ATTACHMENT C
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AND PUBLIC FEEDBACK
South Fair Oaks Specific Plan Update
Attachment C: Community Engagement and Public Feedback Page 1 City Council May 23, 2022
ATTACHMENT C
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC FEEDBACK
Prior to the preparation of the proposed South Fair Oaks Specific Plan (SFOSP), the City held the following community meetings/events:
• Three citywide open houses to introduce and solicit feedback on the Specific Plan Update Program and the General Plan vision on each of the eight planning areas o Open House 1 (March 8, 2018 – Jackie Robinson Community Center) o Open House 2 (March 15, 2018 – Pasadena Senior Center) o Open House 3 (March 29, 2018 – Victory Park Recreation Center)
• Six plan-specific events to present and solicit community feedback on the SFOSP update
o Plan Workshop (May 24, 2018) – The objective of the workshop was to solicit community feedback on the general plan vision, desired land uses, and urban form for the area. More than 50 participants consisting of community members, business owners, and developers provided feedback on the future of the SFOSP, sharing their experiences living, working, and/or visiting the area, as well providing feedback on specific facilitated topics such as housing types, streetscape and public amenities, mobility, and parking. Workshop materials and summary of community feedback can be found on the program’s website, https://www.ourpasadena.org/SFO-Round1-Materials.
South Fair Oaks Specific Plan Update
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o Community Walking Tour (May 18, 2019) – Approximately 20 participants took part in a community walking tour of the plan area. The virtual tour helped gather participants’ observations and experiences in a portion of the SFSOSP area.
Participants were asked about their pedestrian experience, opportunities to improve the walking environment, and what types of uses should be introduced, preserved, or removed. The tour began at Central Park, at the corner of Del Mar Avenue and South Fair Oaks Avenue, and ended at Jones Coffee Roasters on South Raymond Avenue. Participants wrote comments on walking tour worksheets/guides as they walked through the “Research & Development Flex” area with eclectic commercial and industrial uses, then along South Fair Oaks Avenue past Huntington Hospital and Raymond Avenue toward the Metro Fillmore Station, and finally across South Arroyo Parkway before walking back toward Raymond Avenue to meet at Jones Coffee roasters. At the end of the tour, participants identified specific locations on large maps with image cards depicting desired uses. Materials of the walking tour and summary of community feedback can be found on the program’s website,
https://www.ourpasadena.org/SFO-Walking-Tour
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South Fair Oaks Specific Plan Update
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o Art Center Pop-Up Event (May 22-24, 2019) - The Planning & Community Development Department hosted an interactive Pop-up Event at Art Center College of Design (south campus) to inform students about the SFOSP process and solicit feedback on how they would like to see the neighborhood surrounding the campus develop in the future. Among other activities, participants were invited to add to an interactive visioning collage and sculptural installation using precedent imagery, text, and drawing, leveraging student creativity and expression through multiple mediums.
South Fair Oaks Specific Plan Update
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o Plan Workshop (June 20, 2019) – The objective of the workshop was to solicit community feedback on emerging themes, refined plan vision, and preliminary land uses, urban form concepts, and development standards. Approximately 30 participants attended, sharing feedback through an opening icebreaker activity, small group discussions, and larger group report back session. Materials and summary of community feedback can be found on the program’s website, https://www.ourpasadena.org/South-Fair-Oaks-Round2-Materials.
o Youth Summit (October 19, 2019) - Through the use of multimedia tools and interactive activities including a virtual reality station, large floor map activity, and video, the youth summit was designed to educate students about city planning and allow participants to share their unique perspective on what they think will make Pasadena a better place now and in the future. The summit format was designed to inform participants about the eight Specific Plan updates, including South Fair Oaks, and illustrate the types of development and improvements being discussed. Over 30 high school students and 8 youth ambassadors attended the summit. Participants were encouraged to provide input through an
South Fair Oaks Specific Plan Update
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interactive mapping activity and storytelling station where they could record their stories and experiences on video.
https://ourpasadena.consultation.ai/southfairoaks/
o Live Webinar (November 5, 2020) – As part of the Round 3 outreach, a live webinar was held where participants could learn about the SFOSP update and have questions answered live by staff in a Q&A format. Approximately 21 participants joined the webinar, discussing issues such as increasing the amount of green/open space, historic preservation of existing buildings, development standards such as façade modulation, and safety enhancements such as improved lighting, fence requirements, and bike lanes. Presentation can be found on the program’s website, https://vimeo.com/477014509
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Participants shared a wide range of input throughout the outreach process, which is summarized in the following recurring themes:
• Mixed opinions on the amount of density and height proposed for most subareas, with some calling for more housing density while others expressed concerns about impacts resulting from increased development;
• Concerns from some members of the public regarding appropriate heights along Arroyo Parkway and Fair Oaks Avenue, including suggestions to reduce height along Arroyo Parkway to a maximum of three stories and reduce height along Fair Oaks to 51 feet (63 with height averaging);
• Support for targeted building heights along Raymond Avenue; • Desire for more flexibility in allowed land uses, including a diversity of multi-family housing types such as micro-units and senior housing, as well as flexible uses at the
South Fair Oaks Specific Plan Update
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ground floor of mixed-use buildings and allowing housing along portions of Arroyo Parkway that are currently limited to commercial development; • Mixed opinions on the appropriate amount of parking to require for new development, particularly near the Fillmore Station where many support limited or no parking requirements and others support removing the existing parking reduction for residential development within the Transit-Oriented Development area; • Concerns from some property owners regarding requirements for increased sidewalk widths, setbacks, paseos, and plazas and impacts of these requirements on development feasibility;
• Support for increased open space, landscaping, and an improved tree canopy that promotes shade and walkability, including larger setbacks with an additional row of smaller canopy trees to avoid conflicts with existing or proposed buildings; • Concerns about increased traffic and impacts to surrounding neighborhoods; • Suggestion to include a bikeway/walkway connecting the Art Center campus to Old Pasadena;
• Suggestion to focus Raymond Avenue as a multi-modal street; • Concerns about impacts from new development on local transit and utility infrastructure; • Desire to strike an appropriate balance of medical offices and facilities with housing, retail, restaurant, and other pedestrian oriented land uses so that one land use type doesn’t dominate the plan area;
• Suggestion to strengthen maximum façade length requirements; and • Preserve historic resources and encourage adaptive re-use.
