WPRA
West Pasadena Residents' Association 
Neighborhood Update
SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2016
Published weekly since 2000


Welcome

Founded in 1962, the WPRA is dedicated to maintaining the character of our neighborhoods and enhancing the quality of life in southwest Pasadena. 

   
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Justin Chapman 
Co-Editor 

 

View the latest and past issues of the WPRA's quarterly magazine, The News, which is mailed to nearly 8,000 homes in west Pasadena.
Neighborhood Update
View past issues of this weekly WPRA eNewsletter, which is emailed each Saturday morning to more than 1,500 residents of Pasadena (and beyond).
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Important community meetings
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MONDAY, JANUARY 11

6:30 p.m.
City Hall, Council Chambers
100 N. Garfield Ave., Room S249
On the agenda: Application to the state of California for Housing-Related Parks Program grant funds; Consideration of action to implement the Water System Capital Improvement Charge Formula; Second reading of ordinance to prohibit commercial marijuana activity; City Council workshop on affordable housing in Pasadena focusing on future need and potential solutions.

6:30 p.m.
Jackie Robinson Center
1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
On the agenda: Participation in and support of the January 22, 2016, Association of California Commissions for Women (ACCW) California Women's Conference 2016: Advocacy in Action; March Women's History Month Event Planning; Consideration of partnership with Human Services Commission and sponsorship of a community workshop on keeping children safe.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 12

2 p.m.
Jackie Robinson Center, Room 200
100 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
On the agenda: Introduction of the new director of the Human Services and Recreation Department; Call for nominations of Senior Services Agency representatives due to commission vacancies.

6 p.m.
City Hall, Basement Training Room S018
100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: The applicants for the large, mixed-use development project proposed for the Parsons site (100 W. Walnut St.) will present design revisions that respond to the Commission's feedback at the previous hearing in early December, notably the relationship of the site permeability to the surrounding public realm as well as the need to improve the solid-to-void proportions along the street level elevations; Rose Bowl Donor Plaza repair update; Concept design review of 913 Boston Court and 277 N. El Molino Ave.

6 p.m.
Permit Center Hearing Room
On the agenda: Tree removals at Hahamongna Watershed Park.

6:30 p.m.
Jackie Robinson Center
1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
On the agenda: Final art plan presentation for the project at 233 N. Fair Oaks Ave. (Marriott Residence Inn); Presentation on local hiring for the Heritage Square Project at 762 N. Fair Oaks Ave. and Robinson Park Recreation Center Renovation Project at 1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave.; Select three commissioners for the Pasadena Enterprise Center Selection panel.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13

5:30 p.m.
Hale Building
175 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: Review and approval of Final Art Plan for 2233 E. Foothill Blvd.; Review and approval of modification to art plan for artistic treatments to Playhouse District utility boxes, Phase III; Appointment of Arts Commissioner to Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority Public Art Project.

6 p.m.
City Hall, Grand Conference Room S038
100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: Community Development Block Grant/Emergency Shelter Grant/Pasadena Assistance Fund orientation session.

6 p.m.
City Yards
233 W. Mountain St., 2nd Floor
On the agenda: Application for public tree removal at 21 W. Walnut St.

6:30 p.m.
City Hall, Council Chambers
100 N. Garfield Ave., Room S249
On the agenda: General Plan adoption follow-up on Zoning Code text amendment.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 14

6 p.m.
Elbie J. Hickambottom Board Room 236
351 S. Hudson Ave.
On the agenda: Technology Master Plan update; Approval of Consultant contracts; Approval of District Theory of Action for Change; Approval of contract with Generation Ready for Middle-Level Literacy Professional Learning Services.
"Quote" of the week

"[The City Council will] first have to determine who is going to be the interim city manager and if that person is excluded from applying for the permanent position. And then they need to figure out if the interim city manager will be from the inside or the outside and what the expectations are for that person from the council. We could have an interim city manager for nine months."
 - William Boyer, public information officer for the city of Pasadena
WPRA in motion
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WPRA needs help reviewing the recently-released Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the proposed annual Arroyo Seco Music & Arts Festival at and around the Rose Bowl. We are especially concerned about impacts on traffic, noise and public safety as well as how actions promised to mitigate these impacts will be monitored and enforced. Please contact Bill Urban at urban@wpra.net if you would like to help us review and respond to the DEIR. The public comment period ends Feb. 19.
Neighborhoods 
in motion
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Pasadena residents and businesses are reminded that City Hall and many City services will be closed Monday, Jan. 18, 2016, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Pasadena Fire and Police departments will continue to provide patrol, jail, fire, paramedic and other emergency services during the holiday. Pasadena residents and businesses with power emergencies should call the Pasadena Water and Power Department at (626) 744-4673 and for water-related emergencies call (626) 744-4138.  Refuse and recycling collection will be delayed by one day during the week of Jan. 18-23.

Mayor Terry Tornek will deliver his first State of the City address at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 20, in the McKinley School Gymnasium, 325 Oak Knoll Ave.. The event will "give Mayor Tornek the opportunity to begin a dialogue with the public about the city's financial condition and its ability to provide the kind of services we expect," wrote Debra Flores, administrative assistant in the Mayor's office, in an email. For more information, contact Rhonda Stone in the Mayor's office at (626) 744-7147 or by email at rstone@cityofpasadena.net. Accessible and free self-parking is available in the McKinley School, Rose City High School, and PUSD Administration parking lots.

