AGENDA
FINANCE COMMITTEE AND/OR CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING NOTICE
JUNE 9, 2025
PUBLIC MEETING 3:30 P.M.
Memb
ers
Victor M. Gordo, Mayor
Tyron Hampton, District 1
Rick Cole, District 2
Gene Masuda, District 4
STAF
F
Matthew Hawkesworth, Director of Finance
Arnold Lee, Chief Assistant City Attorney
Gloria Acevedo, Recording Secretary
MISSI
ON STATEMENT
The City of Pasadena is dedicated to delivering exemplary municipal services, responsive to our entire community and consistent
with our history, culture, and unique character.
In comp
liance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Assistive Listening Devices are available from the City Clerk’s Office with a 24-hour advance notice.
Please call (626) 744-4124 to request use of a listening device.
Language t
ranslation services are available for this meeting by calling (626)744-4124 at least 24 hours in advance.
Habrá servicio de interpretación disponible para éstas juntas llamando al (626)744-4124 por lo menos con 24 horas de anticipación.
Meetings
are broadcast live on cable Channel 3 and on the Internet at http://pasadena.granicus.com/mediaplayer.php?camera_id=2&publish_id=9 and https://www.pasadenamedia.org/watch/ (Click on Video Streamlining on the right side of the screen).
Items
on the agenda may not be called in order listed. Agendas and supporting documents are available on the Internet at
https://www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/city-council-finance-committee/ Materi
als related to an item on this Agenda submitted to the Finance/Audit Committee after distribution of the agenda packet will be posted online and listed as: “Supplemental Agenda Material Received after the Posting of the agenda”
PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AND/OR CITY COUNCIL FOR JUNE 9, 2025, AT 3:30 P.M. WILL BE ACCEPTED IN-PERSON AND BY VIDEOCONFERENCE/TELECONFERENCE.
Link t
o City Meeting Policy:
cityofpasadena.net/CityCouncilMeetingPolicy
TO VI
EW A LIVE STREAM OF THE MEETING:
http:/
/pasadena.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=9
AND
WWW.PAS
ADENAMEDIA.ORG
In order to facilitate public participation at meetings the City will accept public comment in the following manner:
1. Whether participating in-person or virtually at the meeting, members of the public may provide public comment by submitting a speaker card prior to the start of public comment on that item, at the following webpage:
www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/public-comment/
If a public comment speaker wishes to speak on more than one agenda item, please indicate which items on the online form (multiple item speakers will be handled according to the process posted on the agenda and as specified in the City meeting policy). Public comments are limited to 3 minutes each, and the Chair and Committee may limit this time if reasonable under the circumstances.
2. In-person Meeting Participation: Complete an online speaker card at the following website: www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/public-comment/ After submitting a public speaker card, members of the public may attend the meeting in-person by coming to the Pasadena City Council Chamber, Room S249 at City Hall at the date and start-time of the posted meeting.
Virtual Meeting Participation: For virtual participants, you may attend by connecting to the meeting using a computer, other electronic device, or by telephone. Please review the agenda to identify the published start time for the meeting and connect to the meeting just prior to, or at the start of the meeting.
To participate in public comment for an item and to be recognized to speak, it is required that the speaker login to the meeting using the same name or telephone number used on the Speaker Card form. This will allow City staff to locate and promote the speaker into the meeting when it is time for their public comment.
Participants’ phone calls to the Committee meeting will be recorded as part of the Committee meeting. By staying on the line and making public comment during the Committee meeting by phone, you are agreeing to have your phone call recorded. Following is the connectivity information for virtual participation:
Computer or electronic devices, join the meeting at: cityofpasadena.net/cczoom Telephone only dial-in: 1-669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 161 482 446
3. Speaker Card Help Line: If a public comment speaker needs assistance in completing a speaker card, please call the City Clerk’s Office at: (626) 744-4124.
Help line will open 30 minutes prior to the posted start time of the meeting.
4. Members of the public may submit correspondence of any length prior to the start of the meeting, at the following email address:
gacevedo
@cityofpasadena.net
Corr
espondence will be forwarded to the Committee prior to the start of the meeting, posted online, and made part of the legislative record for the item.
LIVESTREAM WITH CAPTIONING IS AVAILABLE AT WWW.PASADENAMEDIA.ORG, AND ALSO AT WWW.CITYOFPASADENA.NET/COMMISSIONS/AGENDAS, IF Y
OU NEED A REASONABLE MODIFICATION OR ACCOMMODATION PURSUANT
TO THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
BECAUSE YOU ARE UNABLE TO PARTICIPATE ELECTRONICALLY AS SET FORTH ABOVE, CONTACT THE CITY CLERK’S OFFICE
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AT (626) 744-4124 OR
[email protected].
Notice to the Public: there is a Special Finance/Audit Committee meeting scheduled on June 9, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. and the Regular Meeting of the City Council on June 9, 2025, at 5:00 p.m.
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
AGENDA
FINANCE COMMITTEE AND/OR CITY COUNCIL
JUNE 9, 2025
Public Meeting: 3:30 P.M.
Council Chamber, Pasadena City Hall
100 North Garfield Avenue, Room S249
Teleconference Location:
The FIDI Hotel
11 Stone St
New York, NY 10004
Conference Room
PUBLIC MEETING - 3:30 P.M.
ROLL CALL
PUBLIC COMMENT – LIMITED TO ITEMS ON THIS SPECIAL MEETING
AGENDA AND WILL BE HEARD AT THE TIME THE ITEM IS
CONSIDERED
NEW BUSINESS
1. BUDGET WORKSHOP FY 2026 RECOMMENDED OPERATING BUDGET
OPERATING BUDGET PRESENTATIONS:
A. FIRE DEPARTMENT
B. PUBLIC HEALTH
C. RENT STABILIZATION
D. ROSE BOWL OPERATING COMPANY**
E. HUMAN RESOURCES**
F. CITY MANAGER**
G. FINANCE DEPARTMENT**
**(Discussion of these departments will occur if presentations are not completed during the Special Finance/Audit Committee; see 2:00 p.m. Finance/Audit Committee Agenda for Agenda Materials)
PUBLIC HEARING
2. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING: ADOPTION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2026 CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDED OPERATING BUDGET (Finance Dept.) Recommendation: Receive public comment and continue the public hearing to each subsequent meeting of the City Council at 6:00 p.m., until June 16, 2025, or such other date as the City Council may determine, and at which time the City 1 page 1
2 Council will be asked to close the public hearing and formally adopt the FY 2026 City Manager’s Recommended Operating Budget.
ADJOURN
2 page 2
NEW BUSINESS
ITEM 1 A
1 . BUDGET
WORKSHOP FY 2026 RECOMMENDED
OPERATING BUDGET
OPERATING
BUDGET PRESENTATION:
A. FIRE DEPARTMENT
3 page 3
Fire Department
FY 2026 Recommended
Operating Budget
Joint Finance Committee / City Council
June 9, 2025
4 page 4
Fire Department
• Introduction
> All-hazard Fire Department that provides emergency
response and public safety services to the community
> Divisions include Fire Administration, Community Risk Reduction / Fire Prevention, Fire Operations, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and Training
> Front line apparatus include 8 engines, 2 Trucks, 6 RAs and 1 Battalion Chief Vehicle
> Additional response vehicles include Type-1 Heavy
Urban Search and Rescue (US&R), Water Tender, Brush
Patrol, Rapid Extraction Module Support (REMS) vehicle, and Rescue Cushion
2 Background
5 page 5
• Responded to 20,854 emergency calls for service (CY 2024) • Prioritized professional development and supported three (3) fire personnel through Paramedic School
• Developed an emergency vehicle training program to reduce collision rates and address the department’s risk profile • Replaced cardiac monitors on all front-line apparatus • Assisted in 36 state-wide wildland deployments over 419 days • Successfully responded to the Eaton Fire, saving countless lives and property; transitioned to ensuring public safety during numerous storms resulting in mud and debris flow
• Completed an 18-week Fire Recruit Academy and an eight (8) week Lateral Academy to address vacancies
• Updated the Department’s Standards of Coverage and 5-Year Strategic Plan
• Completed the Citywide Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
3 Accomplishments
Fire Department
6 page 6
4 • 210 Total FTEs
> 8 unfunded Firefighter Trainees
> 172 Sworn Personnel
> 30 Professional Personnel
• 10 Sworn Vacancies (May 2025)
> 7 Firefighter Paramedics (-16) / Firefighters (+9)
> 2 Fire Engineers
> 1 Fire Captain
• 1 Professional Vacancy
• Up to 3-5 additional sworn vacancies anticipated
within calendar year 2025
Personnel
Fire Department
7 page 7
Fire Department
5 Expense By Category
Category FY 2023
Actuals
FY 2024
Actuals FY 2025 Adopted FY 2026
Recommended
%
Change
Personnel $52,128,280 $57,489,044 $58,026,171 $63,390,940 9.2% Services & Supplies $4,730,413 $5,351,718 $5,440,126 $6,140,417 12.9% Capital Outlay $244,011 $1,507,115 $31,927 $32,825 2.8% Internal Services $5,724,242 $6,075,607 $6,120,365 $7,400,413 20.9% Debt Service ($1,885) $41,000 $0 $0 0.0%
Transfers Out $14,785 $14,985 $15,459 $15,894 2.8%
Grand Total $62,839,846 $70,479,470 $69,634,048 $76,980,489 10.6% Total FTE 210.00 210.00 0.00
8 page 8
Fire Department
6 FY 2025 – 2026 Significant Changes
FY 2026 Proposed Budget increased by $7.35M (10.5%):
• Personnel increased by $5.36M (9.2%)
> $3M increase from City Portion pension, Benefits, Medical > $1.5M increase from salary and MOU adjustments
> $450k received in grant funds to support personnel expenses • Services & Supplies increased by $700k (12.9%)
> Contractual increases based on pre-established agreements and escalating insurance premiums
> Walnut Plaza lease ($70k)
> VFCC contract ($65k increase)
> Insurance ($173k)
> Additional Grant Funds to support purchases and services($406k) • Internal Services increased by $1.28M (20.9%)
> $930k from BSFMD IS-Fleet Equip Maintenance, Replacement & Fuel > $250k from IS-Structural Maintenance
9 page 9
Fire Department
7 FY 2026 Enhancement Requests (Personnel)
• $159,728 for one (1) Fire Battalion Chief (40 Hour)
> Position anticipated to be filled starting FY 2026 Q3 > Budgeted at minimum rate; full year at mid-step is $336,413 > Address span of control and additional operational needs, rising call volumes, mitigate risks, capacity for regional support, and statewide mutual aid needs
> Manage all programs as needed (fire operations, suppression, fire and environmental safety, administration, EMS disaster preparedness, training, safety and personnel)
> Manage incidents, emergencies, wildfires and windstorms > Assist with the growing number of special events across Pasadena
10 page 10
Fire Department
8 FY 2026 Enhancement Requests (Personnel) – SOC Recommendation • A Standards of Coverage analysis recommends two
daily 56-hour Operational Battalion Chiefs
> Industry best practice for span of control is 1 supervisor to 5 subordinates; the Fire Department currently has a 1 to 10 ratio > Given the size of the response area, the dissection of geography by I-210, current and future staffing levels, increased risk, expanding duties and service demands, the span of control exceed a one-battalion configuration
> Additional BC allows for the response area, personnel supervision and emergency duties to be aligned to achieve optimal span of control, enhancing accountability and service > Due to funding limitations, only 1.0 FTE is recommended to be added for FY 2026
11 page 11
9 Fire Department
• $210,000 for a fully upfitted Battalion Chief Command Vehicles for the additional Operational BC position; upfit of vehicle to be absorbed by the Fire Department’s General Fund budget
• $100,000 for the Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) program to address rising uniform prices and MOU
commitments for 172 sworn members
• $200,000 for the Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) program for increased costs of turnouts and PPE (helmets, boots, gloves, etc.) for training academies, and increased wear and use
FY 2026 Enhancement Requests (Non-Personnel)
12 page 12
10 Fire Department
Revenue
• Increased EMS collections through the PP-GEMT IGT program, resulting in projected $1.6M of additional EMS revenue
• Additional EMS Revenue supported various medical equipment purchases, including replacement of cardiac monitors for all front-line apparatus, as well as the 6th Rescue Ambulance
• Updated the FY 2022 EMS Fee Study to more accurately reflect costs for services for the FY 2026 Fee Schedule
$6,650.00 $6,650.00 $6,650.00 $6,650.00
$9,000.00
$11,000.00
$6,569.57
$5,686.10
$7,153.13
$7,935.89
$10,686.34
12,666.35
$-
$2,000.00
$4,000.00
$6,000.00
$8,000.00
$10,000.00
$12,000.00
$14,000.00
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Thousands
EMS Transport Revenue by Fiscal Year
Budget Actuals
13 page 13
11 Fire Department
Revenue
• Additional funding sources in FY 2025 and FY 2026:
> Received funds for training and equipment through an
Instructional Services Agreement with Rio Hondo Community College District
> Received $955,080 in grant funds and reimbursements for cancer screenings, behavioral health checkups, and urban search and rescue (US&R) equipment, training and Regional Task Force exercises
> Reduced purchases of medications through an exchange
program with Huntington Hospital
> Used residual strike team revenue to purchase and upfit an additional Rapid Extraction Module vehicle, upfit a Battalion Chief vehicle, complete facility improvement projects at Fire Station 33 and 38, and to purchase video laryngoscopes for our front line apparatus
14 page 14
Fire Department
• Continue to evaluate and identify programs to address departmental risk
• Implement updated FY 2026 EMS Fees to more
accurately recapture costs for providing medical
services to the community
• Continue collaboration with Public Works Department to purchase and place new apparatus into service, to
maintain the City’s Replacement Plan
• Assess Pasadena’s risks and mitigation measures based on updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps
• Work with regional partners on efforts for the numerous upcoming special events and 2028 Olympics
12 FY 2026 Workplan
15 page 15
13 • Recruitment & Retention Efforts for FY 2026
> Complete annual recruit academies to address
vacancies and attrition
> Proactively provide targeted risk management training to reduce frequency of vehicle related accidents
> Provide up-to-date safety equipment and personal
protective equipment
> Continue local area recruitment efforts including the Paramedic Internship Program, Inspector Trainee
Program, Fire Explorer Program, and Women’s
Empowerment Camp
> Employee development and succession planning
Fire Department
FY 2026 Workplan
16 page 16
Fire Department
• Develop a long-term plan to address critical infrastructure needs for fire stations
14 FY 2026 Workplan
1-2 Years
+ 2nd Battalion
Chief
2-5 Years
+ 9th Suppression company
+ 7th RA
+ Station 33 Rebuild
5-10 Years
+ 9th Fire Station
+ 8th RA
+ 3rd Ladder Truck
+ Station 37 Rebuild
17 page 17
• Fire’s FY 2026 Recommended Budget reflects
increases to maintain necessary operations
including increased call volumes, special events,
expanding services and span of control, and to
address community risks that were highlighted
during the Eaton Wildfires
• The Department recognizes the City’s funding
limitations in the General Fund, and will continue
to identify additional and alternative revenue
sources as we grow the department and serve
the needs of the community
15 Fire Department
Conclusion
18 page 18
Questions
16 19
page 19
NEW BUSINESS
ITEM 1 B
1 . BUDGET WORKSHOP FY 2026 RECOMMENDED
OPERATING BUDGET
OPERATING
BUDGET PRESENTATION:
B. PUBLIC HE
ALTH
20 page 20
Public Health Department
FY 2026 Recommended
Operating Budget
Joint Finance Committee / City Council
June 9, 2025
21 page 21
FY 2025 Accomplishments
Public Health Department
Clinical oversight at Eaton
Fire evacuation shelter
Vaccine clinics
Pasadena Outreach Response
Team (PORT)
Distribution
of water and
masks to
residents
affected by
the Eaton
Fire
Black
Infant
Health
(BIH)
Donation
Drive
Typhus community
canvassing
22 page 22
3 Public Health Department
FY 2026 Priorities
• Immediate
> Protect Pasadena resident health and well-being
> Right-size operations after two consecutive years of
significant loss of grant funding and staff
> Identify new revenue to support public health programs > Implement systems that enhance efficiency and
reduce risk
• Future
> Advance the role of PPHD as Health Strategy Catalyst
> Improve access for visitors to Department facilities
23 page 23
Fund 203 – Health Fund
• Revenue Sources
> Grant Funding
> Fees/Charges for Services
> Health Realignment Funding (State Sales Tax and
Motor Vehicle License Fees)
> Property Rental Income
> General Fund
• Restricted Funding Sources
> Grants – limited to activities required by the grant
> Realignment funding – restricted to core public
health services
Public Health Department
24 page 24
5 Public Health Department
Budget Summary by Category
Appropriations
Revenue
Category
FY 2023
Actuals
FY 2024
Actuals
FY 2025
Revised
FY 2026
Recommended
%
Change
Taxes $1,165,905 $1,095,953 $1,050,000 $1,050,000 0.0%
Licenses & Pemits $1,804,140 $2,192,991 $2,288,104 $2,576,650 12.6% Intergov Revenue $14,271,429 $14,884,574 $15,541,994 $12,136,881 -21.9% Charge fr Svc Extrnl $517,279 $498,918 $623,004 $569,069 -8.7% Charge fr Svc Intrnl $23,750 $0 $0 $0 0.0%
Operating Transfer Out $748,832 $846,168 $120,000 $120,000 0.0% Investment Earnings $5,561 $6,104 $0 $0 0.0%
Rental Income $264,694 $267,010 $248,000 $250,000 0.8%
Misc. Revenue $410,840 $414,072 $389,178 $890,874 128.9% Other Fincng Source $187,622 $23,313 $0 $0 0.0%
Grand Total $19,400,050 $20,229,102 $20,260,280 $ 17,593,474 -13.2% Category
FY 2023
Actuals
FY 2024
Actuals
FY 2025
Revised
FY 2026
Recommended
%
Change
Personnel $13,144,033 $13,655,968 $14,600,729 $13,777,098 -5.6% Services & Supplies $3,924,616 $4,659,852 $4,316,999 $3,038,187 -29.6% Capital Outlay $262,572 $23,313 $0 $0 0.0%
Internal Services $1,952,174 $2,347,388 $2,613,058 $2,658,156 1.7% Grand Total $19,283,395 $20,686,521 $21,530,786 $ 19,473,441 -9.6% FTE 118.82 102.40 -16.42
25 page 25
6 Appropriations by Division
Public Health Department
Due to limited resources from sunsetting grants and funding availability, the Department proposes to consolidate three existing divisions into two. The elimination of Community Health Services Division will be integrated into the Health Policy and Promotion and Epidemiology and Disease Control divisions.
If the budget is adopted with this recommendation, the division updates will be reflected in the division summary starting in FY 2027.
FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026 %
Actuals Actuals Revised Recommended Change
2301 - Health Administration 4,849,347 5,819,255 6,644,822 7,026,511 5.7% 2302 - Environmental Health 2,320,664 2,321,722 2,534,248 2,662,778 5.1% 2303 - Social and Mental Health Services 4,144,488 4,451,322 4,222,768 2,662,028 -37.0% 2304 - Community Health Services 3,201,875 4,009,598 4,485,228 4,023,472 -10.3% 2305 - Health Policy and Promotion 1,933,292 1,561,450 1,842,779 1,882,203 2.1% 2306 - Epidemiology and Disease Control 2,833,729 2,523,175 1,800,941 1,216,449 -32.5% Grand Total 19,283,395 20,686,522 21,530,786 19,473,441 -9.6% Division
26 page 26
7 • 13 grants sunset by end of FY 2025 (Reduction of $2.4M) • Federal threats to public health finances
> Temporary restraining order has paused the termination of grant funding that went into effect March 24, 2025
> Federal administration conceptual budget proposal
recommends additional cuts that may impact public health programs in FY 2026
Public Health Department
Congressional Directive Spending Kaiser - Promotores
WIC Little by Little Emergency Food/Shelter
HIV/AIDS Testing (4 programs) CHOEUR Supplemental
CDC Workforce Development PCHF Grant
CALVIP Supplemental IZ Supplemental
Significant Changes from FY25 Rev Budget
27 page 27
8 • Decrease of 16.42 FTEs from FY 2025
> 12 existing vacant positions to be eliminated
> 4 employees subject to release on June 29th
▪ 3 limited-term, grant-funded positions
▪ 1 regular position subject to layoff
> All affected staff will be offered opportunities for
lateral reassignment or voluntary demotion to vacant
positions
• Total of 42.30 FTEs lost since FY 2024
Significant Changes from FY25 Rev Budget
Public Health Department
28 page 28
New Program in FY 2026
• Promotores Program
> $155,000 through June 2026 funded by Good
Hope Medical Foundation
> Outreach to Pasadena residents who are
underinsured/uninsured, low-income, and have
limited access to healthcare services
9 Public Health Department
Significant Changes from FY25 Rev Budget
29 page 29
Current FY 2025 General Fund Support: $1,629,098
Additional FY 2026 General Fund Support: $1,168,000
• $450K – Non-personnel
> $150,000 – Electronic Health Record implementation one-time support for grant matching
> $300,000 – Support for non-recoverable department internal service costs • $718K – Personnel
> $160,000 - Program Coordinator II at 1.0 FTE
▪ Provide program administration, supervision, and strategic oversight of the gang violence interruption program (50%) and PORT (50%) > $255,000 – Health Officer at 0.75 FTE
▪ Protect community health and safety
> $303,000 – PORT Firefighters
▪ Personnel cost to maintain two PORT teams
Total General Fund Support: $2,797,098
10 Public Health Department
Enhancement Requests
30 page 30
Fund Overview
• Department expenses related to COVID-19
response from FY 2020 to FY 2023: $4.15M
> Expected FEMA reimbursement: $644K
• Department launched an effort to stabilize
the Health Fund prior to COVID-19
> Efforts were disrupted but the Department remains
committed to ensuring fiscal accountability
> Department has ended the last two fiscal years
with a positive balance11
FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 FY 2029
Ending Forecast Forecast Forecast
Balance
203 - Health ($6,722,659) $18,580,474 $19,522,772 ($7,664,957) ($8,586,130) ($9,337,737) ($9,918,701) Fund
FY 2026
Beginning
Balance
Revenues Expenses
31 page 31
Future Steps
• Sustained Commitment to Balance Health Fund in
Future Years
> Manage existing portfolio of grants effectively
> Maximize revenues across all programs
> Ensure full cost recovery associated with fee for service programs
> Pursue sustainable and cost-effective initiatives that align with PPHD Strategic Plan
Public Health Department
32 page 32
NEW BUSINESS
ITEM 1 C
1 . BUDGET WORKSHOP FY 2026 RECOMMENDED
OPERATING BUDGET
OPERATING
BUDGET PRESENTATION:
C. RENT STABIL
IZATION
33 page 33
Rent Stabilization Department
Rent Stabilization Department
FY 2026 Recommended
Operating Budget
Joint Finance Committee / City Council
June 9, 2025
34 page 34
Rent Stabilization Department
Mission Statement
To empower tenant and landlords, ensure
fair rental practices, and foster a thriving
rental housing community in Pasadena
through effective enforcement, education
and collaboration.
2 35
page 35
Rent Stabilization Department
FY 2025 Achievements
• Completed buildout and move-in for the Department office at 199 S. Los Robles, increasing team cohesion, allowing for in- person appointments, and conducting hearings
• Launched the Rental Registry, a database for 27,000+ rental units in Pasadena, to implement the provisions of City Charter Article XVIII
• Rolled out RSD’s Petitions and Hearings services to community stakeholders, allowing processes for downward and upward adjustments of rent outside of the Annual General Adjustment • Launched an Eviction Database to track evictions by Council District
• Participated in 33 City events providing outreach and education • Averaging 268 Housing Counselor interactions per month > 65% increase from FY24’s monthly average of 163 or 1,956 annual interactions in FY24
3 36
page 36
Rent Stabilization Department
FY 2026 Operations Outlook
• Opportunities
> Improve customer response time
> Increase visibility and provide education
> Collaborate with community-based organizations
> Leverage data for decision-making purposes
> Improve registration compliance
• Challenges
> Increasing workload without enough capability to scale ▪ Liability for mistakes to occur, insufficient responses to public inquiries or staff burnout
> Developing or procuring software for programmatic needs > Legal risks to City Charter Article XVIII
4 37
page 37
Rent Stabilization Department
Expense History by Category
5 Category
FY 2023
Actuals
FY 2024
Actuals
FY 2025
Adopted
FY 2026
Recommended % Change
Personnel 0 421,108 2,249,582 3,014,703 34.0%
Services & Supplies 5,060 1,054,557 1,576,327 1,030,456 -34.6% Capital Outlay 0 0 90,000 0 -100.0%
Internal Srvc Chrg 0 343,852 780,823 737,198 -5.6%
Grand Total 5,060 1,819,517 4,696,732 4,782,357 1.8%
FTE 17 17 0
38 page 38
Rent Stabilization Department
Cost Drivers – FY 2026 Recommended
vs FY 2025 Adopted Budget
• Personnel Increased by $765k (+34.0%)
> Filled vacancies, Salary & MOU adjustments, and benefits increase: $590k (+32.9%)
▪ Beginning Vacancies: FY25 (17 FTEs); FY26 (5 FTEs)
> Pension increased by $157k (+34.9%)
• Services and Supplies Decreased by $546k(-34.6%)
> Mainly due to one-time purchases for buildout in FY25 > Other decreases in consultant, other contract services, outside legal services and advertising
> Offset by an increase in merchant transaction fees
• Capital Outlay Decreased by $90k (-100.0%) due to one-time improvements in FY25
• Internal Services Decreased by $44k (-5.6%) due to decrease in CAP Allocation charges 6
39 page 39
Rent Stabilization Department
Enhancement - Personnel
7 40
page 40
Rent Stabilization Department
Enhancement – Non-Personnel
8 41
page 41
Rent Stabilization Department
FY 2026 Work Plan
• Refining Operations
> Policies and Procedures Iteration
> Workplans by Division
• Rental Registration
> Reconcile outstanding open registrations from inaugural year > Achieve faster compliance rate in second year, 100% aim > Leverage rental registry data for policy and decision-making • Outreach and Compliance
> Outreach at more City-sponsored events and engage with community organizations
> Decrease response times to public inquiries
• Hearings and Petitions
> Develop or procure software that can scale to high caseload 9 42
page 42
Rent Stabilization Department
Overview of Fund
10 • Rent Stabilization Fund (Fund 689)
> Projected -$291K ending fund balance for FY 2025
> Primary revenue, Rental Housing Fee
> Balanced budget each fiscal year to meet operating
expenses
> PRHB may charge fees to adequately support the budget 43 page 43
NEW BUSINESS
ITEMS 1 D – 1 G
MATERIAL AVAILABLE AT THE FINANCE/AUDIT COMMITTEE
AGENDA FOR JUNE 9, 2025, AT 2:00 P.M. (pages 21-70)
https://www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/wp-
content/uploads/sites/31/2025-06-09-Finance-Audit-
Committee-Agenda.pdf?v=1749162774483
44 page 44
NEW BUSINESS
ITEM 2
2 . CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING : ADOPTION OF THE
FISCAL YEAR 2026 CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDED
OPERATING BUDGET
BELOW IS A LINK TO THE ENTIRE FISCAL YEAR 2026 CITY
MANAGERS RECOMMENDED OPERATING BUDGET
https://w
w2.cityofpasadena.net/2025%20Agendas/May_05_25/AR%201
1%20FY%202026%20Recommended%20Operating%20Budget.pdf
45 page 45
PASy^0 ^^^
07 •d it-
(0 z
03 0<D 0
'^<^ 0^ 0^ ?^reo
Agenda Report
May 5, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Department of Finance
SUBJECT: OPENING OF THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2026 CITY
MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED OPERATING BUDGET
i
RECOMMENDATION:
l It is recommended that the City Council:
; 1. Find that the action proposed herein is not a "project" subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 21065 and within the meaning of Sections 15060(c) and 15378(b);
2. Open the public hearing for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Recommended Operating Budget; and
3. Continue this public hearing to each subsequent regular meeting of the City Council at 6:00 p.m. until June 9, 2025, or such other date as the City Council may determine, at which time the City Council will be asked to close the public hearing and adopt the FY 2026 Recommended Operating Budget.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Pasadena Charter, Section 902, requires that on or before the third Monday in May, the City Manager shall submit to the City Council an annual operating budget for the succeeding fiscal year. As part of the process, the City Council shall open the public hearing on the proposed operating budget and continue the public hearing until a formal recommendation to adopt the FY 2026 Recommended Operating Budget is presented to the City Council.
The Recommended Budget represents the City's financial plan for FY 2026 and furthers the City's mission to deliver exemplary municipal services responsive to our entire community and consistent with the City's history, culture, and unique character. In addition to the City's anticipated operating revenues and expenses, the Recommended Budget includes the appropriations for the FY 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and the City's affiliated agencies (Rose Bowl Operating Company, Pasadena Center Operating Company, and Pasadena Community Access Corporation).
(
06/09/2025
MEETING OF. ^-V-0-5-/-^0-2-5- -5/4^^05-5- AGENDA ITEM NO. _~^L^^^- 1 1 46 page 46
Opening of Public Hearing - Fiscal Year 2026 Recommended Operating Budget May 5, 2025
The table below presents the FY 2026 Recommended Budget alongside two preceding fiscal years.
Total Budgeted Appropriations
(including Affiliated Agencies and CIP)
in millions
General Fund
All Funds
FY 2024
Actuals
FY 2025
Adopted
$357.3$341.8
$1,251.9$1,156.5
Full-Time Equivalent Positions
(including Affiliated Agencies)
FY 2026
Recommended
$361.5
$1,499.4
FY 2024
Adopted
FY 2025
Adopted
FY 2026
Recommended *
General Fund1,062.151,084.031,082.41
All Funds2,356.232,406.882,408.76
*As of FY 2026, the City's FTE total includes 99.32 "non-budgeted" positions (72.00 FTE MASH trainees, 8.00 FTE Firefighter trainees, 19.32 FTE Retirees). There are no appropriations budgeted for these positions, only the FTE authorization to meet Enterprise Resource Planning system requirements.
Attachment A provides a citywide summary of recommended appropriations and Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) positions for FY 2026 by departmenVaffiliated agency. Throughout May, departments and affiliated agencies will present their recommended operating budget to their respective City Council Committee. These budget workshops will begin on May 6th and conclude on May 27th, meanwhile the citywide operating budget is currently scheduled for adoption on June 9, 2025. The complete budget presentation schedule is outlined in Attachment B.
Copies of the FY 2026 Recommended Operating Budget are available for public review at the City Clerk's Office and the San Rafael Branch and Hasting Branch libraries. The documents are also available on the City's website.
COUNCIL POLICY CONSIDERATION:
The City Council's strategic planning goal of maintaining fiscal responsibility and stability will be advanced through the adoption of the FY 2026 Recommended Operating Budget.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
CEQA excludes, from environmental review, actions that are not "projects" as defined by CEQA Guidelines Section 21065 and within the meaning of Sections 15060(c) and 15378(b).
Section 15378 excludes from the definition of "project" the creation of government funding mechanisms and fiscal activities, which do not yet commit the lead agency to any specific project, and also excludes organizational or administrative governmental activities that do not 47 page 47
Opening of Public Hearing - Fiscal Year 2026 Recommended Operating Budget May 5, 2025
result in physical changes to the environment. The action proposed herein, consideration of the FY 2026 Operating Budget, is budgetary and part of the City's normal administrative process as it takes early steps to prepare for the possibility of undertaking a project, and therefore is not yet a "project" as defined by CEQA. Since the action is not a project subject to CEQA, no environmental document is required.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The FY 2026 Recommended Budget proposes total operating appropriations of $361,457,253 in the General Fund and $1,499,417,075 in all Funds (includes affiliated agencies and CIP). The FTE positions funded by the General Fund are 1,082.41 FTEs and those funded by all Funds are 2,408.76 FTEs (includes affiliated agencies).
Respectfully submitted,
/ /
MATT^W E. HAWKESWORTH
Director of Finance
Prepared by:
-T^^'/^'
Timothy Park
Budget Administrator
Approved by:
/
f/MIGUEL MARQU^Z_J
City Manager
Attachments (2):
1) Attachment A - Summary of Appropriations and FTEs by Department 2) Attachment B - City Council & Committee Meeting Schedule for Operating Budget 48 page 48
ATTACHMENT A
Statement of Appropriations by Department
FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2025 FY 2026
Actuals Adopted Revised Recommended
Operating Expenses
City Departments
City Attorney 15,114,578 12,542,216 12,542,216 13,336,876 City Clerk 3,566,065 3,542,982 3,542,982 3,787,104
City Council 2,911,184 3,473,450 3,473,450 3,745,562
City Manager 11,965,663 19,442,646 22,437,997 19,399,132 Finance 15,456,492 15,778,287 15,778,287 17,039,639
Fire 70,479,470 69,634,048 74,772,646 76,980,489
Housing 37,672,681 46,327,327 57,594,218 48,814,656
Human Resources 10,054,862 7,535,382 7,535,382 8,137,769 Information Technology 26,496,401 25,259,791 25,422,249 27,272,008 Library and Information Services 15,874,423 16,784,344 16,691,770 16,655,357 Non Departmental 159,516,807 79,273,329 109,214,554 74,699,577 Parks, Recreation and Community Services 25,646,610 27,191,839 27,531,839 29,827,312 Planning and Community Development 19,539,711 23,000,982 23,000,982 24,298,198 Police 110,919,589 111,078,762 113,536,144 121,420,884
Public Health 20,686,521 21,184,489 21,530,786 19,473,441 Public Works 88,470,012 93,537,291 105,447,961 95,845,136 Rent Stabilization 1,819,517 4,696,732 4,756,411 4,782,357 Transportation 41,392,329 50,942,703 53,100,176 50,041,285 Water and Power 297,420,102 345,312,250 345,312,250 361,526,941 Department Total 975,003,018 976,538,850 1,043,222,300 1,017,083,723 Successor Agency to the PCDC 13,051,917 145,000 145,000 145,000 City Sub-Total 988,054,935 976,683,850 1,043,367,300 1,017,228,723 Inter-Departmental Transfers (113,984,134) (64,931,189) (94,872,414) (73,634,279) City Operating Total 874,070,801 911,752,661 948,494,886 943,594,444 Affiliated Agencies
Pasadena Center Operating Company 25,072,000 27,892,000 27,569,000 28,438,000 Pasadena Community Access Corporation 1,304,000 1,376,000 1,376,000 1,380,000 Rose Bowl Operating Company 68,047,000 70,542,000 84,689,000 79,917,000 Affiliated Agencies Sub-Total 94,423,000 99,810,000 113,634,000 109,735,000 Total Operating Appropriations 968,493,801 1,011,562,661 1,062, 128,886 1,053,329,444 Capital Appropriations
Information Technology 1,555,000 1,698,000 1,698,000 1,455,000 Fire 0 0 0 0
Pasadena Center Operating Company 2,500,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 3,000,000 Planning and Community Development 1,400,000 0 0 0
Police 0 0 0 0
Public Health 0 0 0 0
Public Works 12,245,000 21,544,120 37,481,596 230,437,881 Rose Bowl Operating Company 4,890,000 8,422,000 4,857,000 28,500,000 Transportation 185,195,000 9,710,135 12,848,247 1,130,000 Water and Power 75,599,800 102,573,218 108,423,218 181,564,750 Capital Improvement Program Sub-Total 283,384,800 144,947,473 166,308,061 446,087,631 Total Citywide Appropriations 1,251,878,601 1,156,510,134 1,228,436,947 1,499,417,075 @ Powered by OpenGov
Statement of Appropriations by Department
49 page 49
Statement of Full-Time Equivalents by Department
FY 2024
Adopted
FY 2025
Adopted
FY 2025
Revised
FY 2026
Recommended
Operating Departments
CITYATTORNEY 39.00 39.00 39.00 39.00
CITY CLERK 13.00 13.00 13.00 13.00
CITY COUNCIL 18.00 18.00 18.00 18.00
CITY MANAGER 42.00 59.00 59.00 56.00
FINANCE 69.70 69.70 70.00 70.00
FIRE* 207.00 210.00 210.00 210.00
HOUSING* 89.70 91.70 107.70 105.70
HUMAN RESOURCES 35.00 30.00 30.00 30.00
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 79.00 81.00 81.00 84.00
LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES 87.70 87.70 87.70 84.70 NON DEPARTMENTAL * 19.32 19.32 19.32 19.32
PARKS, RECREATION AND COMMUNIT< SERVICES 168.23 167.76 167.76 167.76 PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 84.00 87.00 87.00 87.00 POLICE 378.25 382.25 382.25 382.25
PUBLIC HEALTH 137.70 117.82 118.82 102.40
PUBLIC WORKS 267.63 273.63 273.63 276.63
RENT STABILIZATION 0.00 17.00 17.00 17.00
TRANSPORTATION 54.00 61.00 64.00 64.00
WATER AND POWER 419.00 430.00 430.00 430.00
Department Total 2,208.23 2,254.88 2,275.18 2,256.76
SUCCESSOR AGENCY to the PCDC 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
City Sub-Total 2,208.23 2,254.88 2,275.18 2,256.76
Affiliated Agencies
PASADENA CENTER OPERATING COMPANY 98.00 98.00 98.00 98.00 PASADENA COMMUNITY ACCESS CORPORATION 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 ROSE BOWL OPERATING COMPANY 38.00 42.00 42.00 42.00
Affiliated Agencies Sub-Total 148.00 152.00 152.00 152.00 Total Citywide * 2,356.23 2,406.88 2,427.18 2,408.76
fhs of FY 2026. the City's FTE total Includes 99.32 "non-budgeted" positions (72.00 FTE MASH trainees, 8.00 FTE Fireflghter trainees, |19.32 FTE Retirees). There are no appropriations budgeted for these positions, only the FTE authorization to meet ERP system requirements. © Powered by OpenGov
Statement of Full-Time Equivalents by Department1
50 page 50
ATTACHMENT
FY 2026 Recommended Operating Budget Schedule
City Council & Council Committee Meetings
MAY
City Council_5 (Monday @ 6:00 PM)
Open Public Hearing for FY 2026 Recommended Operating Budget City Manager's Opening Presentation - FY 2026 Recommended Operating Budget Legislative Policy CommitteeMay 6 (Tuesday @ 4:30 PM)
Libraries and Information Services Department
Planning and Community Development Department
City Attorney's Office
City Council
City Clerk's Office
Public Safety CommitteeMay 7 (Wednesday @ 4:00 PM)
Police Department
Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department
Economic Development & Technology CommitteeMay 8 (Thursday @ 5:00 PM) - Grand Conference Room (City Hall basement) Pasadena Center Operating Company (PCOC)
Pasadena Community Access Corporation (PCAC)
City Manager's Office - Economic Development Section (includes Foothill Workforce) May 12 (Monday)
Finance CommitteeFinance Committee @ 3:00 PM
Human Resources Department
City Manager's Office
City CouncilCity Council @ 6:00 PM
Public Meeting for FY 2026 Schedule of Taxes, Fees, and Charges Municipal Services CommitteeMay 13 (Tuesday @ 4:00 PM)
Public Works Department
Transportation Department
City CouncilMay 19 (Monday @ 6:00 PM)
Continue Public Meeting for FY 2026 Schedule of Taxes, Fees & Charges Economic Development & Technology CommitteeMay 20 (Tuesday @ 5:00 PM) Department of Information Technology
Housing Department
Rent Stabilization Department
1 of 2Revised 4/29/2025
51 page 51
Public Safety CommitteeMay 21 (Wednesday @ 4:00 PM)
Fire Department
Public Health Department
Municipal Services CommitteeMay 27 (Tuesday @ 4:00 PM)
Water and Power Department
Finance CommitteeTBD (TBD)
Rose Bowl Operating Company (RBOC)
Finance Department
JUNE
City CouncilJune 2 (Monday @ 6:00 PM)
Open and Close Public Hearing; Adopt FY 2026 Schedule of Taxes, Fees & Charges Present and Adopt FY 2026 General Fee Schedule
Available for wrap-up budget discussion
City CouncilJune 9 (Monday @ 6:00 PM)
Close Public Hearing and Adopt FY 2026 Recommended Operating Budget Adopt FY 2026 Gann Appropriations Limit
2 of 2Revised 4/29/2025
52 page 52
CORRESPONDENCE
53 page 53
Gao, Beilei
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Robles, Sandra
Thursday, June 5, 2025 2:28 PM
Gao, Beilei
FW: Design Commission Meeting of May 27th, Agenda Item #4A City Council
Recommendation to
i> From:julianna <
Sent: Thursday, June 5, 2025 12:37:55 PM
To: Jomsky, Mark <[email protected]>
Cc;Johnson, Kevin
<[email protected]>; Cole, Rick <[email protected]>; Gordo, Victor <[email protected]>; King, Michael <[email protected]> Subject: RE: Design Commission Meeting of May 27th, Agenda Item #4A - Recommendation to City Council
^] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Dear City Clerk,
Please find attached my memo regarding the Design Commission's meeting of May 27, 2025, Agenda Item #4A, "Tree Protection Ordinance," and the action taken. Please also find attached the public comment letters received.