Additional meetings were held to solicit feedback from the Design Commission, as follows:
• Design Commission (February 23, 2021) – The Design Commission held an information item on the SFOSP update to review and provide feedback on the refined plan vision and preliminary development, design, and public realm standards that were presented during the Round 3 outreach. The Design Commission provided the following feedback:
o Interest in allowing residential uses in the Arts & Innovation Flex subarea; o Desire to see more flexibility in ground floor commercial requirements; o More emphasis on creativity, innovation, and 24/7 activity in the district; o Support for encouraging eclectic character and infusing different uses beyond institutional uses;
o Interest in promoting wellness of uses from architectural standpoint, including WELL building standards;
o Support for east-west paseos to create more linkages in the district; and o Interest in supporting Raymond Ave. as a multi-modal and pedestrian-focused street as a companion to more auto-oriented streets of S. Fair Oaks Ave. and Arroyo Pkwy.
• Planning Commission Study Session (October 27, 2021) – The study session focused on the update to the SFOSP, including plan boundary, vision, goals, policies, standards, and guidelines to regulate future development, as well as background information on the SFOSP area and the planning and community engagement process that informed the preparation of the draft plan. The staff report and presentation can be found on the program’s website, https://www.ourpasadena.org/SFOSP-PC-SS-102721 . The Planning
Commission received public comments, discussed the draft plan, and provided feedback to staff. A summary of the comments and feedback received is provided below:
South Fair Oaks Specific Plan Update
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o Public comments focused on the following:
Request for additional park and/or open space as well as tree canopy Request to increase street setbacks;
Incorporate a bikeway/greenway connecting Old Pasadena to Art Center; Suggestion for emphasizing Raymond Avenue as a street with active transportation and incorporation of lane reductions;
Provide consistent building height limits along Arroyo Parkway and general concern regarding building heights approaching six stories; and Suggestion to prohibit subterranean parking from being built to lot lines. o Commissioner comments included the following, organized by topic. Housing – Some comments related to keeping a variety of housing types in the R&D Flex area beyond work/live units (but not eliminating work/live units as an option), as well as accounting for additional student housing needs near Art Center;
R&D Flex Area – Comments that the R&D area combined with additional retail and housing would be conducive to walkability;
Open Space – Comments related to connecting green spaces throughout the plan area; and
Glenarm Power Plant – Comments related to potential for future development opportunities at the power plant site and its relationship to the Specific Plan boundaries.
• Planning Commission Hearing (April 13, 2022) – The hearing focused on presenting the proposed SFOSP to the public and Planning Commission, and receiving feedback. The staff report and presentation can be found on the program’s website, https://www.ourpasadena.org/SFOSP-PC-HR-041322
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o Public comments discussed the following:
• Desire for in-ground trees versus trees in pots or other containers; • Include the 63’ height requirement across Edmonson Alley; • 5’ setback for subterranean parking along Raymond is problematic and adds additional expense to projects;
• Commercial development should not be subject to Floor Area Ratio requirements;
• Concern regarding historic resources and sensitive sites; • Concern about HEART district emphasizing medical uses over educational and art-related uses;
• Suggestion to permit housing in all commercial zones and remove parking minimums
o The Planning Commission received public comments, discussed the proposed plan, and recommended approval of the draft plan to the City Council, with the following recommended amendments:
• Include an implementation program in the SFOSP related to public- private partnerships for the creation of paseos and publicly-accessible open space; and
• Incorporate language in the SFOSP that would give the review authority the ability to approve limited deviations from development standards not South Fair Oaks Specific Plan Update
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including allowed height, setbacks, or tree planting requirements, for commercial properties when it can be clearly demonstrated that compliance with the standards would result in a substantial hardship.
Residents, property owners, and other interested parties were notified of upcoming events, community meetings and hearings via postcard mailers sent to all properties within the current SFOSP Area boundaries as well as within a 500-foot radius of the boundaries to ensure that the greater community surrounding the SFOSP was notified. Residents were also informed of upcoming events by signing up for email notifications and by interacting with the OurPasadena webpage and social media. Additionally, information about the Specific Plan Update program was provided through Council District newsletters, flyers sent through the Pasadena Unified School District, Pasadena Education Network, and articles in Pasadena Now. Staff also spoke directly with property owners and residents in and around the SFOSP area, and engaged with the Pasadena Youth Ambassador program to bring awareness of the Specific Plan Update and urban planning in general to the City’s youth.