Pasadena Sets Two Neighborhood Walking Tours, an Open House and a Virtual Meeting to Shape City’s First Environmental Justice Element

Pasadena residents will get four more chances this fall to tell city planners where the environmental burdens in their neighborhoods fall hardest, beginning with a Sept. 15 walking tour from the Villa Parke Community Center, the Planning Department announced Thursday.

The events are the next phase of the outreach the department launched in May to build the city’s first Environmental Justice Element, a new chapter of Pasadena’s General Plan that the city says will identify and address environmental burdens and inequities while elevating community priorities on health, air quality, safe and accessible neighborhoods, climate resilience and equitable access to parks, mobility and public services, according to a news release from the city.

The schedule is:

— Neighborhood Walk and Roll, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 9 to 11 a.m., Villa Parke Community Center, 363 E. Villa St. Register at https://www.google.com/url?q=http://bit.ly/EJwalkshop1&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E.

— Neighborhood Walk and Roll, Saturday, Oct. 3, 9 to 11 a.m., Robinson Park Recreation Center, 1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave. Register at https://www.google.com/url?q=http://bit.ly/EJwalkshop2&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E.

— Open House and Resource Fair, Thursday, Oct. 15, 6 to 8 p.m., Robinson Park Recreation Center. Register at https://www.google.com/url?q=http://bit.ly/EJ_OH&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E.

— Virtual Community Meeting, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 6 to 7 p.m., online at https://www.google.com/url?q=http://bit.ly/EJ_Virtual&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E.

The element is required under Senate Bill 1000, a 2016 state law that directs cities with disadvantaged communities to address environmental justice in their general plans, either as a separate element or through policies woven into existing ones. Cities must identify their environmental justice communities and adopt goals, policies and implementation programs to reduce disparities in pollution exposure, housing, food access, public facilities, physical activity and civic engagement, according to the Planning Department’s Environmental Justice Element page.

A 2023 staff presentation to the city’s Environmental Advisory Commission, using the state’s CalEnviroScreen 4.0 tool, identified a single census tract in Pasadena as a state-designated disadvantaged community, and noted that the city’s existing General Plan elements include environmental justice policies but not to the extent the state requires. The current outreach is meant to refine where Pasadena’s environmental justice communities are before policies are written.

The city opened the process in the spring with pop-up events and a community survey that closed July 31. Staff plan to identify environmental justice communities through the summer and fall of 2026, and the following phase, scheduled for winter 2026 through spring 2027, will focus on drafting policies, with additional public events, a second community discussion and a youth summit. Once adopted, the element will guide land-use planning, policy decisions and public investment across the city.

The city hired an outside consultant team through a competitive solicitation to co-create the element with staff and residents and to perform the technical analysis that underpins it.

More information about the Environmental Justice Element and upcoming outreach opportunities is available at https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bit.ly/PasadenaEJelement&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E and on the Planning Department’s page at https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cityofpasadena.net/planning/planning-division/community-planning/general-plan/environmental-justice-element/&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E, or by contacting the EJ Element Administrator at EJElement@cityofpasadena.net. For accessibility information or to request an accommodation, contact CSC@CityOfPasadena.net or call (626) 744-7311.

SOURCE:
Gmail: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/%23inbox/1a0698be8b5c884f&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E
Doc: full release text is in the email body
City of Pasadena Planning Department, Environmental Justice Element Program page: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cityofpasadena.net/planning/planning-division/community-planning/general-plan/environmental-justice-element/&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E
City of Pasadena, May 22, 2026 release launching the outreach: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cityofpasadena.net/city-manager/news/city-of-pasadena-planning-department-launches-environmental-justice-element-community-engagement-initiative/&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E
City of Pasadena, December 2023 Environmental Advisory Commission presentation on SB 1000: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cityofpasadena.net/planning/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/EAC-Presentation.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E
City of Pasadena, consultant solicitation for the Environmental Justice Element: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/pasadena/projects/172321&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E
Prior coverage: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pasadenanow.com/main/city-launches-first-environmental-justice-plan-to-address-equity-health-concerns&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E
Prior coverage: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pasadenanow.com/main/pasadena-begins-work-on-its-first-environmental-justice-element-asking-residents-where-the-burdens-fall-hardest&source=gmail&ust=1788564497138000&sa=E