Please submit the attachments to the City Council and agendize the item for Council discussion.
Respectfully,
Jutianna Delgado
Chair, City of Pasadena Design Commission
Julianna Delgado, M.Arch, Ph.D, FAICP
President, Southern California Planning Congress
Planning Commissioner, City of Pasadena
Design Commissioner (Chair), City of Pasadena
Member, Mayor's Housing Task Force, City of Pasadena
Professor Emerita, Department of Urban and Regional Planning California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
After enlightenment, do the laundry.
- Zen proverb
1 54
page 54
DATE: June 5, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council, City Clerk FROM: Dr. Julianna Delgado, Chair, City of Pasadena Design Commission RE: Action of the Design Commission at its Meeting of May 27, 2025, Action Item #4A, "Tree Protection Ordinance"
At its meeting of May 27, 2025, the Design Commission held a public meeting on Action Item #4A to consider whether to recommend that the City Council initiate amending Pasadena Municipal Code Chapter 8.52, City Trees and Tree Protection Ordinance, as it relates to public trees.
The Commission heard a presentation from Jessica Richards on behalf of the citizen ad hoc Urban Forestry Task Force (UFTF), on recommendations to strengthen the City's protection and maintenance of its public trees and reduce the number removed annually. Established in late 2024, and supported by Councilmember Rick Cole, the UFTF includes, among others, the Chairs of the Planning Commission, Design Commission, and Historic Preservation Commission, as well as members of the Environmental Advisory Commission, Parks & Recreation Commission, and the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee (UFAC), a standing committee of the Design Commission.
The Task Force recommended the Council revise the Ordinance to:
» Strengthen the City's goals of climate resilience through development of a robust urban forest through current professional, certified arborist best practices, tree removal processes and procedures, and community oversight;
• Ensure tree equity citywide;
• Include the role, strengthen the composition, and increase the authority of the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee (UFAC)—of which the Ordinance is silent-especially with respect to public tree removal;
• Define the responsibilities of abutting residents to care for and cultivate public trees adjacent to their properties and the City's need to educate them on best management practices; and • Develop an Urban Forestry Management Plan that relies on current tree management best practices and policies to reduce climate change, ensure fire resistance and safety, and grow and protect Pasadena's urban forest for years to come.
Eight speakers submitted cards, all in support of the item:
Jessica Richards (for the UFTF)
Dr. Barbara Lamprecht
Carol Hunt-Hernandez
Dr. Bernard Halloran
Ann Scheid
Mike Polka
Lisa Quinn
Councilmember Rick Cole
Prior to the meeting, the Commission received a memo from the UFTF discussing proposed changes to the Ordinance. Ten additional comment letters were received, one informational and the remainder all in support of amending the Ordinance (attached). Michael King, Dept. of Public Works/Forestry and Staff Representative to UFAC, was on hand at the meeting to answer Commission questions. 1 55
page 55
ACTION
After questions, hearing public comment, and deliberation, the Commission voted unanimously, 6 -0 in favor of recommending that the City Council direct City Staff to establish a process to amend, revise, and update, as appropriate, the City's Trees and Tree Protection Ordinance, with respect to public trees, and to agendize it for Council discussion. The Commission also discussed that the Council consider appointing a Mayor's Task Force to work with City Staff on proposed revisions. 2 56
page 56
Takeda. Michi
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Ashley Kendall Jones|
Friday, May 23, 2025 11:14 AM
Takeda, Michi; commentsDC
Tree Advocacy Comment
ISome people who received this message don't often get email froivLearn why.thls is important [ l ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Hi there,
My name is Ashley, and with the encouragement of Jessica, I'd tike to share my written support for Pasadena's beautiful trees and the proposed revisions to the Tree Ordinance.
Below is a written statement of support for Tree Ordinance revisions and I'd like to request that my comment be distributed in advance to the Design Commission members.
Our trees are more than just part of the landscape—they are vital to our quality of life. Just yesterday, while enjoying a pink sandwich from Roma with my partner, the trees provided us shade during a hot afternoon, a physical sense of comfort, and a mental one too by providing a beautiful landscape that we could enjoy.
It's important to have thoughtful and community-informed practices in place when it comes to the removal of these trees. I believe residents should have a voice in those decisions, and I support efforts that strengthen our ability to protect and preserve Pasadena's urban canopy.
Best,
Ashley Kendall Jones
1 57
page 57
modern resources
barbara lamprecht, m.arch., ph.d.
May 27, 2025
Design Commission, City of Pasadena
Kevin Johnson. Senior Planner
Dear Design Commission Members,
I write in support of the proposed changes to the City's tree policies and ordinance.
Apart from the obvious gifts of trees and the excellent recommendations you have received and will hear more about tonight, some additional thoughts come to mind:
Whether native or not, large trees must not be penalized for just reaching maturity and doing their critical work of providing a substantial canopy. It is long recognized that trees give much more than we give them: oxygen, absorption of carbon dioxide, shade for humans, shelter for birds and insects, and acting to blocking the sun's rays before they hit and heat pavement. In terms of economics, trees increase property values. In other words, their benefits are priceless. , Ensure an appeals process to slow or eliminate hasty demolition of trees. . Street trees need to be maintained. Before water restrictions, many business and private owners allowed water to wash down to streets and the trees on parkways.
Now these trees are no longer even exposed to these ad-hoc sources of water. What about reducing water bills if property owners water their street trees? Given climate change, street trees play an ever more critical role for pedestrians.
The need for "tree equity" in our city is a vital concern. On Lake Avenue, walk one block south and then walk one block north at the intersection of the 210 Freeway and the avenue and you will immediately understand "tree equity" in a visceral way.
The great landscape architect Garrett Eckbo understood that the presence of trees was indeed a measure of democracy, that all persons need to be exposed to the beauty and benefits of our noble companions. We need to embody Eckbo's values as well.
Thousands of research studies show that the exposure to nature is critical to human well-being, physically and psychologically.
Just as tree mature, we need to "mature" our approach to and gratitude for trees.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
/
^{W— St^ct
Barbara Lamprecht
58 page 58
Takeda. Michi
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Gerald Hernandezl
Tuesday, May 27, 2025 3:09 PM
commentsDC
Update to the City's Tree Ordinance
IYou don't often get email from]why this is important
[ I ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Dear Design Commissioner Members:
As I member of the Urban Forestry Task Force I urge you support the suggestions that are included in the letter submitted by Jessican Richards. The task force has worked diligently over the last several months reviewing the existing ordinance that was adopted n 2019. There are many recommendations, but several stand out as very important. One is strengthening the role of UFAC in its review process; increase the appeal process from 10 to 30 days - it is almost impossible for a layperson to respond that quickly to a letter or a note posted on a tree regarding removal of a tree; and a need to ensure there is tree equity throughout the city. Pasadena has been known for many years for its beautiful neighborhoods and streets and a major contributor to that are the trees. We are grateful to the officials that came before us for their foresight in creating our existing urban forest. It is now up to us to protect the trees that we have and increase the number of trees to ensure that the urban forest is sustainable for the next 100 years.
Thank you for your consideration
Carol Hunt Hernandez
1 59
page 59
y,
California
Garden &
Landscape
History Society
\\'\vw.cglhs.org'
Eden
Jotirnal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society Vol. 16 No. 2 • Spring 2013 The Trees in California's Cityscapes
Matt Ritter
e Californians need not travel to exotic places to see
an eclectic mix of trees from all corners of the Earth; we can just stroll down a local street and look up. Califor- nia's agreeable climate and rich horticultural histoi'y have converged to populate our towns and cities with trees that reward those who notice them with vibrant color, bizarre shapes, unusual textures, and unexpected smells. Besides an abundant array of native
trees in their accustomed
habitats, California has
park, garden, and street
trees—our so-called urban
forest—that are among the
most splendid and varied in
the world. These beautiful
organisms, all around us,
are vital to our wellbeing
and worthy of our praise
and fascination.
Metropolitan landscapes
are not easy places for
trees, yet trees are ex-
tremely important to the
quality of life of the humans
around them. It is no wonder
that city dwellers place such
great value on their trees. Trees are giving and forgiving.
They beautify our world while also making urban living
healthier and more peaceful. They add oxygen to the air we breathe, offer shade, muffle noise, provide wildlife habitats, mitigate pollution, capture rainwater runoff, and help con- serve electricity usage. Many trees persevere in spite of multiple adverse conditions, such as benign neglect in
proper watering and trimming, root constriction and com- paction, air pollution, interference from neighboring trees or overhead wires, insect invasions, random acts of arboreal violence and vandalism—and in most of California, six or more months without rain.
The physical beauty of many of California's most charm- ing communities—such as Claremont, Chico, Davis, Pasa-
dena, Petaluma, Palo Alto, San Luis Obispo, Santa
Barbara, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Santa Rosa, Sonoma,
r
t r
% ' ^<* ••y
'•>•' <
*;'-;-=
^ .< JPC=<^^-
sw^
<nr^ t?II
,.»
•t1fe^/^
^^
.I,"
^^
'•¥„ •-J@ <>
The "urban forest" of trees lining San Francisco 's streets, in backyards, and in parks softens the overall appearance of the cityscape with its many hard-edged biilfc/mgs and gives it a wore hvmanfy Uvabfe took. Photo: Matt Ritter.
Visalia, to name just a few—in no small part is due to well- tended trees lining the streets, filling parks, gracing archi- lecture, and inhabiting the front and back yards of most homes. Trees also make the state's largest cities—Los An- geles, San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland, San Jose, Sacra- mento, and Fresno—healthier and far more livable.
Most of California is blessed with a diverse and agree- able Mediterranean climate
that creates a wide range of
growing conditions for
trees. The dry, practically
frost-free areas of coastal
San Diego, the warm and
sunny Los Angeles Basin,
the opulent and balmy gar-
dens of Santa Barbara, the
seasonally distinct, rich,
alluvial plains of the Sacra-
mento and San Joaquin
Valleys, and the foggy,
windswept, sandy hills of
San Francisco all favor
certain tree species. Cali-
fornia's populace, with its
reverence for the outdoors
and desire for greener cit-
ies, has taken advantage of these diverse growing condi- tions for over 150 years.
Beyond the state's urban and suburban settlements, too, are many larger collections of trees. California has famous oak woodlands and mixed coniferous forests, with the tall- est, largest, and most ancient living organisms in the world.
There are also commercial orchards, monocultures ofthou- sands of fruit- or nut-bearing trees regimented in neat rows, tended and harvested, year after year, as producers of valu- able agricultural crops. Even most of California's desert areas have trees, such as the Joshua tree, mesquite, palo verde, and California fan palm, which over the millennia have somehow managed to push roots downward through
dry ground, not just to survive, but also to reproduce, while sustaining other organisms that coexist with them in starkly beautiful but hot and inhospitable terrains.
60 page 60
)•
•"»
^-4
*
!;
.^Sd^:.^"r
^
t9AW'irf
^< ?:•*» ^-^•'v>
•e^
^-
/.
^^ I
^
^
s,
Before the first Span-
ish incursions into Cali-
fornia. in 1769. the domi-
nant trees were oaks,
pines and other conifers.
For millennia, oaks were
prized by native Califor-
nians for their nutrient-
rich acorns, the most
dependable food source.
Many other trees,
though, had special prac-
tical uses. Oaks domi-
nated hillsides and mead-
owlands, while syca-
mores and willows lined
arroyos and rivers.
Among other notable
California native trees
still with us are varieties
of aiders, ashes, buck-
eyes, bay laurels, cedars,
cypresses, madrones, maples, pines, poplars,
walnuts, and willows.
Wherever the 21 Franciscan missions were
established, the padres planted trees for food
and shade, such as olive, citrus, and pepper
trees. Starting in the mid-19th century, when
California joined the US, it soon became a
home to thousands of newly introduced plants,
including trees. The first nurseries were
founded in the Bay Area; then others started
up in the Southland as it attracted more settlers
and became prosperous. Newcomers from the
eastern and southern parts of the US tended to
grow trees around their homes that had been
fainiliar to them in childhood. Wealthy estate
owners hired gardeners to landscape their
properties with a wide variety of exotic tree
specimens that arrived from other continents.
Sometimes their choices were idiosyncratic,
<
>
^
^ ^-•*(t-•,,
< -y.-^
t
.-/
\ ^
^*J\
"^
r
^
particularly if they prided themselves on being tree-
collecting connoisseurs.
By the late 19th century, many cities and towns were
creating parks for public recreation, and in them tree plant- ing was an important activity. Streets were often lined with the same tree species, to convey a uniform and tidy allee effect. Practitioners in the new professions of garden design and landscape architecture included attractive trees in their plans for homes and for beautifying civic and commercial places, often proposing species they personally favored.
Of the approximate 350,000 species of plants in the
world, about 60,000 of them are trees. California can has about 300 native tree species, one third of which are found naturally nowhere else in the world. Only in recent years have people been urged to plant native California trees— particularly ones that claim the area as their own natural habitat and are therefore already adapted to soil conditions and seasonal changes in temperature, air moisture,
and water availability.
Introducing exotic vegetation of course has always
carried the risk of possibly importing problematic
pests and weeds. Some rapidly growing trees might
be listed in the latter category. For example, acacias, eucalypts, tree of heaven, Brazilian pepper, and car-
rotwood have succeeded all too well, becoming natu-
ralized in parts of California's urban and wildland
areas, often crowding out our native vegetation.
Of the many trees wholly new to this region that
have been tried, a number of them failed to thrive, but the many that succeeded now lavishly inhabit our
streets, parks, and gardens. Rather like informal arbo- reta and conservatories, most cities and communities
display a wide range of trees along their streets,
around buildings, and in parks and other public
places. In many of California's municipalities, the
same 150 or so preferred species are widely planted
as ornamental and shade trees. These trees are most
commonly grown because they have earned the favor
of nurserymen, city planners, or the general public.
m
,r" K
j^6»\..r \?^^
3 t^
.<&
^ •/
*•
I-
%¥"
JlVfi
ir»fr<L+ •.;*-<.-^-,-;
^
^^« ».
;Y'<t»
<^ir
^m'^m
-•
*-• '•..
1>
l.»
A^tj
From top to bottom, page 2: Peruvian f'aka California) pepper (Schinus molle); Monterey pine (Tinus radiata); blackvood acacia street tree (Acacia melanoxylon). 2Eden: Jo'arnal of the California Garden & Landscape History SocietySpring 30} 3- Vol. J6.No. 2 61 page 61
^
;-•'" <->.11^»
^fl^^lj
They are considered beautiful, but they are also resilient and often easy to grow.
Unfortunately, city-dwelling trees have some very vocal detractors. Trees can block views of the ocean or moun- tains, or cast unwanted shade or debris on neighboring
yards and send out invasive roots. Trees are called unde- sirably messy because they periodically shed leaves,
needles, twigs, spent blossoms, and seed pods. Some tree pollen can cause allergies and asthma attacks. Their sur- face roots over time may swell and stretch, to lift up, displace, and crack sidewalks, threatening pedestrian
safety. Branches, limbs, and whole trees may fall, damag- ing property or causing injury or death. Even ardent tree lovers get discouraged and disenchanted when their trees fail to thrive, attract undesirable pests, or contract serious diseases. Still, all these potential costs of living with trees are far outweighed by the benefits they pro-
vide for us and our cities.
At their best, trees embody the strength and
beauty of the natural world. The rich and subtle
connections that link humans and trees have un-
doubtedly existed since our primitive beginnings in
arboreal habitats and the origin of human con-
sciousness. Countless writers and thinkers have
tried to interpret the obscure wisdom and ancestral
nostalgia that trees seem to offer us. Trees provide a
central theme in literature, art, pop culture, mythol-
ogy, spiritual practices, and religion. In many cul-
lures, trees have come to symbolize community,
fertility, life, and the interdependence of the natural world. In cities, trees are often poignantly con-
trasted with stark buildings, sidewalks, streets, and
gatters—silently reminding us of lost connections
with nature and our longing for a time prior to our
taming and civilization.
This article is adapted from the author's Introduction to ^4 Californiun's Guide to the Trees Among Us. Berkeley: Heyday Books, 2011.] Tree photos from top to bottom. and left to righl: camphor street tree Cinnamomiim camphora): Lombardy poplars in winler (Popiilus nigra 'Italica'); grove of blue gums (Eucalyptus globulus); red flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia); ginkgo with autumnal gold leaves (Ginkgo biloba):
jacaranda (Jacciranda mimosifolia) with purple springtime flowers. All photos taken by Matt Ritter. "•'>.•* 1»
^
i
'*
< &,« -*•'.*«.•*:V- -f •',<<
^t*^-
- '-^ y
^
I-
a»^
I';
-r
•w- f'r
t.
•a
*^
A •i
!'
/ \.
•I-
t;
•^
^;-^?
ftt£lt -^'^»
^
f
{
^•!v<•1«
==^
j< :**w-^f
f
•A a»•^ ^-A... '•^..4
-<4 ?.'•
•J**
^m^^. ^^y.-
^ y-'-.^t7^x-<^-<' "T ytc^V..- -;^1 ••II ~,'f../ v;
^j^ fcat.- ffi
^a(slfi
^»-)l-<.:•'
7-^ z~ ^ ^.^J -^^ 1JKt
fc^^:^^IF^
>f>'
:^ ^?^;^^
iSfe^/J-
1. "<* ,'•
•?*^'••'• '>"'<v
^%,.
s4.r .» »
•f-
^ ^ (. ^-.^ ^<(
,'
-»:'J^ r»r.-' .^
y»'^*tftSErr1t'
I
Matt Ritter is an associate professor of botany in the Biological Sciences Dept. at California Polytechnic University, San Liiis Obispo, and is also the director of its plant conservatory. He has written numerous scientific and popular articles. including contiibiitions to the 2nd edition of the Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California and Pacific Horticulture. He has also prodiiced field trip guides to natiiral history sites in the San Liiis Obispo area. His most notable publication for laypersons thus far is A Californian's Giiide to the Trees Among Us—to which he also provided its many photos. He received his BS from UC Santa Barbara, his PhD from UC San Diego.
