extension project. To date, Caltrans has sold less than 15 properties and will be looking to move forward with the disposition of the remaining 445 properties this year.

The current statute allows cities to purchase only occupied and unoccupied multi-family units, but cities must still compete with other housing related entities (HREs) to win the bid.

Governor Additionally, the current statute sets the sales price for cities at a “reasonable price” determined by various factors. However, a substantial number of these homes need significant repairs and at the same time must be rented or sold at amounts based upon affordable income criteria.

SB 381 gives current tenants of single-family and multi-family residences new opportunities to purchase properties. The city of South Pasadena will be able to sell historical homes at fair market value and use the funds generated to reinvest in affordable housing.

The measure requires that for every historical home that is sold, the City must create three affordable housing units. In addition, the bill provides that Caltrans must start to sell unoccupied units by June 30 and allows the city of South Pasadena to buy properties at acquisition price, which must be used for affordable rentals for 55 years and affordable home ownership for 45 years. Construction or acquisition must begin by Dec 31, 2025 as outlined in the SB 381. All tenants who do not buy will get first right of occupancy.