On Tuesday, the City Council’s Legislative Policy Committee discussed the possibility of improving the permits and land use entitlement processes to prevent extensive project delays and abandoned developments within the city.
According to City Planning Manager Luis Rocha, permits issued for properties in single family zones such as minor variances for fences, setbacks and Hillside Development Permits are valid for two years and they are eligible for a one year time extension.
For all other zoning districts, Rocha said, permits are valid for three years and are eligible for two one year time extensions and those types of applications include Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for major development and Final Design Review for commercial and residential projects.
Concept Design Review applications have one year period of validity and are eligible for a one year extension.
If the entitlements expire, developers have to start over from the planning phase.
“The one thing that they don’t necessarily lose is CEQA,” said Assistant city manager David Reyes.
Councilmember Steve Madison pointed out both residents and developers have been complaining about the land use entitlement process in the city.
“Residents complain that projects are entitled and just sit there,” he said. “ On the other hand, developers complain that their permits expire and their carriage turns into a pumpkin at midnight. That’s too unfair to them.”
Reyes suggested that in studying possible amendments, the city could look into the Design Review process.
“I think one difference is the design review. Other cities do have design reviews but we have this process where you get multiple entitlements. One for this, and then one for the design review and they have different periods in which they expire. That’s a little bit different and maybe not best practice but it’s very Pasadena and maybe it’s something that we want to look at.”
Deputy Director of Planning and Community Development Department Jason Mikaelian said now is the time for the city to revisit current land use entitlement processes as updates to these were made years ago.
According to Mikaelian, the department is currently looking at streamlining the permitting process and extending the life of permits in the city, in line with the implementation of the Housing Element, a document which contains a community-specific approach on how the need for housing will be addressed.
Last June, the City Council passed an ordinance which extends land use related deadlines by 24 months. This was initiated to maintain existing investments in the city and help local investors facing economic uncertainty due to lingering pandemic challenges and rising interest rates.
Under the ordinance, if an approved application with the City made by a developer or builder or others is active and not yet expired, it would receive a one-time automatic 24-month extension. Land use entitlements covered by the ordinance include Conditional Use Permits, Hillside Development Permits, Master Plans, Design Review and Subdivision Maps, among others.
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