Eden: Joiirnal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society Spring 2013 • Vol. 16. No. 2 3 62 page 62
The Legacy of Pasadena's Trees
Ann Scheid
n 1907, when architect Arthur Heiaeman proposed to the
Pasadena City Council that the city begin planting street trees, he started a program that made Pasadena one of the California's outstanding tree cities. Since Pasadena by then was an important tourist destination, its civic organizations were anxious to promote civic beautification—in the full spirit of the City Beautiful movement. Heinemann argued that street trees would improve individual property values, make the city more attractive to tourists, and provide much- needed shade from the strong Southern California sun.
The initiative to institute a street tree plan in Pasadena was in line with progressive city governments of that era throughout the United States. Trees along streets were al- ready being viewed as standard urban amenities, along with water and sewer systems, street lighting, and paved streets with curbs and gutters, as well as public parks, public schools, and public libraries.
What was new then was the commitment of city govern-
ments to plant and maintain the trees in the public right-of- way between the street and the sidewalk and adjacent to the private property of a residence or commercial building.
While trees had been long been planted along roads and
streets, this had usually been at the initiative of the property owners, and not the responsibility of the municipality. In the process of subscribing to the modern ideas of the new professions of city planning and landscape architecture, Pasadena was in the forefront of American cities, instituting zoning regulations as early as 1914 and developing a plan for a Civic Center in the 1920s, now recognized as a land- mark achievement. Pasadena's street tree program was part of this effort.
The Tradition of Planting Trees in Cities
The ancient Greeks planted trees in their cities, in the agora for shade and in outlying athletic fields, which had a park- like character. They usually planted plane trees (Plataniis orientalis) as ornamentals—a custom taken up later by the Romans, who also adopted many Greek agricultural prac-
tices. Trees of the same species were customarily planted in rows to mark property boundaries, thereby creating a tradi- tion of tree-lined roads and paths. Rows of trees were also planted around vineyard edges, and of course vines and
orchard trees were regimented in multiple rows.
Roman garden design used these agricultural forms orna- mentally, as the powerful visual effect on the landscape of tree-lined roads, tree-lined vineyard paths, and tree rows in orchards was carried over into garden design. Both literary and physical evidence substantiates the use of rows of trees of a single species as design elements in ancient gardens and parks. The development of axial relationships in villa architecture in Roman times also influenced garden design; as the largest plants in the garden, trees in rows strength- ened the architectural expression to the overall design.
Medieval gardens continued this custom of planting trees ^
'-
•>%•
%'%
v
'e^if'.'ff^.
^a^-r-^-^
,<r-'
Many collectors' postcards picturing Pasadena scenes before color photography became available are hand-colored. This photo shows the famous pergola fronting the shops of the Maryland Hotel, as well as the pepper trees that lined Colorado Boiilevard from the 1890s through the 1920s.
in rows. In the largest gardens, hunting parks for royalty, "trees [were] arranged in rows radiating away from the pal- ace, so that members of the court could watch the wildlife flitting back and forth among the allees." In addition, in "walks or bowers made entirely of leafy trees," the "king and queen may sojourn under cover without rain." (Calkins, 165-166, 173) Medieval cities did not usually have trees in public spaces; instead, trees were relegated to gardens at the rear of the house.
In his definitive history of tree planting in cities, City Trees: A Historical Geography from the Renaissance
through the Nineteenth Century, Henry W. Lawrence writes that the double row of trees, or allee, was borrowed for aes- thetic reasons from garden design and used in cities for so- cial purposes, such as promenades, later appearing as car- riage-ways, and finally as modern urban streets. In Baroque cities, tree-lined avenues were developed as military parade routes—settings for the display of power. Individual nations developed cultural traditions, such as the Dutch practice in the 1600s of planting trees along canals, the British prefer- ence for enclosed park-like residential squares, and the tree- lined boulevards that characterized Paris, beginning in the 18th century. Early regulations in Amsterdam required each property owner to plant one tree along the frontage of his lot facing the canal. Berlin was unusual among German
cities for its promenade Unter den Linden (Under the Lin- dens), dating from the late 1600s and created by the mon- arch. These various ways of introducing trees into the city were emulated by many European cities, and eventually
also in American cities.
In the United States, early colonial cities were utilitarian commercial centers, where beautification took second place to practical concerns. Tree planting was up to the individual property owners, but was not required. New England towns, 4Eden: Jovrna] of the California Garden &. Landscape History SocietySpring 2013 • Vol. 16, No. 2 63 page 63
usually surrounded by forests, were generally treeless. One would have expected that Nieuw Amsterdam (New York)
would follow the Dutch tradition. but it had few street trees before the 1700s, when the city council allowed property owners along Broadway to plant trees in front of their
houses. Scattered records show that other Manhattan
streets also had trees. The South had few urban centers, with Charleston and Savannah the exceptions. The trees in Charleston's private walled gardens sometimes branched
over into the streetscape but were not planted as a public amenity. And though Savannah had urban squares, they
usually remained treeless until after Independence.
The development of American cities accelerated after
Independence. The responsibility for initiating street-tree planting programs in cities gradually moved from home-
owners and neighborhood groups to the municipality as a whole. A primary model was Washington DC, where
L'Enfant's plan based on French prototypes called for
broad avenues planted with trees. After New Orleans be- came part of the US, its fortifications were replaced with streets lined by double rows of trees, in the French manner.
Increasingly, American garden designers, landscape
architects, and horticulturists traveled abroad and brought back ideas from the cities they visited. In mid-19th century Britain, the public parks movement expanded, and with the growth of London, new streets in wealthier areas often
included street trees. London residential suburbs consisted of single family houses or duplexes set in gardens, whereas in Paris the new suburbs consisted predominantly ofapart- ment blocks—a pattern common to most cities on the Con- tinent. In the 1850s and 1860s Haussmann transformed
central Paris, creating public tree-lined squares and tree- lined boulevards extending to new planned residential de- velopments on the outskirts. In Berlin, the practice of planting street trees in the new residential neighborhoods of the expanding city was adopted by many other German
cities.
Meanwhile, plant explorers were traveling the globe,
bringing back exotic tree species to contribute to botanical gardens and nurseries. Many of the newly discovered spe- cies were adopted as both ornamental garden trees and
street trees. The London plane tree, a cross between the ^
L
--^
«t
5?•'.
I?»
-(
^
Eurasian plane tree and the American sycamore, became
the standard street tree in many European cities.
Both European and American cities were developing
what would become the standard features of city street- scapes: house numbers, mail delivery, lighting, water, gas, and sewer systems, and paved streets with a special space for trees between curb and sidewalk. In the US, the growth of suburbs in the late 19th century extended the presence of city street trees to these newly evolving landscapes.
Planting them became a necessary part of any new devel- opment in town, city, or suburb, and by the early 20th cen- tury doing this no longer depended on private citizen ini- tiative, but had become an accepted role of city govern- ments, as promoted by the nationwide City Beautiful
movement—initially inspired by the combination of inno- vative, and often monumental, civic-style architecture and correlative landscaping (notably with trees) at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
o-'"^<>..»,
,•+
,-;••
•7^ ,
•-\
-.•*
^
•»
This sepia photograph depicts Marengo Avenue suitably set up with a triumphal arch to welcome the arrival of President Benjamin Harrison and the procession accompanying him down the tree-lined boulevard.
The native oak preserved at the intersection of Orange Grove and California had a seat built around it for passersby to enjoy.
Pasadena's Native Trees and Initial Tree Plantings
Pasadena's earliest settlers recognized the beauty of the landscape, a mesa dotted with native live oaks at the foot of the forested San Gabriel Mountains, and bordered by
verdant canyons where willows and California sycamores
grew. Daniel Berry, who in 1873 selected the site for the new settlement, next to the canyon of the Arroyo Seco,
described it: 'The wood is plenty, the water delicious and cool, leaping out of the rocks on the sides in little cas- cades." Unfortunately, the spring-fed Arroyo land was
divided among the settlers into "wood lots," and was soon denuded of most of its trees.
Pasadena residents were anxious to make their town
attractive, so its original 1873 plan preserved along the new streets the existing rows of vineyards and orchards.
When roadways were created, they were diverted around
the native coast live oaks (Querciis agrifolia). These ven- erable trees, standing in the middle of streets or at promi- nent intersections, survived into the early years of the auto- mobile, with the last one being removed in 1916.
The earliest and most notable collection of diverse tree species was at Carmelita, located at the settlement's most prominent intersection, Orange Grove and Colorado. There Eden: Journal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society Spring 2013 • tol. 16, No. 2 5 64 page 64
in the 1870s Jeanne Can-, a noted horticulturalist, planted a veritable forest of trees on her 42-acre estate. A native of Vermont, she was the wife of Ezra Carr, a former professor at the University of Wisconsin, where the Carrs had be- friended John Muir while he was a student there. They had come to California in the 1860s when Ezra became the
state's Superintendent of Public Instruction, and later moved to Pasadena. In California, their friendship with Muir resumed; he considered Mrs. Carr his "spiritual
mother."
Carmelita boasted over 90 kinds of trees from all of the planet's regions, some planted from seeds brought by Muir from his wanderings in the California wilderness. White- trunked, lacy Eucalyptus angustifolia trees from Australia, Araiicaria imbricata (monkey puzzle tree) from Chile, deo- dar cedars from the Himalayas, Atlas cedars from North
Africa, Canary Island pines, Chinese elms, and Ciyp-
tomeria and Photinia glabra from Japan grew alongside
native redwoods, sequoias, oaks, willows, and sycamores.
Jeanne Carr also initiated the street tree pattern in Pasa- dena with her planting of Monterey cypresses and Califor- nia pepper trees (Schinus molle, actually native to Peru) the streets that bordered Carmelita, Colorado Street and Orange Grove Avenue. The cypresses formed a low hedge where,
as Jeanne Carr wrote, Cherokee roses and grapes were al- lowed to clamber at will, "to gain a touch of wildness, as well as to secure plenteous bloom in spring and color for autumn thoughts."
Long after the Carrs' departure Carmelita survived as a public park. Reduced to a dozen acres, it served as an unof- ficial arboretum at one of the growing city's busiest inter- sections. Then the park, planned since the 1920s as the site for an art museum, was redeveloped in the 1960s when the museum (now the Norton Simon Museum) was built. Most
of the landmark trees were felled to make way for the mu- seum's parking lot.
t--
^
A-•*'*•
y-iA If
-<
r^•/'.
t' >:•
-^-K»
»••
y
.—
^•/ -5
A tunnel of camphor trees fCinnamomum cwnfihma) planted along around 1910 on Prospect Boulevard, alternating with Mexican fan palms (Washingtonia robusta). Photo: Ann Scheid.
California coast live oaks fQuercus agrifoliaj/oro; livmg tiinnels along many streets in the Bungalow PIeaven Historic District.
Michigan Avenue is pictured here. Photo: Ann Scheid.
Pasadena's Street Tree Population
Unlike Eastern and Midwestern cities, where the American elm was the tree of choice to line streets, Pasadena took advantage of its benign climate, where almost anything
would grow if given sufficient water. In the early years, California peppers, following Jeanne Carr's plan, were
planted along Orange Grove, the city's major boulevard at the time. Monterey cypresses, again initiated by Jeanne Carr, lined part of Colorado Street—the principal cross- street, and later the city's main commercial street. Photo- graphs from the 1880s show trees along other major streets, including Fair Oaks Avenue, with pepper trees lining Colo- rado east of the city center.
Acting on Arthur Heineman's proposal in 1907 for a
municipal program that would plant street trees, the City of Pasadena established a tree nursery in 1909 and began to designate tree species for each street. Native trees as well as exotic species from around the globe were chosen to popu- late the streets, creating a diverse urban forest. The City's policy of planting a specific tree species on each street cre- ates a distinctive urban space, sometimes a corridor, some- times a tunnel of green, imparting a strong identity to each street and unifying the vista, even though the architecture along the street may be quite varied.
Affection for the native oaks was so great that it led to their becoming the principal street tree in the city. Parks Superintendent Gilbert Skutt declared that he wanted Pasa- dena to become an "oak city." After seven years of working in Pasadena in the 1920s, he was credited with planting 5,000 trees annually along city streets and in its parks (PSN Oct 2, 1930). Skutt's legacy is documented in the Street Tree Plan of 1940: of Pasadena's 392 streets, 136 of them were planted in California coast live oaks. Although most of the native oaks in the Pasadena area are this species, other oaks such as the Engelmann oak (Quercus engelman- nii) and valley oak (Querciis lobata) are also native to the area. A few trees that appear to be a result of interbreeding of these species were identified by Fred Boutin, formerly of Eden: Journal of the California Garden & Landscape History SocietySpring 2013 • Vol. 16, No. 26 65 page 65
the Huntington Botanical
Gardens in the 1970s; they
can be found in Pasadena on
neighborhood streets near
the Huntington. Oaks still
form impressive tree allees
along many streets, includ-
ing on South Arroyo Boule-
vard, and on Mar Vista,
Michigan, Chester, and Hol-
listen Avenues in the Bunga-
low Heaven Historic Dis-
trict.
At the beginning of the
street tree program, residents
were allowed to select the
species to be planted on their
street. As the city grew, how-
ever, and new tracts were
developed, this became im-
practical, and the Parks De-
partment began to select
trees designated for specific
streets. Following the early
selection of the California
pepper tree for Pasadena's
main commercial street, this
species was planted along
other streets as well—the
most famous being Marengo
Avenue.
Another favorite street tree
was the palm. Impressive
stands of IVashmgtonia ro-
busta (Mexican fan palm,
native to Baja California),
planted a century ago, still line
North Mentor Avenue and
Earlham Street. Orange
n
it
V.
?y^
'.SI^^
$3
•>-*;
Hand-colored postcards of Marengo Ave. with its timnel of pepper trees became a tourist favorite, showing the overhanging feathery branches of the trees and large touches of red (artistic license!) to indicate the red berries.
»'-
^a^ '•V
T^-!h
,/';^-I ?^^
^
'•>. ;SMP^'(,'#
^^\t *.l 0»
f. ^n.^ •I.;'
^ -i?^ ^.s. ?^»-s
^-^t
/
The oldest and most outstanding tree-lined street in the area is still Christmas Tree Lane in nearby Altadena. The deodars ("Ceclrus deo- dara) planted in the 1880s lining the approach to the Woodbury ranch are still ilhiminated during the holidays. although the once mile-long stretch has been reduced to a few blocks.
also
Grove
Boulevard, where the Rose Parade
begins, has California's native
palm, the Washingtonia filifera,
alternating with mature magnolias
{Magnolia grandiflora), native to
the southeastern US. Mature cam-
phor trees (Cinnamomiim campho-
rum), native to China and Japan,
form street tunnels on Prospect
Boulevard and on San Pasqual
Street. A small street, Rutan Way,
is still lined with an impressive
stand of incense cedars (Liboceclnis
dectirrens), native to Oregon and
Northern California. Purple-
blossomed jacaranda trees
(originally from Brazil) form a
flowering tunnel in the spring on
South El Molino Avenue and
^.
w •s ^^.It
^
<c;
z
••
^€<f.<
II
^ ^
^»?' '<*<?s?•.<•••••;''I.»•
I
•r
^ .\.
Incense cedars f'Cedrus decurrens^ line Rutai'i Way,
alternating with Mexican fan palms fWashingtonia
robusta/ Photo: Ann Scheid.
along East Del Mar Boule-
vard. Arden Road displays
fine specimens of native Cali-
fornia sycamores (Plantamts
racemosa), which can lean and
spread easily on this street of
open lawns and no sidewalks.
Although oaks made up the
preponderance of street trees
in Pasadena in 1940, there
were 93 designated species
planted on its streets, includ-
ing nine species of acacia, 10
species of eucalyptus, seven
kinds of palms, and six spe-
cies of oaks. Today there are
over 200 species found along
Pasadena's streets, but not all
of those conform to the Mas-
ter Street Tree Plan.
Eucalyptus trees, native to
Australia, have played a ma-
jor role in the history of street
tree and ornamental plantings
in Pasadena and throughout
Southern California. They are
mostly out of favor now and
seldom planted widely. But
their image—particularly that
of the blue gum, or Eiicalyp-
tus globiihis — remains in
paintings, photographs, and
advertisements from the first
half of the 20th century, when
their tall and graceful silhou-
ettes symbolized the Califor-
nia landscape to tourists and Califor-
nia residents alike.
Erika Esau, in her book Images of
the Pacific Rim' Australia and Cali-
forma. 1850-1935, describes in her
definitive chapter on the history of the
eucalyptus in California how the
seeds arrived with the gold miners in
the 1850s and were spread by the
nursery trade. Dr. F. Franceschi of
Santa Barbara was an important early
promoter of Australian plants for
California use. Even native plant en-
thusiast Theodore Payne advocated
planting the eucalyptus as a regionally
appropriate tree. A speculative boom
in the early 20th century led to the
planting of large tracts of the fast-
growing eucalyptus, referred to as
"California's Mahogany," as they
were intended to be used for railroad
ties and commercial timber. The boom
Eden: Joiirnal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society Spring 2013 • Vol. 16. No. 2 7 66 page 66
became a bust when the wood failed to
live up to the requirements of either the
railroads or other timber users.
As a quick-growing ornamental tree
in the landscape, however, the eucalyp-
tus had an enormous influence. Wind-
breaks still line roads in the fast-
disappearing agricultural lands of South-
ern California, and whole residential
developments are still characterized by
their impressive eucalyptus trees.
In Pasadena, eucalyptus and gum
trees remain as street trees oa a few
streets, and there is a notable stand of
lemon-scented gum (Corymbia citrio-
dora) outside the entrance to the Athe-
naeum faculty club at Caltech. An entire
generation of California landscape paint-
ers, now admired as "California Plein-
Air" artists, were known derisively as
the "Eucalyptus School," because their
paintings so often depicted the trees in
the landscape.
Preservation of Trees in Parklands
and Other Areas
The Arroyo Seco ravine,
once a beautifully wooded,
spring-fed ravine, had been
clear-cut by its the early set-
tiers for firewood, then tilled
as agricultural land, and fi-
nally used as both an indus-
trial site for a rock-crushing
enterprise and a city dump
where incinerators burned
garbage. In the late 19th cen-
tury Jeanne Carr was the first
person to plead for preserv-
ing the Arroyo Seco by mak-
ing it a public park; later,
concerned citizens began call-
ing for this, too. President Theodore Roosevelt, viewing it in 1903, even suggested creating a national park there.
Within a few years, however, a consortium of wealthy resi- dents banded together to purchase options on the many lots, holding them until the City could assemble the land for a public park, the Arroyo Seco Park that we know today.
While residents have planted on their own properties
many notable and exotic trees that later became significant landmarks, the overwhelming mimber of Pasadena's trees
are city trees, on streets and in parks. Pasadena' older parks still contain fine specimens of early tree planting. In the center of town. Central Park and Memorial Park, both es- tablished in 1906, still contain some trees from that early period. Historic photos of Memorial Park show a row of
palms (Washingtomafilifera) bordering the west side of the park along Raymond Avenue. Now mature, the palms are
still there, functioning as street trees and bearing witness to the history of the park and the street.
^
,1
».A <
(
If
'I,»NV^
Stately rows o/Eucalyptus citriodora
provide a formal entrance along the drive-
wci}' ofCaltech 's Athenaeiim. They were
planted in 1930 to a design by landscape
architect Florence Yoch. Photo: AnnScheid.