The city of Pasadena has completed the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Huntington Memorial Hospital Master Plan Amendment and will be receiving comments from the public at a Planning Commission meeting to be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27 in the Council Chamber at Pasadena City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave. Huntington Hospital is proposing to amend its existing 20-year Master Plan to reconfigure its physical boundaries, rehabilitate existing facilities, and construct new facilities, in order to meet State seismic requirements for acute-care facilities and to ensure the uninterrupted provision of safe, efficient medical care.

The Pasadena City Council will consider certification of the Final EIR and approval of the Non-Potable Water Project at a public hearing to be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 1, at City Hall, Council Chamber, 100 N. Garfield Ave., Room S249. The EIR is available online at: pwpweb.com/recycledwater. The purpose of the project is to provide nine to 10 percent of Pasadena Water and Power's overall water needs from local, non-potable water sources. The proposed project involves the construction and operation of a new non-potable water distribution system to deliver water from three local water sources to customers within the service areas of PWP, Foothill Municipal Water District and their member agencies (including Lincoln Avenue Water Company, Valley Water Company, Las Flores Water Company, and Rubio Canyon Land and Water Association), and California American Water Company for landscape irrigation, cooling, and other non-potable uses.

The city has released the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Arroyo Seco Music and Arts Festival (formerly called the Rose Bowl Music and Arts Festival). The full text of the Draft EIR is available by clicking the headline above. The review period for the Draft EIR began Dec. 21) and ends on Feb. 19 at 5:30 p.m. There will be three public hearings for the city to receive public comment on the Draft EIR:

Thursday, Jan. 28, at 4 p.m.
Transportation Advisory Commission Meeting
221 E. Walnut St., Suite 210

Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 6:30 p.m.
Planning Commission Meeting
Pasadena City Hall, Council Chambers (Room S249), 100 N. Garfield Ave.

Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 6 p.m.
Recreation and Parks Commission Meeting
City Yards, 233 W. Mountain St., 2nd Floor

Contact David Sanchez at dasanchez@cityofpasadena.net with any questions regarding the project or the EIR process, or to formally submit comments on the Draft EIR.

Recently, the Local Organizing Committee of the Copa America Centenario soccer tournament announced the 10 U.S. metropolitan areas that have been selected to host matches during the Copa America Centenario in June 2016, with the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to host games on two days. Similar to the FIFA World Cup, each venue will host matches on multiple days through the tournament. Most venues will host at least three games. Brazil will play its group matches in Pasadena on Saturday, June 4, and Mexico will play its group matches in Pasadena on Thursday, June 9. The 2016 Copa America Centenario is the historic centennial edition of Copa America - the South American championship - and will be staged outside of South America for the first time. The tournament will feature six teams from CONCACAF and all 10 teams from CONMEBOL. 
Editor's top news picks
>CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION

"Mayor Terry Tornek and three City Council members will take the lead in hiring a replacement for outgoing City Manager Michael Beck, with at least one longtime administrator throwing his hat into the ring for the high-pressure post. 'I'm very interested in the position,' said assistant city manager Steve Mermell." Pasadena Weekly

"Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has chosen Pasadena's Vince Bertoni, head of Pasadena's Planning and Community Development Department, to run LA's Planning Department, a move that comes as neighborhood activists are growing more aggressive in their efforts to block large-scale development projects. Bertoni was nominated Monday to replace Michael LoGrande, L.A.'s departing planning director." LA Times
 
"The lead consultant retained by Pasadena to analyze various forms of police oversight so the City can determine which model best suits Pasadena has named two oversight models she will include her report. Change Integration, headed by consultant Kathryn Olson, has been awarded a two-part, $50,000 contract to produce the analysis and to oversee community outreach and discussion of the different options that will be in her report." Pasadena Now
Leisure
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Looking for other ways to entertain or educate yourself and your family? 

For current events around the area, we encourage you to visit our local news outlets. Click on the publication title to visit that publication's events section (alphabetical order).

Attend WPRA board meetings each month 

Monthly WPRA board meeting dates and locations are on the WPRA website. Click on the headline above or visit our website and look under "Meetings and Events."


The WPRA needs you ... 

... to serve your community and do it with a group of your neighbors who are equally dedicated. If you live within our service area, we'd welcome your help.

  • Got the local news bug? Just curious about your city (and would like to share news with 1,000 or so of your closest friends), consider serving as a co-editor of Neighborhood Update. It will only take a few hours a week (on your own schedule) in the month or two a year in which you'd serve. We'll train you.  
  • We have lots of opportunities to serve on one of our many committees:
    • Land use and planning
      If you care about how we use our land  
    • Education
      If you want to help save public education for West Pasadena  
    • Open space & conservation
      If you care about preserving open space and conservation of land and resources 
    • Membership
      If you'd like to help us continue to build our membership so we can do more  
If you'd like to chat about ways we could help you become more involved or, more likely, more effective (by helping us), send an email to WPRA President. Tell him about your interests.   
To learn more

Visit wpra.net and "like" our Facebook page  

To submit information for the Neighborhood Update, send it to update@wpra.net. 

 

Joseph Stoddard's watercolors: The WPRA is grateful to local artist Joseph Stoddard, who has generously allowed us to display his watercolors in our quarterly newsletter, The (WPRA) News; on the WPRA website; and in this publication. To explore Mr. Stoddard's work, visit josephstoddard.com.