General Plan Amendment – Land Use Diagram Amendment for Lincoln Avenue Specific Plan Attachment A: Required Findings Page 1
City Council March 14, 2022
ATTACHMENT A
REQUIRED FINDINGS
General Plan Amendment – Land Use Diagram Amendment for Lincoln Avenue Specific Plan Attachment A: Required Findings Page 1
City Council March 14, 2022
ATTACHMENT A
REQUIRED FINDINGS
FINDINGS FOR APPROVAL OF GENERAL PLAN DIAGRAM AND TEXT AMENDMENTS
An amendment to the General Plan’s diagram or text may be approved only after first finding that:
1. The proposed amendment is in conformance with the goals, policies, and objectives of the General Plan;
2. The proposed amendment would not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or general welfare of the City; and
3. For General Plan diagram amendments only, the site is physically suitable (including absence of physical constraints, access, compatibility with adjoining land uses, and provision of utilities) for the requested/anticipated land use/developments.
The proposed amendment to the General Plan Land Use Diagram is consistent with the goals, policies, and objectives of the General Plan as follows:
Land Use Element
Goal 1. Sustainable Growth. Sustainable growth and change in orderly and well- planned developments within targeted areas that allow for higher density development in an urban core setting and in close proximity to transit that provides for the needs of existing and future residents and businesses, ensures the effective provision of public services, and makes efficient use of land, energy, and infrastructure.
o Policy 1.1 (Basic Growth Policy). Accommodate growth that is consistent with community values and that complements the scale and character of Pasadena’s unique residential neighborhoods, business districts, and open spaces.
o Policy 1.2 (Targeted Growth). Target growth and new construction in infill areas and away from Pasadena’s residential neighborhoods and open spaces by redeveloping underutilized and industrial properties, especially within the Central District, Transit Villages, Neighborhood Villages, and along selected corridors.
o Policy 1.6 (General Plan Amendments). Limit amendments to the General Plan that would increase development capacities to the five-year review of the General Plan Land Use Element.
Goal 2. Land Use Diversity. A mix of land uses meeting the diverse needs of Pasadena’s residents and businesses, fostering improved housing conditions, General Plan Amendment – Land Use Diagram Amendment for Lincoln Avenue Specific Plan Attachment A: Required Findings Page 2
City Council March 14, 2022
offering a variety of employment and recreation opportunities, and supporting a healthy population while protecting the environment.
o Policy 2.5 (Mixed Use). Create opportunities for development projects that mix housing with commercial uses to enable Pasadena’s residents to live close to businesses and employment, increasing non-auto travel, and interact socially.
Goal 3. Compatible Land Uses. A mix and distribution of land uses characterized by their compatibility.
o Policy 3.1 (High-Impact Uses). Avoid the concentration of uses and facilities in any neighborhood or district where their intensities, operations, and/or traffic could adversely impact the character, safety, health, and quality of life.
Goal 4. Elements Contributing to Urban Form. A safe, well-designed, accessible City with a diversity of uses and forms
o Policy 4.7 (Strengthen Major Corridors). Encourage the economic improvement of underused parcels along Pasadena’s corridors by clustering more intense uses at major intersections and lower intensity mixed-use or commercial development between major intersections.
o Policy 4.11 (Development that is Compatible). Require that development demonstrates a contextual relationship with neighboring structures and sites addressing such elements as building scale, massing, orientation, setbacks, buffering, the arrangement of shared and private open spaces, visibility, privacy, automobile and truck access, impacts of noise and lighting, landscape quality, infrastructure, and aesthetics.
Goal 6. Sense of Place and History. Require new development and changes to existing development to be located and designed to respect the defining elements of Pasadena’s character and history such as its grid street pattern, block scale, public realm, courtyards, paseos, alleys, neighborhoods and districts, building massing and heights, significant architecture, and relationship to the mountains and Arroyo Seco.
o Policy 6.2 (Established Neighborhoods). Preserve, protect, and enhance established residential neighborhoods by providing appropriate transitions between these and adjoining areas. Require new development to complement and respond to the existing physical characteristics that contribute to the overall character and livability of the neighborhood.
Goal 22. Single-Family Neighborhoods. Distinct and quality single-family residential neighborhoods distinguished by their identity, scale, and character.
o Policy 22.1 (Appropriate Scale and Massing). Discourage mansionization by requiring building scale and massing that is compatible with existing development in single-family residential neighborhoods
General Plan Amendment – Land Use Diagram Amendment for Lincoln Avenue Specific Plan Attachment A: Required Findings Page 3
City Council March 14, 2022
Goal 35. Lincoln Avenue.
o Policy 35.1 (Neighborhood Core). Create a neighborhood “main street” that will serve as the focal point for the neighborhoods surrounding Lincoln Avenue.
o Policy 35.2 (Residential Neighborhoods). Preserve and enhance existing residential areas.
Housing Element
Goal HE-2. An adequate supply and diversity of quality rental and ownership housing opportunities suited to residents of varying lifestyle needs and income levels.
o Policy HE-2.2. (Strategic Growth). Direct new residential development into the Central District, neighborhood, and transit villages to create neighborhoods where people can live and work, shop, and benefit from access to a Gold Line station or public transit.
The proposed amendment would revert back to the General Plan Land Use Diagram adopted in 2015.
Parcels located west of Lincoln Avenue between Pepper Street and the I-210 Freeway would remain within the Medium Mixed-Use Land Use Designation. The potential density and intensity of development will not be changing and will continue to allow for revitalization, growth, and mixed-use opportunities along the Lincoln Avenue corridor, with appropriate development standards determined by established zoning development standards, strengthening its role both as a “main street” with amenities for the local neighborhood as well as a new mixed-use segment that will provide new housing options and economic opportunity for the broader community.
There would be no change in the maximum allowable density and/or intensity as identified by the General Plan for the Medium Mixed-Use designation on parcels located west of Lincoln Avenue between Pepper Street and the I-210 Freeway. Therefore, the proposed amendment would not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or general welfare of the City.