^'^^
->
Daring the 1920s, Colorado Boulevard's pepper trees were replaced by Queen Palms. Colorado Blvd. ca. 1939.
In Central Park, re-landscaped by
Theodore Payne and Ralph Cornell in the
1920s, several large deodars date at least
from that period, if not before. Singer
Park, given to the city by the Singer fam-
ily in the early 20th century, boasts a
large deodar, a massive eucalyptus speci-
men, and a rare example of Chamaerops
humilis, a. clumping palm that is the only
palm native to Europe. Washington Park,
created from a natural wash in 1921 and
recently restored, has four memorial oaks
planted in honor of John Muir, John
Burroughs, Theodore Parker Lukens, and
Dr. Garrett Newkirk—all important fig-
ures in the conservation movement.
The Ambassador College campus,
developed in the 1960s and later by com-
bining several large Pasadena estates
along Orange Grove Boulevard
("Millionaire's Row"), contains many
fine examples of mature trees. But the
most striking tree, a massive Engelmann
oak, is actually a city tree along Green
Street, just outside the boundaries of the
campus. Another ancient oak,
reputed to be over 400 years
old, grows on the Caltech
campus, where it has been
carefully protected since the
beginnings of construction on
the campus in 1912. Unfortu-
nately it is now in serious
decline.
Commotions over Street
Trees
The fate of trees has never
been taken lightly in Pasa-
dena, and early newspaper
articles document emotional
pleas to protect and preserve
trees. In the early 1900s, mutilation of trees in the way of electric wires was decried. In 1906, when Colonel Marshall Wentworth proposed building his massive Hotel Wentworth (later the Huntington Hotel) among the ancient live oaks of the Oak Knoll area, he had to promise to save as many trees as possible. When the city developed Tournament Park as the site of the annual Rose Parade festivities, again the loss of native oaks was protested.
Complaints and controversies about street trees have
continued over the years. Pasadena's main street, Colorado Boulevard, has been through several of tree designations.
The early pepper trees were replaced in the 1920s by queen palms (C-ocos plumosa), probably to provide an appropri- ately tropical setting for the annual Rose Parade—
Pasadena's perennial advertisement of its climate, now
watched on television by snowbound Easterners.
That tree designation, though, was changed in the 1970s to the Indian laurel (Ficiis m/tida). It provided lovely shade, 8Eden: Joisrnat of the CaUfornia Garden & Landscape History SocietySpring 2013 • Vol. 16. No. 2 67 page 67
but was the bane of shopkeepers,
who complained that it heaved side-
walks, invaded their sewer lines,
and—most importantly—obscured
their signs. By the 1980s, when the
Old Pasadena Historic District be-
gan to experience commercial suc-
cess, the business community de-
manded a change, resulting in the
current planting of Ginkgo biJoba
alternating with the Cocos pliimosa
(again!) along the length of Colo-
rado traversed by the Rose Parade.
(East of the Rose Parade route the
street is luxuriantly landscaped with
street trees along both sidewalks and
in the median.) This plan, however,
did not meet with total acceptance,
leading a few years ago to the infa-
mous "Midnight Massacre," when
City workers cut down a half-dozen
stately ficus trees in the middle of
the night—two days before a sched-
uled demonstration to save the trees.
Reverberations traveled to the
City Council, which then decreed
that no healthy public trees are to be
removed in Pasadena. Later, some
of the ginkgos turned out to be fe-
males, causing the business owners
to complain once again to the
City—this time about the noxious
stench of the fruit. In compliance
with the "no healthy tree removal"
policy, City staff is now experi-
^1"^
^-
s
^ «iw
•«,
Early photos of Library Park (now Memorial Park)
show palm trees along Rayinond Avenue.
\< r ^
•\,
^ <Sv:
%* r*
^ ,<t~
^ t*
y
<*.
At today 's Memorial Park the palms still line the
park's vest boimdary. A towering bimya-bunya
tree ^Araucaria bidwilli^, native to Australia.
stands to the right of the palms. Photo: Ann
requests for removal of public trees.
This committee, the Urban Forestry
Advisory Committee (UFAC), con-
tends with everyone from discon-
tented property owners who just don't
like the tree in front of their house, to
neighborhoods who want their street
tree changed, to developers who want
to remove trees in the way of their
projects—and numerous other com-
plaints. The Committee also has the
difficult task of determining new tree
species to be planted when a large
project, such as the new sound walls
along the 210 freeway, require the
removal and replanting of trees.
Still, we can be thankful that there
is enough attention paid to trees in
Pasadena to warrant a committee to
watch over them. Street tree planting
is no longer proceeding at the pace of
5,000 plantings a year, as in the 1920s.
Now the number is closer to 1,000 a
year, despite serious tree losses and
neglect over the years. Many streets
now have gaps where trees should be
replanted; many more have non-
conforming trees added by property
owners who have no knowledge of the
Master Street Tree Plan and its intent
to create uniform street corridors.
Members of UFAC are now working
on a public education program that
will explain the role of street trees in
the design of our city and their value
menting with various washes and injections to reduce female to property owners, in hopes of making Pasadena's admira- fertility. With new females revealing themselves every sea- b Ie tree legacy better known. son, this may be a fruitless effort. Time will tell.
Mindful of Pasadena's historic legacy, the City has
charged a subcommittee of the Design Commission with
reviewing all changes to the Master Street Tree Plan and all Note: All old postcards depicted in this article are copied from the author's own collection.
Ann Scheid holds degrees from V'assar College, the University of Chicago, and Hai-vard's Graduate School of Design. Specializ- ing first in Germanic languages and literatiire, she gravitated into historic preservation after arriving in California in the 1970s.
She worked for the City of Pasadena as a preservation planner and for the State of California as an architectural historian. She has written on Pasadena history, with a special interest in landscape design and City Beautiful plans in Pasadena andSoiithern California. She has served on the boards of the Pasadena Historical Society and the Southern California Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians. Practicing semi-retireinent, she is curator of the Greene and Greens Archives at the Himtington Library. She ciirrently serves on the CGLH board of directors as its membership secretary.
Bibliography ... or For Further Reading (?)
Eden: Joiirnal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society Spring 2013 • Vol. 16. No. 2 9 68 page 68
Bidwell Park and the Venerable Bidwell/Hooker Oak
ia»<»
The Bidwell/Hooker Oak: photo on an old postcard.
Chris Pattillo, FASLA
ntil it fell in a storm in 1977, the Bidwell, or Hooker, Oak was justifiably famous. Said to be the largest oak tree in the world, it was thought to be a thousand years old. It was over 100 feet high and its branches covered a quarter of an acre, with its limbs measuring 150 feet across and the largest one having a circumference of 15'A feet. It stood in the middle section ofBidwell Park in Chico, in what is now the "Hooker Oak Picnic Area."
Bidwell Park, with its 3,670 acres, is the third largest urban park in the United States. Beginning in 1905, the land was an incremental gift from Annie Ellicott Kennedy Bidvvell (1839-1918) and her husband. Besides being one of the first pioneers to cross the Sierra Nevada, John Bidwell (1819-1900) soon upon arrival served as the business manager for John Sutter. Bidwell himself discovered gold in 1848. He used his newfound wealth to purchase the 26,000-acre Rancho del Arroyo Chico. In 1860 he laid out the town ofChico. In 1887 he gave 80 acres to the forerunner ofChico State University. Annie, the daughter of the Superintendent of the US Census, was an advocate for Prohibition and the suffragette movement.
The park is a long, narrow tract that starts downtown, not far from the Bidwell Mansion, and extends over five miles into wilderness. The area has a rustic, informal quality. There is little lawn as such. Instead, the park brings the wilderness into downtown. The middle portion, where the great oak stood (east ofManzanita Avenue), consists of trails and a one-way drive, all of which run beneath a continuous canopy of trees. Summer temperatures in Chico are typically in the lowlOOs, so the trees and the dammed "Sycamore pool" are essential amenities. Tree species are predominantly the valley oak (Qvercus lobata) and native sycamore (Platanvs racemosa). The understory is mostly grasses, willow, and spice bush (Calycanthus occidentalis).
The legacy of the Bidwells—Bidwell Mansion, Bidwell Park, and Chico State University—dominates the town. Incredibly, the property around the house retains features that were depicted in a c. 1877 sketch by Smith and Elliott.
Moreover, although the ancient Hooker Oak is gone, other venerable trees dating back to the Bidwell occupancy surround the Victorian mansion. Fronting the port-cochere is a southern magnolia 25-35' taller than the three-story tower of the house. Likewise gracing the property are a spectacular tulip tree {Liriodendron tvlipifera), a South American monkey puzzle (Avracaria imbricata), and a Lawson cypress (Cupressus Imvsoniana). Since 1964 the mansion has been a State Historic Park. To a unique degree, the Bidwells and Chico are one.
w. ^^?
h
f -^..
.yw^
'»• ^ i
^
t
il<j ^^ ^
l\vw*..;,.J
ja
1.. »
,*.
^^i
^i^ ^? w<- k<L'am-- ^1-:..'."%
•A*.«
-^^
s
Bidwell Park in Chico. Photos: Chris Pattillo.
The Hooker Oak at Chico
John Bidwell led one of the first successful overland parties into California from Ohio in 1841. No one perished en route- a truly amazing feat, due entirely to Bidwell's firm leadership and strict control of the emigrants. He was a schoolmaster back in Ohio, but in California became a leading member of society and amassed considerable wealth. The great ranch he established at Chico supplied wheat and orchard crops. It was also almost the first commercial olive oil business, as Bidwell, who was very astute in his judgment, had seen the possibility of making olive oil on a commercial scale. Empty bottles with the Bidwell label now fetch a lot of money in certain circles.
Bidwell entered California state politics, and his advice was sought on many occasions. One of them was during the anti- Chinese rioting in thel880s, when he counseled restraint. Bidwell and his wife, Annie, were very pious; it was a source of terrible regret that they never had any children.
Because Bidwell had a fine reputation, prominent visitors to the state were taken to Chico. One was Sir Joseph Hooker, son of Sir William Hooker, the first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Sir Joseph was very accomplished, traveling to the Himalayas to collect rhododendrons and to the Southern Hemisphere, where he prepared the first flora of New Zealand and the Antarctic. He lived to be 94 years old and never slowed down at all until the very end.
The huge historic oak tree was given Hooker's name because he sat under it when he visited Chico. Who is to say he did not sit under it? —Judith M. Taylor, MD
10Eden: Jozirnai of the California Garden & Landscape History SocietySpring 20] 3-Vol. 16. No. 2 69 page 69
Preservation Matters
The Santa Barbara Main Public Library,
Faulkner Gallery, and Five Controversial
Trees Receive Landmark Status
4 Iy
<^.
^
^ ..'.
»,-•(
%$
>»
g
Susan Chamberlin
here was never any question that when the City of Santa Barbara's Historic Landmarks Commission recommended to the City Council that they grant landmark status to the main Public Library and its attached Faulkner Gallery that they would do it. Not clear was the status of the robust, 80-year old lemon-scented gum trees around the Library (Corymbia — formerly Eucalyptus — citriodora). They are significant elements in the downtown skyline, and some could be documented as part of the original landscape for the Faulkner. The HLC had included the trees in their
recommendation, but this was opposed by the Library Director, the Parks and Recreation Director who oversees the property, officials with the adjacent Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the head of the County Arts Commission becaiise granting landmark protection to the trees would interfere with a proposal to remodel the Library entry plaza by flattening it and removing three of the most magnificent trees.
Controversial subtexts emerged during the debate including the way homeless people use the existing space as an impetus for the remodel, possible City liability if eucalyptus branches fell, and the evolution of the proposed plaza design through a process where City stakeholders participated in public workshops. One City Council member noted that the turnout in support of an issue by landscape architects, architects, arborists, artists, architectural historians, and preservationists was almost unprecedented. Also almost unprecedented was a showdown between opposing City Commissions.
I was part of a team organized by landscape architect Bob Cunningham, ASLA, to convince the City Council to landmark the trees along with the buildings. Architect Fred Sweeney persuasively argued the aesthetic value of the trees, illustrated by his own paintings. The evidence was presented: The trees are healthy and not a threat. Eucalyptus trees can be seen on a 1928 conceptual rendering of the Faulkner Gallery (then called the "Art Wing" of the Library) by architects Myron Hunt and H.C. Chambers, and trees were shown newly planted in photographs dated 1931 shortly after the Gallery was completed.
The landscape for the Library was attributed to landscape architect and longtime City Parks Commissioner Ralph T.
Stevens in his 1958 obituary, but a drawing could not be found. (There is no archive ofStevens" papers.) I did turn up exciting things, but the complete history of the Library and Faulkner Gallery must wait for another time. At the conclusion of the hearing, the City Council voted unanimously to landmark the Library and Faulkner and voted five to two to landmark five of the 13 trees, including the three proposed for removal if the new plaza is built.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bob Cunningham, who initiated and persevered in the landmark designation for the trees, and correct an error that will forevermore exist in cyberspace: In the August 29, 2012 HLC Landmark Designation Staff Report for the property and the trees, it is stated that "... the Hunt and Chambers landscape plan did not specify the Corymbia (Eucalyptus) citriodora trees." However, there is no landscape plan by Hunt and Chambers; a "Plot Plan" they produced shows only the reflecting pools (no longer extant) and their underground drain lines; there is not a stitch of planting on it.
Susan Chamberlin, a founding member (in 1995) of the California Garden & Landscape History Society, is a landscape historian with an A'L4 in architectifi'al history and a landscape architect 's license. She has lechtred, written, and consulted on landscape history. She lives in Santa Barbara.
Three Corymbia citriodora trees (lemon-scented gums)
recently received landmark status, along with Santa
Barbara's Main Public Library and Faulkner Gallery in
October 2012. making it more difficull to remove the trees should a plan to remodel the entry pla:a ever go forward.
Photo: Susan Chamberlin. 2012.
Eden: Jownaf of the Cafiforma Garden & Landscape History Society Spring 2013 • Vol. 16, No. 2 // 70 page 70
The Afterlife of Trees
Kelly Comras
Do trees have an afterlife?
Trees linger in memory, of course:
Whispering leaves, dappled shade, gnarled trunk
picturesque, and perfect.
And if they were among the beloved trees that came crashing down in the late 201 1 windstorm at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, they linger as treasured objects.
We can sit in the embrace
of Charles Dickson's huge carved earpod tree stump,
and marvel at the lifelines in its grain.
We can run our fingers over the smooth surfaces
of Alice Martinson's turned persimmon and walnut bowls, admiring the map of former growth spurts,
and the drought and disease revealing its singular history.
We can gaze at the intricate joinery
of Jim Butler's swamp mahogany music stand,
still upright as the tree it once was.
^ ^It
*••
<)
.& -?. l!i .'
^lt*f
•:* •^
'•»-.I ^V.,<• ^
^^.^^
's
E
•^
IE
^^^I
A
gl»A>.
»i
iftr< I
..'•
<3
•»ft!
•a?
m»^ 3K^-
"^
y
^
w«-
Photo credits —
Bowls and miisic stand:
LA Count)'Arboretiim
and Botanic Garden.
Tree stiimp seat:
Kelly Comras.
Downed tree at Arboretiim:
www.arboretum.org
LA County's Windstorm of 2011 and Its Tree Casualties
For three days toward the end of 2011, from November 30 to December 2, unprecedented hurricane-force winds ripped through LA County, with their furious blasts especially targeting San Gabriel Valley. Trees along streets and in parks and people's yards were hurtled to the ground or scrashed through roofs, or their broken branches snagged and snapped power lines, leaving many of the area's residents powerless and in the dark for as long as a week.
The LA County Arboretum & Botanic Garden in Arcadia was hit hard: at least a thousand trees in its great collection, spanning 127 acres, were damaged, with 235 either totally downed or so badly injured that they had to be removed. The property was closed to the public for three weeks while repair work went on.
During that time the staff began receiving calls from dozens of people—artists and artisans—who hoped to obtain some of the doomed wood and then turn it into beautiful and useful objects, such as pieces of furniture, sculptures, and decorative handcrafts. So the Arboretum agreed to donate its dead trees, and secured permission for doing this from the Board of Supervisors since the trees, after all, were County property. Meanwhile, each tree—there were 46 different species altogether, with some trees very large and old or quite rare—had to be identified, along with its suitability of its wood for particular future uses. Eventually 130 artists and craftspeople received gifts of wood. All of them participated in a fundraising auction held at the Arboretum exactly a year later, and a portion of the proceeds was given to the Tree Fund for purchasing replacement trees.
Arboreta, botanic gardens, arborists, and tree services (including municipal ones) are increasingly approached by woodworking groups, craftspeople, and sculptors, who ask them to save tree trunks and large limbs from landfills, then let them haul away chunks, thus enabling the often valuable wood to be given a satisfying and perhaps immortal "new life." 12Eden: Journal of the California Garden & Landscape History SocietySpring 20] 3 • Vol. 16, No. 2 71 page 71
John Fowles' The Tree JOHN FOWt^
a
^i
(^?
1^
TH6 TH66
J.-L
Paula Panich
ohn Fowles, the great English novelist, published, in 1979, a complicated essay called "The Tree." It was reissued in 2010, in this country anyway, with an introduction by Barry Lopez. I will refer to it as The Tree, as it is a pretty little book.
If you don't recall the novels of John Fowles, you will surely recall the movie made from one of them—The French Lieutenant's Woman. Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons.
The essay that forms this book is the kind that few readers tackle anymore: It is discursive, multilayered, redolent with subtext, and the language exquisite.
The pretext of the Fowles essay is a contrasting of the kinds of trees favored by the author's father, and those of the author himself. The father cosseted, debranched, pruned, forced, crammed in, espaliered and otherwise controlled his fruit trees, and produced wonderful fruit. The grown son favored an " ... unkempt, unmanaged, and unmanageable garden." And it follows naturally that the son contrasts his own life with that of the father. "What he abhorred, I adored," writes the grown man.
That's the nut of it, and one might stop here.
But that would be a mistake.
There's the subtext, the kernel, of this astonishing work, and the reader swims in its salty translucence according to her (or his) awareness of life. I think we are like fish. How would a fish begin to describe the sea? You can begin to see the challenge.
Before we know it, halfway through this essay we are paddling in avast sea ourselves of science, art, and the natural world. The ending of the essay is a virtuoso set piece about visiting a storied, ancient wood. Fowles makes the point, early on:
Telling people why, how and when they ought to feel this or that—whether it be with regard to the enjoyment of nature, of food, of sex, or anything else—may. undoubtedly sometimes does, have a usefxil fanction in dispelling various kinds of socially harmfal ignorance. But what this instruction cannot give is this deepest benefit of any art, be it of making, or of knowing, or of experiencing:
which is self expression and self discovery.
I realize I am guilty of this just by framing my own thoughts about this book.
But I can tell you I've spent good bits of time in the woods in the last seven years and thought I'd write a book about it. I took a huge sheet of paper and wrote the chapter headings. Notes and research piled up. I gave the book a title: First There Was a Movnta'm. The title, written on a three-by-five card, was pinned to the window wall above my desk, in a tiny cabin on a mountain surrounded by woods bounded by a musical creek. Dust gathered on that card. Meanwhile, I walked in those woods, drank in those woods, inhaled those woods.
Not everything can be expressed. It's a big mistake, Fowles tells us, to think it can. Amen.
About Trees ... From our Bookshelves
When we—your editor, editorial board, and president—thought about trees, we also, given our combined interests, thought about books. Here are a selected few from our bookshelves: some rare (and found only in specialized libraries), some readily available online (try vvvvvv.abebooks.com) or in fast-disappearing bookshops.
Recent Titles:
Robert Pogue Marrison. Forests: The Shadow of Civilisation (1992).
William Bryant Logau. Oak: The Frame of Civilization (2005).
