WPRA
West Pasadena Residents' Association 
Neighborhood Update
SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 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
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Important community meetings
>CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION<

MONDAY, JANUARY 25

6:30 p.m.
City Hall, Council Chambers
100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: Public input on essential qualities to be considered for the city manager recruitment and appointment; Authorize the city manager to execute recurring service agreement with LA County for Dial-A-Ride services to residents in Altadena, Kinneloa, Chapman Woods, and East San Gabriel; MOU between city and SEIU; Adoption of non-represented management salary resolution; Adoption of non-represented executive management and non-represented non-management salary resolutions; Adoption of a reimbursement resolution related to the water system; Contract with Maintenance Design Group for design of the Pasadena Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility; Consolidate existing purchase order contracts with Shi International Corporation for GPS tracking; Public hearing for designation of 805 S. Madison Ave. as a landmark; Public hearing for designation of the house at 2480 Oswego St. as a landmark; Public hearing for adoption of a zone change to designate a landmark district overlay for the Green Street Village Landmark District; Public hearing to temporarily implement a Level 4 Water Supply Shortage Plan; Public hearing for text amendment to the South Fair Oaks Specific Plan to allow hospital uses with a CUP; Second extension of urgency ordinance temporarily limiting demolition and construction in the Lower Hastings Ranch neighborhood; General Plan adoption follow-up; Colorado Blvd. road diet and pilot parklet proposal; License agreements with Live Nation for the presentation of concerts to be held on May 14 and August 20 and/or 21, 2016.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 26

4 p.m.
Jackie Robinson Center
1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
On the agenda: Not available.

6 p.m.
City Hall, Basement Training Room S018
100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: Concept design review of a development of a mixed-use project at 100 W. Walnut St. consisting of approximately 210,000 square feet of office space, approximately 17,500 square feet of commercial space and up to 475 residential units.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27

6 p.m.
City Hall, Council Chambers
100 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
On the agenda: Consideration of a report on the payment of a city-wide minimum wage and provide direction to the city attorney to prepare a city-wide minimum wage ordinance.

6:30
City Hall, Council Chambers
100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: Public hearing for the Huntington Memorial Hospital Master Plan Amendment Draft Environmental Impact Report, an eight-phase Master Plan that would allow new construction totaling approximately 217,300 square feet, and demolition of existing buildings totaling 248,047 square feet, for a net reduction of 24, 544 square feet at build-out, among other aspects.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28

4 p.m.
221 E. Walnut St., Suite 210
On the agenda: Overview of the Arroyo Seco Music & Arts Festival Draft Environmental Impact Report and opportunity to provide public and commissioner comments on the adequacy of the DEIR.

6:30 p.m.
Jackie Robinson Center
1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
On the agenda: Members of the community are invited to attend this meeting to learn about various forms of police oversight and to provide input into the analysis being conducted by the City.

7 p.m.
Victory Park Community Center
2575 Paloma St.
On the agenda: Dr. Lucy Jones, one of the world's preeminent earthquake scientists, will speak about earthquake preparedness. Dr. Jones has been a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and a Visiting Research Associate at the Seismological Laboratory of Caltech in Pasadena since 1983. She is also a science advisor for seismic safety to the City of Los Angeles.

6:30 p.m.
Elbie J. Hickambottom Board Room 236
351 S. Hudson Ave.
On the agenda: Approval of resolutions on African American History Month and Fred Korematsu Day; Goals and metrics for the 2016-17 school year; Approval of agreement for early literacy professional learning services with Scholastic.
"Quote" of the week

"Public Safety [police, fire, etc.] consumed 46.2 percent of the [city's] General Fund Budget in 2008; that has now grown to 53.5 percent. Is that worrisome? Appropriate? Inevitable? Is 53.5 percent of the Operating Budget an appropriate allocation to Public Safety? Should there be a limit? What should we cut if there isn't enough to go around? Is $130 per person per month a reasonable cost for City services? Would residents be willing to pay more for enhanced services? Should we consider eliminating some services?"
 - Terry Tornek, Mayor of Pasadena, at his first State of the City address (full text of his speech is available here) 
Neighborhoods in motion
>CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION<

Members of the community are invited to attend two meetings in January to learn about various forms of police oversight and to provide input into the analysis being conducted by the City. The meetings will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26 in the City Council Chamber, Pasadena City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave., and at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28 at the Jackie Robinson Center, 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave. Both meetings will cover the same topics and are being held in two locations to encourage participation. Public comment will be accepted at both meetings.

