Guest Opinion | Anthony Manousos: Restore Our Community

N. Fair Oaks Avenue was once a thriving “Black Main Street,” but today it has become divested because of city policies. Twenty years ago N. Fair Oaks was downzoned from 48 to 16 units per acre to prevent more nursing homes. This policy stifled development and contributed to the decline of this neighborhood. That’s why it is important that the Planning Commission approve a Specific Plan that will restore this neglected area of our city. Making Housing and Community Happen (MHCH) has worked with The Arroyo Group, the prestigious urban planning firm that designed Old Pasadena and the Playhouse District, to create a Vision Plan with and for the community that reflects what residents want. Simply put, they want revitalization, not the status quo.

When you stand at the intersection of North Fair Oaks and Montana, there are few trees and little to attract the eye. Yet this is the heart of the neighborhood, with Rio Meat Market, a locally owned business on the SW corner, Taco Bell/KFC on the NE corner and the Boys and Girls Club on the SE corner. This unattractive intersection is the first thing you see as you cross from Altadena to Pasadena. We’d love to see a gateway element that says something like, “You are entering Pasadena and the historic ‘Black Main Street,’ the site of the annual Black History Parade.” This intersection could be beautified with bulb outs (to slow traffic), trees, and a thematic crosswalk.  This would help create a sense of place and identity for this community and could attract locally owned businesses such as a coffee shop and ice cream parlor. We would like this in the Specific Plan, with dates and deadlines for completion.

To help revitalize this area with and for the community, the N. Fair Oaks Empowerment Initiative was started in 2015 under the auspices of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, the oldest association of Black pastors in the greater Pasadena area. This Initiative, which is now part of Making Housing Community Happen, formed a team to organize the Northwest Jobfest that attracted over 500 residents and surveyed the community. Over the last ten years we’ve conducted multiple surveys, with similar results. Residents want a safe street, affordable housing, locally owned businesses, and public art identifying this area’s historic legacy.

To make this happen, significant changes need to be made to the proposed Specific Plan, which calls for keeping zoning mostly the same, namely 16-32 units per acre. This low density has led to seven lots north of Washington being vacant for decades because it isn’t financially feasible to build on them. Most lots on this street are small, 1/2 acre, and won’t be developed unless they are restored to 48 units per acre.

The city’s plan calls for 550 additional residential units to be built north of Washington in the next decade. We support this goal since 20% of these units would likely be set aside as affordable if developers build more than 10 units and decide to build inclusionary units on site. The city also has a policy that 20% of affordable units are prioritized for people displaced from Pasadena in the last decade, which could benefit people of color. Some of the churches have land that could be used for affordable housing thanks to SB 4 but are unable to do so unless their property is upzoned 48 units per acre. Unfortunately, the city’s recommended low density zoning will not lead to sorely needed affordable housing being built.

Safety is another big issue for residents that isn’t addressed in the city’s proposed Specific Plan. 15,000- 22,000 cars zoom down N. Fair Oaks each day at dangerous speeds. The Pintoresca Park and Library and the Boys and Girls Club are located in this part of the city, with children and families coming and going constantly. Elderly and disabled people also reside here. There were over 65 accidents within six months in 2023. Since 2021, there have been seven traffic-related deaths in this area, the highest number of any place in our city. That’s why we are proposing a complete street redesign, changing two lanes each way into one lane each way with a center turn lane, a planted median, parklets and more. The community wants to make this street pedestrian-friendly and walkable so that people feel safe and businesses can flourish. This is so urgent we want to see dates and deadlines in the Specific Plan.

When the N. Fair Oaks team surveyed the community, we heard keen interest in public art, especially art commemorating the history of the African American community. For this reason, we engaged Jason Smith, an African American artist, to design a mural honoring people of color from the area. Jason came up with an intriguing design: an African American quilt depicting prominent places and people of color.  When the mural was unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov 23, 2024,over a hundred people attended, including Councilmembers Justin Jones and Tyron Hampton as well as many others who shared fond memories of those depicted on the mural. Residents would like to see more public art like this in the Specific Plan, with dates and deadlines.

Residents want locally owned businesses so we are proposing incentives such as a small business investors fund for what the community wants: retail, personal services, food and drink, art/cultural. Given the many years of discrimination that people of color have experienced, we recommend that those who have relationships with the history of N. Fair Oaks should have extra points on the application. Without ideas like this, N. Fair Oaks will remain as it is now—disinvested.

To learn more about our Vision Plan, click here.

Our Vision Plan has the support of the Northwest Commission, Boys & Girls Club, the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, Complete Streets, Active SGV, POP! (Pasadenans Organizing for Progress) and the churches on N. Fair Oaks Ave, especially Bethel, Bethlehem, New Guiding Light Missionary Baptist, Deliverance Church and Wholicare Church.