Heniy W. Lawrence. City Trees: A Historical Geography from the Renaissance through the Nineteenth Century (2006).
Thomas Pakenham. Meetings With Remarkable Trees (1998); Remarkable Trees of the World (1QQ3}.
Bruce M. Pavlick. Pamela Muick, and Sharon Johnson. Oaks of California (1993).
Donald Culross Peattie, illus. by Paul Landacre. A Natural Histoiy of fVestern Trees (1991; paperbound reprint of 1953 edition).
Richard Preston. Wild Trees (2008).
Franyoise Renaud. The Tree in Photographs (2010).
Matt Ritter. A Californian 's Guide to the Trees Among Us (2011).
Erie Rutkovv. American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation (2012).
Colin Tudge: The Tree: The Natiu'cil History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter (2005).
Antiquarian Titles:
Charles Gibbs Adanis. The Treasure Trees of California (1931).
Ralph D. Cornell. illus. by author. Conspicuous California Plants, with Notes on Their Garden Uses (1938: other editions available, in- eluding a 2012 hardcover illus. by Elizabeth Lewis).
Eden: Joiirncff of the CaUforwa Garden c£ Landscape History Society Spring 2013 • Vol. 16. No. 2 13 72 page 72
s.'.'
oAMERIC••»
i1
{ »J
a
**
•*:•!'»
K
1 ^
1»
Mli-
«NS^^ ^
--'
'S>1
Book Review
American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation.
Eric Rutkow. (New York: Scribner, 2012). 406 pp. Hardcover, $29.95.
In this ambitious book, the author (a PhD candidate in American history at Yale as well as an environmental lawyer) undertook writing a comprehensive history afforests in the great span ofcoast-to-coast land that eventually became the United States. When inhabited only by native Americans, probably almost one billion acres—close to half of the total acreage within the contiguous 48 states—were covered with densely growing trees of many species. Then the tree-cutting rampage began.
Since forests and wood were scarce in England after centuries of overuse, colonists settling along the Atlantic Coast in the early 17th century were astounded by huge stands of trees around their initially tenuous settlements. The limitless timber took on innumerable uses, providing wood for building houses, barns, churches, wagons, fences, and other structures; for making furniture and cabinetry; for crucial uses in heating, cooking, ceramics, and metallurgy. The ready availability of special types of wood (such as very tall, straight, and strong trunks for masts) started New England's first notable industry, the making of sailing ships, leading then to many other commercial ventures.
After the Industrial Revolution's arrival, great quantities of firewood were consumed in propelling steam-driven machinery in the different kinds of mills, and in the new transportation means—steamboats and locomotives. Wood was converted into charcoal to furnish the high heat needed in iron foundries, whereas initially coal was mostly ignored. Wood supplied early railways with passenger and cargo cars, rail ties, bridges, depots. Tail and sturdy trunks became telegraph poles holding up wires that quickly transmitted messages across vast distances. By the mid-19th century, the cellulose in wood, converted into pulp, allowed the manufacture of paper far cheaper than that made from cloth rags—thereby greatly expanding the printing and distribution of newspapers and books that informed and educated the democracy's public.
As settlers moved ever westward, and southward toward the Gulf of Mexico, seemingly limitless forests were profligately depleted of pines, hemlocks, spruce, firs, and other useful trees, with unwanted remnants left to rot. The heavy consumption ignored any need for replacement. After New England's forests were exhausted, shrewd and ambitious timber "barons"—most notably Frederick Weyerhaueser—acquired gigantic tracts of land in the Great Lakes region, then expanded beyond. Jumping over the almost treeless Great Plains, they grabbed great holdings in the Pacific Northwest, the final and richest source of forest trees. In the early decades of the 20th century, timber harvesters and sawmill workers in the Northwest and the South began protests against long hours, low wages, and dangerous and unhealthful working conditions, bringing on unionizing efforts and savage conflicts. By then, too, forest conservation programs were making some headway.
The book gives considerable attention to significant efforts, begun in the mid-19th century, to awaken nationwide awareness of the need to preserve, protect, and replant forested areas. George Perkins Marsh's influeiitial Man and'Nature (1862) first sounded the call for tree conservation. Inevitably, conflicts arose between the new phalanx of tree protectors and the tree-consuming industries whose activities continuously damaged watersheds through land erosion and water runoff while making landscapes—and communities located within or near them—highly vulnerable to wildfires. At its lowest point, the total of the forest areas declined to about 600 million acres. (It has now grown back to an estimated 750,000.) Rutkow tells of the admirable forest-saving and -renewing efforts of both Presidents Roosevelt. During his years in office Theodore protected forests by founding many national parks, forests, and monuments. Franklin created the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps. During the CCC's nine years of existence it gave forest-basedjobs to 2.5 million previously unemployed young men, who then planted some 3 billion trees, built campsites, and cleared or created 100,000 trails. FDR also launched the windbreak-planting program in farm and ranch lands, and the long, wide stands of trees helped prevent further erosion and dust storms during the disastrous drought years of the '30s.
Acknowledged here are many individuals and organizations, along with federal and state agencies, that made great efforts to protect and replant trees and to regulate the lumber industiy's incursions in publicly owned forestlands. Technological advances, initiated by the federally funded Forest Products Laboratory, were encouraged, so that eventually all parts of harvested trees could be used, to eliminate waste. Numerous notable tree-connected men are profiled (but no women!).
Most had an early interest in trees, usually resulting in diverse careers. Among them: early horticulturist John Bartram (in 1 Sth-century Pennsylvania), "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman, Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Law Olmsted, John Muir, plant explorer David Fairchild, forester Gifford Pinchot (who learned early from new European practices), the Levitt brothers (who created from forest products post-WWIl Levittowns), and eco legist Aldo Leopold. Rutkow also details the tree-loving passion in two "founding fathers"—Washington and Jefferson. Intriguing tales are told, as of the origin in 1872 of Arbor Day in Wisconsin, which eveatiially went nationwide. J. Sterling Morton's organizing spirit evolved into the now even more widely celebrated Earth Day, which gives attention to environmental and ecological concerns—local, national, and planetary—and encourages people everywhere to plant trees to bolster the "urban forests" in their own communities. 14Eden: Journal of the California Garden & Landscape History SocietySpring 2013-Vo]. 16. No. 2 73 page 73
^ ^-t ^
-;•.y
%
•1»
<»r
3. }a^'K-f^.%<•
'« wi
?it^^s
Slashings left after logging operations at a Minnesota canip- typical of forestry wastage before efforts D-'ere nicic/e to zise a!! parts of harvested trees. Photo: Library of Congress.
The narrative is mostly chronological in its coverage, in 10 chapters, of four full centuries offorest-consuming time. It becomes more topical when dealing with different facets of organizing themes chosen for particular chapters, such as "Trees as Good Soldiers and Citizens"—when forests provided wood (some very special kinds) needed for combat on land, sea, and in the air, and required military-sty Ie recruiting and training of workers. In "Postwar Prosperity," the subhead section "A Nation of Vagabonds" describes Henry Ford's successful in-person promotion of recreational "autocamping," which by the early 1920s annually lured some 6 million drivers into forested areas with campsites. "Under Attack" introduces the specter of deadly, rapidly communicable diseases that afflict trees and can wipe out entire forests, orchards, and ornamental trees.
The Plant Quarantine Act of 1912 began imposing stringent inspections of imported plants and plant products to prevent entry of infectious microbes and larger organisms, such as insects, that carry them. All trees in Japan's first shipment of flowering cherry trees to Washington DC had to be destroyed. Rutkow tells the tragic tales, in both economic and aesthetic terms, of the American chestnut blight that during the early 20th century rapidly eliminated this much-loved majestic, multipurpose tree; then came of the widespread demise of the stately American elm (the historically symbolic "Liberty Tree"), in a beetle- transmitted fungus. Lethal tree plagues have often occurred since then, usually originating from foreign sources. (Threatened now is California's citrus industry, which began in the 1870s with the navel orange's arrival—told in Chapter 6's "New Frontiers.")
Rutkow's book considers two of California's three record-holding tree species. Methusaleh, the bristlecone pine in the White Mountains, is close to 5,000 years old—though not as old as Nevada's Prometheus had been, and the Introduction tells how it was stupidly cut down in 1964 after a tree-ring extracting device got stuck in its gnarled trunk. The Sequoia gigantea stands in the Sierra Nevada are famed as the world's biggest single trees. Oddly, though, this book barely mentions the planet's tallest living trees (with one said to be 380 feet high): the Sequoia sempervirens. The wholesale felling of entire coastal redwood forests during the last halfofthe 19th century and well into the 20th is a grim story that surely belongs here. But it's included in the larger coverage of the rape of fir, spruce, and pine forests in the Pacific Northwest, which over time have become better managed. Rutkow also acknowledges the conservationists' handy new weapon used to preserve old-growth forests: the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as when agitating to protect the native habitat of the elusive spotted owl, thereby enraging lumbermen.
The author often stresses the importance of good forest management: conserving trees in forests and of continuously planting the right ones in suitable places, including our cities' "urban forests." Trees should matter to eveiyone, not just to ardent environmental activists. Human respiration needs the balanced exchange occurring as plants all around us—trees especially—use photosynthesis to supply their growth needs for carbon, thereby converting into oxygen all that gaseous carbon dioxide that we and animals generate, but is also constantly produced in many other ways, such as the burning of wood (which is mostly carbon). We are urged to retain and reestablish large masses of tree canopies in forests and jungles throughout the planet, to help mitigate, albeit belatedly, the disastrously inevitable climate change due to the "greenhouse effect" in global warming. The continuously mounting presence ofC02 is primarily caused, of course, by several centuries of gross use of fossil fuels, especially in using oil and gasoline to power many kinds of machinery—often done wastefully to more rapidly deplete finite supplies. Ironically, all coal and much of petroleum actually are derived from the decayed remains of ancient trees and other plants confined for millennia while buried deeply underground and under great pressure.
American Canopy provides a fact-filled coverage of an important subject not often considered in a wide historical angle, along with detailed biographical and sociological information. It's apparently intended for the general reader, not for tree experts and scholars, though some may find in it interesting facts and stories for possible future use. Still, the book scarcely makes for light reading. Its dense text of over 150,000 words is documented with many unobtrusive endnotes and has an impressive bibliography. The chapter openings are decorated with attractive botanical artwork depicting tree leaves, flowers, fruits, and seed pods. Regrettably, despite the many intriguing subjects undertaken here, only a few narrowly selected photographs and other illustrations are presented, on eight pages. There could have been more.
People who already have American Canopy, or will borrow or acquire it (available too as an e-book), if delaying the reading, could at least go to page 345, where Rutkow in an Epilogue summarizes the intent and scope of his book. His near final words have an emotional tone mostly absent in the great collection of factual material and statistics in the main text.
Toward the end of a literary sermon the author offers this encouragement to commune directly with oiir arboreal neighbors:
As we rush headlong into the twenty-first century, the physicality of trees seems more vital than ever. The modem workplace and home are becoming increasingly antiseptic. Americans now spend their days staring into computer screens that receive information as it'by magic. Daily life seems alarmingly virtual. Trees provide the antidote. The smell of pine needles, the crunch of autumn leaves, the roughness of bark are all reminders that we are a part of nature. Tree hugging, in its most literal sense, offers a reconnection with the physical world, the world of our forefathers. The forests and their trees are a sanctuary for the spirit. To enter them is to seek renewal. —Barbara Marinacci
Eden: Joiirnal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society Spring 2013 • Vol. 16. No. 2 ]5 74 page 74
Postings
Virginia Hayes, Curator of the Living Collection at Ganna Walska Lotusland, and Susan Chamberlin, landscape historian and CGLHS founding member, will give a presentation entitled Santa Barbara 's Extraordinary Cultural Landscape:
People. Plants, Parks and Gardens, on May 9 at 7 p.m. in the Faulkner Gallery, to kick of National Public Gardens Day in Santa Barbara. Garden tours and other activities are scheduled throughout May. See http;//sbpublicgardens.org.
Changes to Membership Dues—Effective July 1, 2013
The Board voted at our January 26, 2013 meeting to raise the dues to bring revenues closer to the cost of producing Eden. To simplify the process the Board decided to put all memberships on a calendar year basis, with membership renewals due on July 1. This will relieve our treasurer from the task of billing renewals quarterly. In addition, the Board decided to create a new membership category for students.
The revised membership categories are:
Individual: $40
Family: $60 (foi-merly "Household" (one issue of Eden mailed; two people attend events at the member rate) Non-profit: $50 (an organizations that supports the mission ofCGLHS) Sustaining: $100 and above
Student: $20
All members will be billed in July for the year July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014. During this transition, dues will be prorated for members currently scheduled to renew in the fall, winter, or spring quarters. ^Jl\ p
^
^
^
t >
Photo credit TK.
Meet Virginia Kean, Eden'1 s New Editor
Virginia Kean knows California. She acted as managing editor of California's Rose Heritage:
Journal of the Heritage Rose Foundation 2005 Conference of the Heritage Rose Fowidation 2005 Conference.
Virginia Kean knows gardens. When we spoke in early February, she was heading out, clippers in hand, to prune a friend's roses.
Virginia Kean knows landscape. Since 2009, she has specialized in work as a senior editor ofmultidisciplinary environmental impact reports and proposals for a broad range of environmentally sensitive projects, including the California High-Speed Train and Louisiana Coastal Restoration.
Kean lives in Redwood City, California, but her lifelong love affair with plants and landscape began in rural Virginia, where she walked to school through a forest. It flourished in a Southern California childhood marked by the scent of orange groves and summer treks to the ocean through the rolling hills of the Irvine Ranch.
Kean studied at the University of California, Berkeley, and received a BA in Design (Phi Beta Kappa). After earning an MA in Asian Studies from Berkeley, she became a studio potter in Palo Alto. When the studio closed, she moved on to professional writing, and now has 23 years of expertise in developing journals, magazines, business publications, and annual reports for corporations and nonprofits.
In 2005, Eden's new editor co-founded Rosa Mimdi, the journal of the Heritage Rose Foundation (HRF), which is dedicated to preserving the world's roses. For six years she served as editor-in-chief, working with an editorial team of rose experts. She recruited and worked closely with authors, ranging from garden designers and nurserymen to breeders and scholars in Asia, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and the United States. Among her articles for Rosa Mundi are "On a Rose Trek in China" and "A Thorn for Beauty: J. Horace McFarland." Virginia was also the editor of Mysteiy Roses Aroimd the World, published by the HRF in 2011. For the Charleston Horticultural Society, she edited and produced Noisette Roses: Nineteenth-Centitry Charleston 's Gift to the World.
In her own garden Kean grows many old tea and species roses, Japanese maples, camellias, and cymbidiums. When she's not out gardening and deadheading, with two Scottish terriers and several cats as company, she leads tours at Tor House, the stone house and tower built by the 20th-century poet Robinson Jeffers in Carmel, California.
Her current reading: Rosemary Verey: The Life and Lessons of a Legendary Gardener, by Barbara Paul Robinson.
She recommends: Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear; On an Irish Island, by Robert Kanigel.
She's working on: An article on botanical gardens and public parks in China.
Her organization memberships: Western Horticultural Society (board member), San Francisco Peninsula Camellia Society, Historic Roses Group, Filoli, Royal Oak Foundation. —Theu Gums ! Chair, Eden Editor Search Committee
16Eden: Journal of the California Garden & Landscape History SocietySpring 2013- Vol. l6.No. 2 75 page 75
President^ Message
<4
V
•ry
~;-^.^.
The CGLHS board meets twice a year, but we make the most of these meetings by spending the weekends not only on CGLHS business, but also pleasurably—in exploring the environment around us. Nancy Carter made the arrangements for January 26-27; we spent Saturday on the beautiful campus of the University of San Diego, where Nancy is a professor in the law school. On Saturday evening spouses, along with former board members Thea Gurns and John Blockerjoined us for a home-cooked meal in Nancy's charming bungalow-style home. On Sunday morning local area members accompanied us on a tour ofTorrey Pines State Reserve.
The board unanimously approved the appointment of Virginia Kean as our next Eden editor. Former CGLHS president and editor search committee chair Thea Gurns introduces her in the brief profile on the opposite page.
We discussed future events. Sarah Raube is planning a fall event in and around San Francisco, and we hope to hold our 2014 conference in Santa Barbara. Thea Gums is now at work on a 2015 conference in San Diego's Balboa Park, to cele- brate the centennial of the 2015 Panama-California Exposition.
For a number of years the CGLHS basic membership of $30 hasn't covered the rising costs of producing Eden. We make up the difference with donations and fundraising through events. Starting with the next issue of Eden we will, for the first time, contract out its production. We will be raising dues to help balance the budget. We have added a new category for students. (See the opposite page.) An Invitation to All CGLHS Members
Please join our new board member, Carolyn Bennett, for a private tour of the exhibit she origi- nated, "When They Were Wild: Recapturing California's Wildflower Heritage," at the Hunt- ington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens on May 31st.
What began as a simple idea seven years ago to showcase the fascinating collections of original art documenting our native plants beginning in the late 19th century has blossomed into this major exhibit at the Huntington and related exhibits elsewhere. Through the generous support of the Huntington, the Theodore Pay ne Foundation, and the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Carolyn's idea has become a fantastic exhibition. It contains over 300 items, which include drawings, paintings, herbarium specimens, photographs, and other ephem- era dating from the 1800s and onward. This will be the first time some of these paintings and other objects have been shown in public; now, thanks to the exhibition, all have been digitally preserved for future research and preservation. The exhibit tells the story of our rich and diverse flora and the allure it held for scientists and artists alike. It's fascinating to think of how this documentation led from flower fields to our own gardens.
The exhibition will be open early to us at 10:30am. Admission will be free. Space will be limited, so please RSVP to [email protected] by May 6.
Finally, I am as reluctant to say goodbye to Barbara Marinacci, editor of Eden since 2010, as I am eager to welcome Virginia Kean as our new editor. In recognition of Barbara's outstanding work, the board has named her as an Honorary Life Member. I asked Kelly Comras to summarize Barbara's contribution to CGLHS and to Eden. Below is her reply. -Judy M. Horton / [email protected]
More than three years ago I was charged with the urgent task of finding a replacemeiit for Eden's longstanding editor, Marlea Graham. Since Marlea had been not only an excellent editor and a full-time production staff of one for Eden. 1 felt dubious about the success of my quest. Lo and behold, 1 soon crossed paths with Barbara Marinacci, a talented, experienced book author and professional editor. Thoiigh she has written about many diverse subjects, she hadn't a background in historic landscapes. But she at least was a lifelong gardener. And with boundless enthusiasm, good cheer, optimism, and her professional research skills, she was willing to give Eden a try.
Our journey turned out to be a fruitful one for Eden and for the rest of the members of the editorial board (Ann Scheid, Paula Panich, Phoebe Cutler), who banded together to help make Barbara's efforts a success. With Marlea's patient and generous assistance, Barbara learned the ropes quickly and added her own skills and viewpoint to further polish Eden.
During Barbara's tenure she found and cultivated a new cadre of writers, expanded on Eden 's breadth of topics, and wrote some fine articles of her own. Her love of the work, and the diligence she brought to it, were evident in issues that were brimming over with excellence and quality, and sometimes up to 32 pages in length! Barbara also learned how to produce Eden and then how to prepare the issue for sending out in an online version—a daunting task for this digital-publication neophyte, but she took on with her usual can-do approach to life.
Most important to me and the rest of the editorial board are the friendships and respect that have come out ot'this journey.
There was a (short) time when we were not at all sure we would be able to continue publishing Eden. This was something none of us was prepared to live with. so we rolled up our sleeves, went to work, and found that, as is often the case, we got as much or more out of it than we put in. Speaking for our entire editorial board, 1 can safely say that we have grown to love Barbara and consider her a friend to keep for life. Our journey with her is a journey we will want to remember. —Kelly Comras / Chair, Editorial Board of Eckn
•is...
