City officials are mounting a defense of Pasadena’s historic districts as state lawmakers prepare to revise a controversial transit-oriented housing law.
Mayor Victor M. Gordo has sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom outlining opposition to SB 79 and requesting specific amendments to its cleanup bill, SB 677. The letter, dated Dec. 30, frames the issue as a clash between state housing mandates and local historic preservation.
“Pasadena, a Certified Local Government, is synonymous with our rich cultural resources and decades-long commitment to historic preservation,” Gordo wrote.
The city’s concerns center on how SB 79 treats historic resources near Metro stations. Current language only protects sites designated on local registers, leaving several of Pasadena’s most significant areas vulnerable.
Old Pasadena, the Playhouse District and Civic Center historic districts appear only on the National Register. Under existing law, they would not receive exemptions from development requirements.
A map attached to the letter shows the potential impact on historic districts within a half-mile of A Line Metro stations.
Pasadena wants SB 677 to protect all historic resources listed on local, state or national registers. The city also seeks protection for eligible but not-yet-designated resources.
That concern carries weight. Pasadena has spent two years conducting a citywide historic resource survey that could identify previously unknown significant sites.
The city objects to a Jan. 1, 2025 cutoff date for historic designations to qualify for exemptions. Officials want future discoveries protected as well.
Another provision troubles city leaders. Transit-oriented development alternative plans can exempt only 10% of their total area for local historic resources. Pasadena wants that cap eliminated.
Beyond historic preservation, the city seeks broader exemptions from SB 79 requirements.
Officials argue medium-sized cities – those under 200,000 residents – should receive treatment similar to communities under 35,000. Small cities get exemptions for sites beyond a quarter-mile from transit stops.
Pasadena has 138,000 residents and six Tier II transit stops. That equals one stop per 23,000 people, exceeding the ratio that triggers small-city exemptions.
The city also notes many areas already allow density higher than SB 79 mandates. Some zones permit 87 dwelling units per acre.
Since 2015, Pasadena has upzoned properties throughout its central district and along major corridors, Gordo explained. Many lie beyond the half-mile transit radius but remain walkable and transit-accessible.
The city’s Housing Element received state certification as of SB 79’s effective date.
“Pasadena is not against adding housing or density,” the letter said. It added the city understands that “each community must do its fair share to accommodate the need for new and affordable housing.”
However, officials argue SB 79 “treats every city the same with mandates that do not recognize local efforts to produce housing.”
The Legislative Policy Committee will consider the city’s position at its meeting Tuesday at 5 p.m. in City Council Chambers.
Gordo’s letter concludes that SB 79 provisions “will undermine the many efforts that Pasadena has undertaken in recent years to increase housing supply near transit as part of a more holistic community planning strategy.”
The mayor sent copies of the letter to state Sen. Sasha Renee Perez and Assemblymember John Harabedian, along with the League of California Cities.
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