Pasadena City Council to Consider Zoning Code Amendments Addressing Homelessness

The Pasadena City Council will consider a series of zoning code amendments on Monday that would expand the availability of emergency shelters and safe parking sites for people experiencing homelessness.

The proposed amendments, which have already received approval from the Planning Commission, would:

• Allow safe parking sites on all religious institutions, colleges, and transit facilities throughout Pasadena with a minor conditional use permit.
• Redefine emergency shelters to provide more flexibility for local nonprofits.
• Establish low-barrier navigation centers, which provide temporary living facilities while case managers connect individuals experiencing homelessness to income, public benefits, health services, shelter, and housing.

The amendments are intended to align with the city’s draft Homelessness Plan, which aims to increase the availability of shelter beds, access to needed supportive services, and potential sites for emergency shelters, low-barrier navigation centers, and safe parking locations.

The proposed amendments have been met with mixed reactions from community members. Some have expressed support for the changes, saying they will help to address the city’s growing homelessness crisis. Others have expressed concerns about the potential impact on neighborhoods and the environment.

Safe Parking Sites

The proposed amendment to allow safe parking sites on all religious institutions throughout Pasadena would be a significant expansion of the city’s current safe parking program.  

Religious institutions could apply for a minor conditional use permit to operate a safe parking site. The permit would allow the institution to designate up to 10 parking spaces for overnight parking by people experiencing homelessness.

At the Planning Commission hearing on April 26, 2023, staff recommended that Safe Parking be a permitted accessory use on sites occupied by either “transit stations or terminals” or “colleges -traditional campus setting” uses when located within a Specific Plan Area. The Planning Commission also recommended expanding sites by allowing Safe Parking as an accessory use with a Minor Conditional Use Permit on all sites occupied by a religious facility. 

Religious facilities are uniquely suited to providing safe parking locations in Pasadena, as they typically have underutilized parking areas, access to on-site restrooms, and connections to community services. 

Transit stations and traditional college campuses similarly present unique opportunities for safe parking, typically including large parking facilities in a setting with existing amenities and improvements to safely permit the use such as lighting, on-site restrooms and available space for portable restrooms, and security staff. 

Low-Barrier Navigation Centers

The proposed amendment to establish low-barrier navigation centers would also be permitted by-right and would also be a significant expansion of the city’s current homeless services. The current city-funded homeless shelters have a number of requirements that can make it difficult for people to access them. For example, many shelters require sobriety and mental health treatment.

Low-barrier navigation centers would not have these requirements. They would provide temporary living facilities while case managers connect individuals experiencing homelessness to income, public benefits, health services, shelter, and housing.

City staff has estimated the current by-right capacity of shelter beds based on existing zoning and available parcels as well as an estimate of additional capacity that may be achieved if “emergency shelters, limited” were permitted by-right in additional zones. Staff estimates that approximately 372 shelter beds may be possible under existing zoning and the existing 12-bed limit. But under the proposed recommendation to increase the bed limit to 40 and expand the allowed zones, the shelter bed capacity may increase to 2,400.

The City Council could direct the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance for the Zoning Code Amendments within 90 days.