^.-^
Clara Mason Fox (1873-1959).
Biish Poppy (Dendromecon rigidai).
Silverado Canyon, ! 899. Pencil and
tempera on paper. Collection of
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.
Eden: Journal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society Spring 2013 • Vol. 16. ;Vo. 2 17 76 page 76
EDEN
Eden (ISSN 1524-8062) is published four times yearly (Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall) by the California Garden & Landscape FIistory Society, a nonprofit organization as described under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code.
Editor: Barbara Marinacci, 501 Palisades Drive, #315 / Pacific Palisades, CA 90272-2848.
Tel: 310-459-0190. E-mail: cden'^cslhs.oi-i;
Eden: Call for Content
Eden solicits your submissions of scholarly papers, short articles, book reviews, information about coming events, news about members' activities and honors, and interesting archives or websites you have discovered. In short, send us anything pertaining to California's landscape history that may be of interest to CGLHS menibers. Also, more regional correspondents
reporting on local landscape preservation concerns, efforts, and accomplishments will be welcomed, along with other relevant issues.
For book reviews, notices of interesting magazine articles, and museum exhibits, please write to Associate Editor Marga- retta J. Darnall, 1154 Sunnyhills Road, Oakland, CA 94610.
All other submissions should be sent to Eden editor Barbara Marinacci (see above contact information). Deadlines for submissions are the first days of January, April, July, and October.
EDEN Staff
Editor ................................................................................................................................. Barbara Marinacci Editorial Board: .............................. ...'................;...................... KellyComras, Phoebe Cutler, Paula Panich, Ann Scheid Book Review Editor ............................................................................................................. Margaretta J. Darnall Consultant (Eden Editrix Emerita) .................................................................................................... Marlea Graham Regional Correspondents............ Phoebe Cutler (S.F. Bay Area), Kathryn Lyon (Central Coast), Vonn Marie May (San Diego Area) Our heartfelt thanks to these organizations and individuals who support us at the Sustaining and Institutional levels:
CGLHS's Institutional Members CGLHS's Sustaining Members Brooklyn Botanic Garden Library
Chicago Botanic Garden
Lenhardt Library
Descanso Gardens
The Garden Conservancy
Historic Resources Group
Homestead Museum
Huntington Botanical Gardens
Isabelle C. Greene & Associates, Inc.
Rancho Los Alamitos
San Francisco Botanic Gardens
H.C. Russell Library
Storrier-Stearns Japanese Garden
University of California, Berkeley
Environmental Design Library
University of California, Riverside
Science Library
University of Washington Botanical Gardens
Elizabeth C. Miller Library
Elizabeth Ames
Helena Babb
Karen Bartholomew
Carolyn Bennett
David Blackburn
John Blacker & Thea Gums
Denise A. Bradley
Stafford Buckley
Nancy Carol Carter
Ric Catron
Susan Chamberlin
Sally dark
Betsy Clebsch
Kelly Comras & Michael Lofchie
Patricia Cullinan
Beverly R. Dobson
Mr. & Mrs. David S. Dvorak
Ann M. Dwelley
Thomas Eddy
Gerald A. Flom & Marlea Graham
NormaP. & Thomas Frey
Betsy G. Fn/'berger
Mark Goldschmidt
Elizabeth Goodfellow
Frances M. Grate
Sherrin Grout
April Halberstadt
Mary Pat Hogan
Judy M. Horton
Saburo Ishihara & Mary Sivanton
Aaron Landworth
Gary Lyons
Carole McElwee
Nancy E. Mead
Margaret Mori, FASLA
Donivee & Merrill Nash
Denise Otis
Paula Panich & Bill Liusman
Michael James Reandeau
Julianna Roosevelt
Ann Scheid
EIena Shoch
Kathleen & Don Slater
Peggy & Bruce Stewart
David C. Streatfield
Judith B. Tankard
Judith M. Taylor, MD
Brian Tichenor
Marc Treib
Judy Triem
Richard Turner, Jr.
Linda Van Fossen
Noel D. Vernon
Sam Walters
Jacquoline Williams
Lucinda Woodward
18Eden: Joiirnal of the California Garden & Landscape History SocietyiSpring 2013 • Vol. 16, No. 2 77 page 77
Join CGLHS — or Renew Your Membership
D New D Renew
Membership Category:
D Individual $30 D Household $40 D Sustaining $60 and above.
D Institutional $50 (organizations and businesses that support the mission ofCGLHS) Name(s)
Address
City State ZIP
Phone: Work
E-mail
Home
Profession/organization affiliation/area of interest:
Return this form along with your clieck made payable to CGLHS to:
Christy O'Hara / CGLHS Treasurer / 11730 San Marcos Road / Atascadero, CA 93422 Please send address and other changes or questions to lreasurer''it:cslhs.ors.
As a matter of policy, CGLI-IS does not share its membership lists with other organizations, and that policy extends to e-mail addresses as well,
California Garden and Landscape History Society (CGLHS) is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization devoted to: celebrating the beauty and diversity of California's historic gardens and landscapes; promoting wider knowledge, preservation, and restoration of California's historic gardens and landscapes; organizing study visits to historic gardens and landscapes as well as to relevant archives and libraries; and offering opportunities for a lively interchange among members at meetings, garden visits, and other events.
CGLHS was founded in 1995.
The Society organizes annual conferences and publishes Eden, a quarterly journal.
Locations & Years ofCGLHS's Conferences:
1995 - Santa Cruz (founding)
1996 - Santa Barbara (Spring)
San Diego (Fall)
1997 - UC Berkeley (Spring)
Huntington Gardens, San Marino (Fall)
1998-Sacramento
1999 - Long Beach (Rancho Los Alamitos)
2000-Monterey
2001 - Sonoma County (city ofSonoma)
2002 - San Juan Capistrano
2003 - San Francisco Peninsula (Stanford Univer-
sity)
2004 - Riverside
2005 -Napa Valley (10th anniversary)
2006 - Westside of Silicon Valley (Saratoga)
2007 - Los Angeles (for Japanese-style gardens)
2008 - Lone Pine and Owens Valley
2009 - UC Berkeley (SF Bay Area)
2010 - Santa Cruz County (15th anniversary)
2011 - San Luis Obispo County
CGLHS Board of Directors (2013-2014)
Officers
President.................................................... Judy M. Hortoa Vice President...................................... Nancy Carol Carter Recording Secretary .................................. Phoebe Cutler Membership Secretary ...................................... Ann Scheid Treasurer ................................................. Christy E. O'Hara Members-at-Large
Carolyn Bennett and Sarah Raube
Founder: William A. Grant
Honorary Life Members: Virginia Gardner, Marlea Graham, and William A. Grant
Eden: Joiirnal of the California Garden & Landscape History Socieh/ Spring 2013 • Vol. 16. No. 2 19 78 page 78
^
California Garden &
Landscape History Society
W\\W<L;llli»-l'!"^
Ann Scheid / 500 S. Arroyo Blvd. / Pasadena, CA 91105
Address Correction and Forwarding Requested
Contents in this issue of Eden
The Trees in California's Cityscapes
Matt Ritter ....................................................... 1-3 The Legacy of Pasadena's Trees
Ann Scheid ...................................................... 4-9 Bidwell Park and the Bidwell/Hooker Oak
Chris Pattillo.... 10
The Hooker Oak at Chico
Judith M.Taylor,MD .......................................... 10 The Santa Barbara Main Public Library, Faulkner Gallery and Five Trees Receive Landmark Status
Susan Chamberlin ............................................... 11 The Afterlife of Trees
Kelly Comras ..................................................... 12 LA 's Windstorm of 2011 and Its Tree Casualties .............. 12 John Fowles' The Tree
Paula Panich ...................................................... 13 About Trees ... From Our Bookshelves .......................... 13 Book Review. American Canopy — Trees, Forests, and
the Making of a Nation ...................................... 14-15 Postings ................................................................ 16 Meet Virginia Ke&n, Eden's New Editor ........................ 16 President's Message
JudyM.Horton ...................................................17 Information About Eden and CGLHS ...................... 18-19 '; >
^ A'
7-.-.i'?\ i
>»>
^ ••^.
^y
^
^^^-.i
.?•
*.<;
^isMk
^^^:
s
s^
^ 'S'€ (
^
•s. •? ^f»
s?-s^y? ^ 1-^
k*s'& ..*.<('r
^••'?»«' :•.•>^^^%:5- &^it .»r
^
.•
^
Hffiv .* ;^*• ^,(4'A? .<'<.
m^Ift r'-I Ai. •^^£L<
•^ ^•^l
i^"*
L'»*»<^ ^^fr-*.
*'/^»s;
^
A floss silk tree fCeiba speciosaj. Photo: Matt Ritter. 79 page 79
Takeda, Michi
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
John Fauvrel
Thursday, May 22, 2025 7:52 PM
commentsDC
Tree ordinance
[You don't often get email fror
https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderldentification
Learn why this is important at
[ ! ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Greetings:
The canopy list has apparently not been reviewed recently in light of weather changes and Fire danger. Could risky trees, such as eucalyptus and palms, be evaluated for fire risk and those in the most dangerous sites— like the Arroyo Seco—be removed and replaced with safer trees? John Fauvre
Sent from my IPad
1 80
page 80
Takeda, Michi
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
JudyOhora
Friday, May 23, 2025 8:33 AM
Takeda, Michi
commentsDC
Support forTree ordinance revisions
[Some people who received this message don't often get email from | is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderldentification ] I. Learn why this
[ ! ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
I want to express my support for the tree ordinance revisions being presented on May 27. The benefit of trees for co mmunities/eco logics is well-documented. The City should be proactive in finding ways to save trees, not remove them.
from my iPad
1 81
page 81
DATE: May 26, 2025
TO: Members of the Design Commission and City Staff
FROM: The Ad Hoc Urban Forestry Task Force
RE: Proposed Revisions to Pasadena Municipal Code Chapter 8.52, City Trees and Tree Protection Ordinance, with respect to Public Trees
In late 2024, an ad hoc Urban Forestry Task Force (UFTF) was established by and with the continued support of City Councilmember Rick Cole. It consists of District 2 commissioners from each of the City's Planning, Design, Environmental Advisory, Historic Preservation, Parks & Recreation commissions, as well as its representative on the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee, the District 2 Field Representative and other engaged community leaders concerned about the City's care and protection of its public trees. This memo contains the UFTF recommendations for changes to the City Trees and Tree Protection Ordinance, PMC Chapter 8.52 (attached) to meet Pasadena's goals for a resilient and sustainable urban forest to combat climate change, ensure tree equity citywide, and strengthen protection of public trees as a beneficial and important community asset that supports both economic vitality and our quality of life. The regulation of private trees was not found to be in question and is not addressed herein.
BACKGROUND
The UFTF convened initially to support the community's concern about the City's proposed removal of a mature Coast Live Oak tree in McDonald Park, which has longtime served as a backdrop for community events. Subsequent to a neighborhood association inquiry about the tree's low-hanging branches and apparent leaning, and instead of taking measures to protect, maintain, or physically support the otherwise robust tree, the City posted a Notice of Removal based on "imminent danger" warranting removal. The protest that followed gained national and local media attention. Eight certified arborists took an interest in the tree, none agreeing it was an imminent risk. The neighborhood subsequently engaged professional Master arborists to assess whether or not the tree was indeed of imminent threat to public safety and brought the City's treatment of its trees to further light. Eventually, the City's own contract arborist, Dudek, at the City's costly request assessed the tree, determined it was in good health, and the item was heard before the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee, which concurred.
Despite the earlier warning of imminent failure, the McDonald Park Oak Tree withstood the wind event of January 7, 2025, with speeds of greater than 100 mph that fanned the disastrous Eaton Canyon fire, proof of its stability and good health, and was spared from City chain saws 'at this time.' Evidence presented to UFAC and the community made clear that despite its best efforts and genuine concern for our public trees, the City is not using current best practices to assess the health of our urban forest nor to protect and maintain public trees. City Staff admitted it had overwatered the McDonald Park tree-named 'Old Sylvana' at a community ceremony earlier this year-during drought conditions, an environmentally wasteful practice that also contributed to endangering the survival of park trees. 1 82
page 82
RECOMMENDATIONS
As a result of the 'Old Sylvana' incident, the UFTF attended UFAC meetings, reviewed the City's tree protection policies and practices, and researched those in surrounding jurisdictions for comparison.
Those of the Cities ofClaremont, Sierra Madre, and Beverly Hills (prepared by the City's own consultant, Dudek) became models for strengthening Pasadena's Trees and Tree Protection Ordinance. With respect to public trees, the following issues were identified and are discussed further on with recommended changes to the Ordinance where needed:
Strengthen the City's goals of climate resilience through development of a robust urban forest through current professional, certified arborist best practices, tree removal processes and procedures, and community oversight;
Ensure tree equity citywide;
Include the role, strengthen the composition, and increase the authority of the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee (UFAC)-of which the Ordinance is silent—especially with respect to public tree removal;
Define the responsibilities of abutting residents to care for and cultivate public trees adjacent to their properties and the City's need to educate them on best management practices; and Develop an Urban Forestry Management Plan that relies on current tree management best practices and policies to reduce climate change, ensure fire resistance and safety, and grow and protect Pasadena's urban forest for years to come.
Resilience through Urban Forestry Management, Community Oversight, and Best Arborist Practices Each year the City cuts down over 400 public trees. As in the case of "Old Sylvana," the City's first line response to citizen inquiry or concern about public trees—and without mitigation options—is tree removal. This is a costly and environmentally disastrous practice not subject to community oversight.
Prior to cutting down a public tree. City arborists evaluate the tree, complete a "Tree Hazard Evaluation Form" and add it to the monthly removal list if its hazard score is deemed too high, which is then approved by the City Manager. The Hazard Form outlines the reason for removal but no one aside from City Staff reviews these forms. The current form used lacks specificity and according to outside professional arborists, the City is also misusing it.
The benefits from trees and a healthy urban forest increase with the size and age of trees. However, because the City does not use and has not been trained to administer the latest assessment form recommended by professional, certified arborists, mature trees are actually penalized in City assessments. Thus, they are more likely to be removed even if failure is not imminent, when they should, instead, be protected and nurtured to the fullest extent possible as there is no equivalent replacement.
In conducting its removal reports, the City should be using the ISA Basic Tree Risk Assessment Form 2 edition, which it does not. This is the form Dudek, the consulting third party arborist used in the contracted assessment. This is the link to the form recommended by the profession:
2 83
page 83
https://wwv.isa-arbor.com/education/resources/BasicTreeRiskAssessmentForm Print 2017.pdf Except in cases of extreme and imminent danger of failure (as defined by ISA standards: "Failure has started or is most likely to occur in the near future, even if there is no significant wind or increased load.
This is an infrequent occurrence for a risk assessor to encounter."), community oversight of public tree removal, which is non-existent, is also needed. UFAC, a standing committee of the Design Commission, is the appropriate body to review City reports and recommend removal or retention and mitigation as these are not brought to the Commission or any other citizen advisory body. Currently, concerned citizens who contact the Citizen Service Center to inquire further about a tree noticed for removal are not directed to the Forestry Department or other responsible City Staff. The process for contacting the City or appealing a removal is absent yet also needed.
Amend the Ordinance to read as follows to recognize the importance to ensure fire safety and combat climate change through best practices that are efficient and effective, and encourage community oversight of our urban forest (suggested text with deletions and additions):
Section 8.52.015 - Purposes of ordinance.
B. Safeguard the City's urban forest by providing for the regulation of the protection, planting, maintenance and removal of trees in the city utilizing the current best practices of professional, certified arborists that are efficient and effective, and community oversight.
F. Create fovorablQ conditions for the protoction Protect designated landmark, native and specimen trees, for the benefit of current and future residents of Pasadena through favorable conditions and best management practices.
G. Maintain and enhance the general health, safety and welfare of the city and its residents by assisting in counteracting air pollution and in minimizing soil erosion and other related environmental damage, ensure fire safety, and combat climate change.
I. Establish procedures and practices for fulfilling the purposes of this city tree and tree protection ordinance, and provide public education about tree maintenance and protection.
Section 8.52.020 - Definitions
G. "Imminent." Active failyre.of the tree has started or is most likely to occur in the near future, even if there is no significant wind or increased load.
Section 8.52.150 - Notice of public tree removal.
The city manager shall give at least 10 days 30 days written notice to abutting property owners prior to the removal of any public tree. A written appeal may be submitted to the City Manager during that time period per this Section below. No notice shall be required to be given, however, if the public tree has been determined to be imminently hazardous of imminent failure under the standards in Section 8.52.080(G) and according to review utilizing the most current and best practices of certified arborists, with concurrence by a majority of UFAC.
Any recommendation for removal shall also contain a written evaluation of mitigation options, including but not limited to pruning,_bracjns or cabling, mulching, or other treatment.
In the event of a decision under this chapter for the removal of 3 or more public trees in an area, the city manager shall also notify the city council, the design commission UFAC, and any neighborhood organizations located in such area which are known. 3 84
page 84
A. City or consulting arborists shall be required to utilize the ISA Basic Tree Risk Assessment Form 2 edition, or any newer edition of that form, for alLtree evaluations. All arborists shall be trained to utilize the form prior to any assessment.
B. A "Notice of Removal" posted on any public tree for reason of condition (tree health) or non- condition (circumstances/location) shall remai n for th i rty (30) days and i n c ludetheemail address, phone number, and name of the appropriate City Staff person to contact and posted on the Public Works webi)age. Any aggrieved person may appeal removal of a public tree to the City Manager in writinE_within thirty (30) days of the date of the Notice. The City Manager or his OLh_er_designee shalLcontactthe appellant within fourteen (14) days of the date of the appeal letter with a decision and, if not in favor of the appellant, shall refer the appeal to UFAC for review and decision at its nexl_a_vajlable meeting. All UFAC.decJsions may be appealed to the City Council. This appeal process sh_ajl be posted on the PybNc_Works, Forestry and UFAC webpages.
Tree Equity
Public trees, especially our robust street trees with extensive canopies, are not dispersed equally throughout Pasadena. As a general trend, lower socio-economic neighborhoods tend to have fewer trees than wealthier ones. Additionally, the number of street trees along commercial corridors citywide, especially in the areas north of the 210 Freeway, is inconsistent and often lower compared to the number of trees and with less cover than in the Central District, South Lake Avenue, and the City's wealthier and more 'tourist' destinations. Ensuring equal access to the benefit of trees through a commitment to tree equity is needed, along with reforestation efforts.
American Forests, a national non-profit, has developed a "Tree Equity Score" that includes the current canopy cover for cities nationwide. The score is determined by collecting local current tree distribution data and comparing it to socio-economic and other demographic information. Statistical models then help identify areas that are particularly lacking in tree cover and are in need of focused reforestation efforts. A O-to-100-point scoring system is used to understand how tree equity varies across neighborhoods in a municipality. The score indicates whether a neighborhood has the right number of trees for all people to experience the health, economic, and other benefits that trees provide. The link to the Score is at the following website: https://www.treeeauitvscore.org/. Pasadena's EQuity Score shows inequity, ranging from a low of 70 to a high of 100 in areas on the west side, neighboring the Arroyo.
Amend the Ordinance as follows to recognize and encourage tree equity:
Section 8.52.015 - Purposes of ordinance.
J. Ensure tree equity so that all reside_nts experience adequate_lree cpyer and shall have equal access to the benefits that trees provide.
8.52.020-Definitions.