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 Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden announced that visitors are now welcome every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 cash or check, or reservations may be made for $7.50 on the website at: www.japanesegardenpasadena.com. Open Day returns on Sunday, Jan. 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. At 2 p.m. there will be a concert by Saeko Kujiraoka and Miriam Suzuki who combined their talents on two instruments from different cultures to form the Harp & Koto Duo.

Los Angeles County is studying park and recreation facilities to better understand how to improve, expand and make parks more accessible so that all communities can thrive. The County and all 88 cities are taking stock of what currently exists - parks, recreation facilities, open space and cultural and performing arts venues. What's the condition of the park and what would it cost to get it into good shape? Do residents have a park within a 10-minute walk? Is the park used beyond capacity, in need of improvement or different amenities? This assessment will provide a good snapshot of the current status of our parks. This is a once-in-a-generation chance to shape the priorities for where park funding will go for the next several decades. The county will hosting a community workshop in Pasadena to assess park needs, which will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 4, at City Yards, 233 W. Mountain St., 2nd Floor.

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

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

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

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.

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. 22, 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.

No outdoor watering Feb. 25 through March 10
Effective Feb. 25 through March 10, the Metropolitan Water District will be shutting down its Weymouth Treatment Plant for planned upgrades. The shutdown will affect Pasadena from receiving its imported water delivery, which provides 60 percent of the city's overall water supply. In January, the City Council is expected to approve a temporary adoption and implementation of its Level 4 Water Supply Shortage Plan during the shutdown period, which prohibits the use of all outdoor watering, including the use of hand watering.
Editor's top news picks
>CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION

"In a presentation that was more circumstance than pomp, Mayor Terry Tornek delivered his first State of the City speech on Wednesday evening at the new McKinley School Gymnasium with only one subject on the table - the City's finances." Pasadena Now

"The public is invited to provide input at the City Council's regularly scheduled meeting Monday, Jan. 25, about what qualities they would like to see in a new City Manager. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave., Second Floor." Pasadena Now

"While most football fans in Southern California cheered the announcement that the Rams would be leaving St. Louis and returning to Los Angeles County, that decision has placed more pressure than ever on Rose Bowl General Manager Darryl Dunn to ensure the success of a proposed music and arts festival at the Pasadena stadium in June." Pasadena Weekly

"A national consumer watchdog group named U.S. Public Interest Research Group listed the 710 tunnel extension project as one of 12 highway boondoggles that represent a waste of taxpayer dollars, outdated thinking and misplaced national transportation priorities, according to a report released Tuesday." San Gabriel Valley Tribune
(Editor's note: also see Calpirg.org's report)

"Citing an oft-ignored directive from the city's charter, Tornek focused his entire speech on the city's finances, which he rapidly went through in the hopes of drawing more public participation in Pasadena's coming budget cycle." Pasadena Star-News

"Assistant City Manager Julie Gutierrez said that she has no plans to apply for outgoing City Manager Michael Beck's job, but is interested in serving as interim city manager while a full-time replacement for Beck is found." Pasadena Weekly

OPINION: Rose Bowl sticking with Arroyo music festival, not the NFL
"[Victor Gordo and Darryl Dunn are] still very much dedicated to having the Rose Bowl and the surrounding Brookside Golf Course host the Arroyo Seco Music & Arts Festival, [but] they will not be talking to the NFL, or going to the City Council to say they've changed their minds."
Pasadena Star-News

Caltech researchers find evidence of a real ninth planet (not Pluto)
"Caltech researchers have found evidence of a giant planet tracing a bizarre, highly elongated orbit in the outer solar system. The object, which the researchers have nicknamed Planet Nine, has a mass about 10 times that of Earth and orbits about 20 times farther from the sun on average than does Neptune (which orbits the sun at an average distance of 2.8 billion miles). In fact, it would take this new planet between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make just one full orbit around the sun." 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.