CC. "Tree Eg u itv" means ensuring all reside ntshaveequa l_acces_s to th e ben efits tre es p rovi d e, lnciydlng_byt_ngt limited to shade, reductiQnofthe 'heat lsland_effect,' absorption of pollutants, 4 85
page 85
cleaner air, environmental aesthetics, and encouraged pedestrian circulation.
Authority of the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee (UFAC) The Ordinance is currently silent on the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee (UFAC), a Design Commission standing committee with its own by-laws. The Ordinance needs to be amended so UFAC's role and authority is transparent and available to the community. Its authority in providing oversight of general management practices in the protection of the City's urban forest, especially with respect to tree removal, also needs clarity. Including at least two (2) UFAC members that are certified arborists would provide further professional background in its rendering of decisions and strengthen its role in community oversight.
Amend the Ordinance to add the following:
Section 8.52.051- Duties of Urban Forestry Advisory Committee.
Pursuant to section 2.80.135 of the Pasadena Municipal Code, the Design Commission may delegate to the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee (UFAC), as a standing subcommittee of the Design Commission, the folLowlns:
A. The review, advice, and recommendations with respect to street trees as are specified in Section 2.80.110 (B)(2) and (3), related to streetscapes and city construction, respectively;
B. The review, advice, and recommendations specified in Section 2.80.110 (B)(ll); C. For projects sent to the Design Commission for review under Title 17 of this code,the review of landscape design plans, and related permits and tree protection plans_for protected trees on public and private property as well as_foj:,&lan ting new trees on such property; and
D. Pursuant to the Design Commission's action on August 9, 2004, UFACs authQritv to review, advise, and make recommendations related to the City's Master Street Jree Plan;
E. UFAC's authority to review, advise and make recommendations related to pybjjc_tre^ planting, maintenance, and removal practices, both condition and,n_on-conditioned- based. Except in the case of fully dead trees, UFAC shall review all removal reports for all condition-based removals of a) native tree, b) mature tree (greater than 19" DBH), c) landmark tree, and d) specimen tree as defined by 8.52.020; F. UFAC's authority to review and approve or deny written appeals made to the City Manager for tree removals, as well as to decide the appropriate course of action, whjch may also include requiring an independent arborist assessment or conducting of further testing, such as sonic tomography or soil testing; and
G. UFAC's duty to educate the public on best management practices_related to the care of public trees abutting private property.
Section 8.52.052 - Urban Forestry Advisory Committee Governance.
In accordance with Ordinance 2^0135_date d May 9^2002, which initiated the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee (UFAC), UFAC's performance of its duties and the exercise of its powers as set forth in Section 2.80.135 of the Pasadena Municipal Code and above,shall be governed by 5 86
page 86
its by-laws adopted on April 9. 2019, or as further amended by the City Council, and shall include the following: membership on_UF_AC shall include at least two (2) independent, certified arborists.
Private Care of Public Trees
Private property owners and those in possession or control of real property are allowed to plant public parkways adjacent to their property within certain Municipal Code height and other limitations. With that privilege should be the responsibility to help ensure parkways are maintained in a manner that ensures the health of any planted public tree within them. Public education is needed to assure street trees are watered sufficiently, are not over-watered, or hardscape or other plant materials do not endanger root systems or overall tree health. UFAC should regularly provide information on adequate care to the community and reach out especially to neighborhood organizations for dispersing information.
To increase private protection of public trees and increase education, amend the Ordinance as follows:
Section 8.52.076 - Work on public trees.
Public Trees. No permits will be issued to any person or entity for pruning or removal of public trees, and all pruning and removal of public trees shall be undertaken by employees or contractors of the city pursuant to Section 8.52.080 unless a written request is made and expressly granted by the City Manager. Any person desiring to initiate special maintenance or removal of a public tree by the city, may make a written request to the city manager and pay the costs of service and replacement at rates established by the city manager and set forth in the tree protection guidelines, should the request be granted. Any such request will be considered based on the provisions of this chapter, established public tree removal criteria, other ongoing public tree work and available resources. Removals shall be reviewed and a pp reived by UFAC.
Section 8.52.078 - Duty of abutting residents to cultivate trees on public property.
A. It is the duty of all persons owning or having the possession and/or control of real property within the city to properly cultivate^_care for and maintain.all trees now or hereafter planted or set out within any public street planting areas immediately adLa_cent_to_their respective real properties, subject, however, to: (1) the general supervision, direction and control of the City Manager and (2) the right of the city and franchised utility companies to perform any emergency or maintenance work deemed necessary. Th e city shall, at no cost toadjoining propertv owners remove, cut, prune or trim any street or public tree which is found to be dangerous to health and safety or for purposes of maintenance to ensure tree health.
B. It is the responsibility of all persons owning or having the possession of abutting real property for street tree maintenance that includes irrigation, keeping the right of way planting area free from weeds, debris or other obstructions inimical to public safety and/or contrary to the street Jandscaping plan/Master Street Tree Plan, keeping tree trunks and branches free from climbing vines, and otherwise maintaining such_areas in a manner fayorable to tree health.
C. It is the City's duty, via the City Manager or his or her desi&nee, to ensure that the communitv has access to the education and advice needed to ensure the species of street trees within the area adjacent to their properties are cared fp r and m a intajned i n a ma nne r that ensu res tree health. Information shall be posted as well on the City's website. 6 87
page 87
Urban Forestry Management Going Forward
Like the City of Claremont and other California jurisdictions, on February 8, 2022, the City of Beverly Hills City Council adopted a comprehensive Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP):
https://www.beverlvhills.org/DocumentCenter/View/5258/City-of-Beverly-Hills-Urban-Forest- Management-Plan-PDF
The purpose of the UFMP is to manage and grow the City's urban forest as a community asset. The aim is to promote "the sustainability of trees in the City in a way that maximizes their environmental benefits, while maintaining the City's established safety and economic goals...and supports a measurable planning framework that will support the City's urban forest over the next 20 to 30 years." The URMP looks at "the condition of the City's trees, management practices, policies and ordinances, and funding and provides an assessment of whether they are functioning at an optimal level, and provides recommendations where needed for improvement." The Plan also includes a chapter dedicated to assessing the severe fire hazard in the City's hillside areas to ensure "trees are contributing to a fire safe community."
Instead of revising its Master Street Tree Plan, Pasadena should learn from Beverly Hills and others, and develop a comprehensive UFMP to manage and grow a sustainable urban forest. Thus, the Ordinance should be amended as follows:
Section 8.52.015 - Purposes of ordinance.
X. Support the development and adoption of an Urban Forest Management Plan to protect and grow Pasadena's urba n forest for decades to come.
In conclusion, the UFTF urges the Design Commission to review the recommendations provided herein, arrive at a consensus on the need to revise the City's Trees and Tree Protection Ordinance, and urge the City Council to amend the Ordinance to strengthen Pasadena's commitment to a healthy and sustainable urban forest.
Ad Hoc Urban Forestry Task Force (UFTF) Members:
Julianna Delgado, PhD, FAICP (Planning and Design Commissions; Past President, BHNA) Megheti DerBoghossian (District 2 Field Representative for Councilmember Rick Cole) Bernard Halloran, PhD (Urban Forestry Advisory Committee) Carol Hunt-Hernandez (Chair, Planning Commission; District 5) Barbara Lambrecht, MArch, PhD (District 5)
Tina Miller (Historic Preservation Commission; Past President and Board Member, BHNA) Betsy Mitchell (Parks and Recreation Commission)
Jessica Richards, MS, MSW (Board Member, BHNA)
Suzanne York (Environmental Advisory Commission)
Attachments:
Pasadena Municipal Code Chapter 8.52, City Trees and Tree Protection Ordinance UFAC By-laws
7 88
page 88
Chapter 8.52 - CITY TREES AND TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE
8.52.010-Short title.
This chapter shall be known as the "city trees and tree protection ordinance." (Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
8.52.015 - Purposes of ordinance.
Pasadena is graced by the presence of thousands of mature trees that contribute long-term aesthetic, environmental, and economic benefits to the city. Aesthetically, trees offer dimensions in the form of color, shape, texture, scale and variety. Mature trees are often integral components of many historic sites and their presence contributes to the site's cultural and historic significance.
Environmental benefits derived by trees include the filtering of air pollutants; increasing atmospheric oxygen levels; stabilizing soils; reducing heat convection; decreasing wind speed; and reducing the negative effects of solar glare. The biological diversity of wildlife and plant communities is enhanced by the favorable conditions created by trees.
The economic benefits derived from trees include increased property values, and additional revenue generated by businesses, visitors and new residents attracted to the urban forest image of the city. Trees are a major capital asset to the city and like any valuable asset they require appropriate care and protection.
Therefore, it is the purpose of this ordinance to:
A. Preserve and grow Pasadena's canopy cover by protecting landmark, native and specimen trees on specified areas of private property and expanding the protection of street trees and trees on public property.
B. Safeguard the City's urban forest by providing for the regulation of the protection, planting, maintenance and removal of trees in the city.
C. Protect the visual and aesthetic character of the city.
D. Improve and enhance property values by conserving and adding to the distinctive and unique aesthetic character of the many areas of Pasadena.
E. Improve the quality of life for residents, visitors and wildlife.
F. Create favorable conditions for the protection of designated landmark, native and specimen trees, for the benefit of current and future residents of Pasadena.
G. Maintain and enhance the general health, safety and welfare of the city and its residents by assisting in counteracting air pollution and in minimizing soil erosion and other related environmental damage.
H. Protect and maintain healthy trees in the land use planning processes as set forth herein.
I. Establish procedures and practices for fulfilling the purposes of this city tree and tree protection ordinance.
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
89 page 89
8.52.020-Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms are defined as follows:
A. "City" shall mean the City of Pasadena.
B. "City manager" means the city manager and such representative as he or she may designate in writing.
C. "Diameter-at-breast-height (DBH)" means the diameter of the tree 41^ feet above ground on the uphill side of the tree. If a tree forks below breast height, it is considered "a multi-trunk." A measuring tape can be used to measure tree trunk circumference and then the circumstance divided by 3.14 to determine diameter.
D. "Established corner yard" means the area between the side property line and the principal structure on a lot.
E. "Established front yard" means the area between the front property line and the principal structure on a lot.
F. "hlazard" or "hazardous" means a tree, or part of a tree, that has a high potential for failure and falling on a nearby object because of dead or dying branches, roots or trunk.
G. "Injure" means any act or omission which substantially affects or seriously jeopardizes the health of a living tree, in the determination of the city manager.
H. "Landmark tree" means a tree designated as a landmark under Chapter 17.62 of this code as a tree of historic or cultural significance and of importance to the community due to any of the following factors: It is one of the largest or oldest trees of the species located in the city; it has historical significance due to an association with a historic building, site, street, person or event; or it is a defining landmark or significant outstanding feature of a neighborhood.
1. "Landmark-eligible tree" means a tree which meets the criteria for designation as a landmark tree, as determined by the review authority.
J. "Located" or "location" of a tree means that place where any portion of the trunk of a tree is found at natural grade.
K. "Maintain" or "maintenance" means pruning, trimming, spraying, fertilizing, watering, treating for disease or injury or any other similar act which promotes growth, health, beauty and life of trees.
L. "Master street tree plan" means the comprehensive street tree plan approved by the city council, which lists the official street tree to be planted or replaced for all streets or sections of streets within the city.
M. "Mature tree" means an otherwise non-protected tree with a diameter-at-breast-height (DBH) of 19 inches or greater.
N. "Median" or "traffic island" means a raised area within a street not used for vehicular traffic.
0. "Multi-tmnk" means any tree with multiple trunks attributed to a single tree. Each trunk shall be measured at a height of 41A feet above natural grade, and the combined areas of the trunks shall be used to determine the tree's size for the purposes of this ordinance.
P. "Native tree" means any tree with a trunk more than 8 inches in diameter at a height of 4 1/2 feet above natural grade that is one of the following species: Quercus agrifolia (Coast live oak), Quercus engelmannii (Engelmann oak), Quercus chrysolepis (Canyon oak), Platanus racemosa (California sycamore), Juglans californica (California walnut), Quercus berberidifolia (Scrub oak), Quercus lobata (Valley oak), Umbellularia californica (California bay), Populus fremontii (Cottonwood), Alnus rhombifolia (California aider), Populus trichocarpa (Black cottonwood), Salix lasiolepis (Arroyo willow), and Aesculus californica (California buckeye).
Q. "Official street tree" means an approved species of street tree designated in the master street tree plan.
90 page 90
R. "Parkway" means an area between the property line and the face of the curb, or an area between the property line and the area where the face of the curb would ordinarily be located.
S. "Property owner" means the person listed as the owner in fee simple of a lot or parcel with the office of county recorder or lawfully exercising the power of the property owner with respect to said lot or parcel.
T. "Protected tree" means a native, specimen, landmark, landmark-eligible, mature (except for the trees in RS or RM-12 zones), or public tree.
U. "Pruning" means the removal of dead, dying, diseased, live interfering, and weak branches according to the most recent standards of the International Society of Arboriculture.
V. "Public benefit" means a public purpose, service or use which affects residents as a community and not merely as particular individuals.
W. "Public tree" means a tree located in a place or area under ownership or control of the city including but without limitation streets, parkways, open space, parkland and including city owned property under the operational control of another entity by virtue of a lease, license, operating or other agreement.
X. "Replacement matrix" means the table of requirements for replanting replacement trees on private property when removing protected tree/s per Finding 6 in Section 8.52.075.
Y. "Specimen tree" means any tree meeting the criteria established by resolution of the city council by species and size of tree which is thereby presumed to possess distinctive form, size or age, and to be an outstanding specimen of a desirable species and to warrant the protections of this chapter.
Z. "Street" means any public right-of-way regardless of whether it is described as a street, avenue, road, boulevard, drive, lane, court, place, alley, or by any other such designation.
AA. "Street tree" means any public tree whose trunk is located primarily within any parkway, public sidewalk, street median, traffic island or other right-of-way under the ownership or control of the city by easement, license, fee title or other permissive grant of use.
BB. "Tree" means a woody plant that has a single main trunk with clear apical dominance (i.e., one primary stem is significantly larger than the secondary stem/s). (Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord. No. 7184, §2, 3-15-2010)
8.52.025-Applicability.
The provisions of this chapter providing protection for specific trees shall apply as follows, unless excepted by provisions of this chapter.
A. Native and specimen trees located in the established front yard, required side yard, established comer yard, or required rear yard of all property located in a single-family residential or RM-12 multifamily residential zone, and in all areas of all other zoning districts within the city.
B. Landmark trees and trees that meet the criteria for designation as a landmark as determined by the review authority.
C. Public trees located at all places within the city.
D. Mature trees in all zoning districts except for trees on properties subject to the RS or RM-12 development standards.
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
91 page 91
(Ord. No. 7184, §3, 3-15-2010)
8.52.030 - City manager responsibilities.
The city manager shall:
A. By use of city employees, private contractors or authorized volunteers, plant, maintain and otherwise care for, or, if necessary, remove public trees; B. Prepare an annual program for tree planting and tree care in public places of the city; C. Recommend to the city council changes or additions to the master street tree plan as needed; D. Inspect the planting, maintenance and removal of all public trees; E. Develop maintenance standards as they relate to trees in public places; F. Make determinations on public tree removal based upon tree reports prepared by certified arborists, other relevant facts, and upon established public tree removal criteria; G, Review development and construction plans as they affect mature, landmark, landmark-eligible, native, public and specimen trees;
H. Act as advisor to the design commission of the city; I. Prepare and periodically revise the tree protection guidelines; J. Prepare and submit the specimen tree list, and any revisions thereto to the city council for adoption by resolution;
K. Issue permits and make determinations specified under this chapter; L. Maintain a comprehensive inventory of public trees; and M. Act as the enforcement official who is designated to issue a compliance order or an administrative citation to enforce this chapter pursuant to Chapter 1.25 or 1.26, respectively, of this code.
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord. No. 7184, § 4, 3-15-2010; Ord. No. 7322, § 2, 5-7-2018)
8.52.032 - Tree protection guidelines.
Tree protection guidelines are the standards and specifications for the protection of trees under this chapter. The tree protection guidelines, and any revision thereto, shall be prepared by the city manager.
All guidelines and any revisions thereto shall be effective upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the city. All published guidelines shall be filed with the city clerk and will be linked to the official website of the city.
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord. No. 7322, §3, 5-7-2018)
8.52.040 - Consultation policy.
Alt departments, agencies and personnel of the city shall consult with the city manager prior to engaging in any action which would require the removal of, or which would otherwise substantially affect or seriously jeopardize the health of any existing public tree. 92 page 92
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
8.52.050 - Design commission.
The design commission shall review, advise and make recommendations to the city council relating to the city's tree planting, maintenance and removal practices and proposed amendments to the master street tree plan.
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
8.52.060 - Protection policy.
It shall be the policy of the city to protect and maintain mature and healthy trees. Special consideration shall be afforded mature, public, landmark, landmark-eligible, native and specimen trees as set forth in this chapter.
A. Incentives for the Preservation of Mature Trees. When considering an application for any permit or approval that preserves mature trees, a decision may be made through the design review process or other entitlement process to waive development standards or accept alternative solutions to assist in the preservation of these trees. The review authority or director, if there is no other review authority, may modify the development standards or accept alternative solutions to assist in the preservation of protected trees. Modifications may include a reduction to garden requirements, guest parking requirements, location of driveways and building height limits. The review authority may approve the modification of up to two development standards after first finding that:
1. Applicant investigated alternative site designs and building footprints using existing development standards;
2. Tree/s to be preserved is/are in good health and condition (taking into account species and longevity) as determined by a certified arborist;
3. Project includes a well integrated and thoughtful design solution that enhances the property and its surroundings;
4. Project is not injurious to adjacent properties or uses, or detrimental to environmental quality, quality of life, or the health, safety, and welfare of the public; and
5. Project is consistent with the objectives and policies of the applicable design guidelines and the citywide design principles in the general plan. (Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord. No. 7184, §5, 3-15-2010)
8.52.065 - Designation of landmark trees.
Any person or city agency may propose to the historic preservation commission that a tree meets the criteria set forth in Section 8.52.020 and should be designated as a landmark under Chapter 17.62 and, thereby, as a landmark tree under this Chapter 8.52.
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord. No. 7184, §6, 3-15-2010)
93 page 93
8.52.066 - Designation of native and specimen trees.
Designation of native, specimen and mature trees. All trees meeting the definition of native, specimen, landmark, landmark-eligible, or mature trees in Section 8.52.020 are automatically subject to the protections of this chapter, as of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter. (Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord. No. 7184, §7, 3-15-2010)
8.52.070 - Private property tree removal and landmark tree pruning permits—Applications.
A. Where other discretionary approval is requested: Where a property owner wishes to remove a tree protected under this ordinance as part of a plan for which a discretionary approval under Title 17 of this code is othenwise required, the application for discretionary approval shall also be deemed an application for a permit under this chapter to the decision maker for the discretionary approval. Any decision on the application for a permit shall be subject to the same procedures for appeal and call for review as a decision on the associated discretionary approval.
B. Where no discretionary approval is requested: Where a property owner wishes to remove a tree protected under this ordinance on private property, and no other discretionary approval is required under Title 17 of this code, an application shall be made to the city manager or his/her designee for a permit according to the standard application procedures and submittal requirements set forth in Chapter 17.60 except that the decision shall be made in accordance with the time set forth in Section
8.52.075(B). A decision on an application shall be made according to the standards of this chapter and shall be subject to the same procedures for appeal and call for review set forth in Chapter 17.72 as if it were a decision of the director within the meaning of that chapter. No noticed public hearing shall be required for an application under this section unless otherwise required by another section of this code or state or federal law.
C. Landmark tree pruning. Any property owner desiring to prune a landmark tree located on their property shall make an application to the city manager on a form provided by the city to assure that the pruning shall be conducted according to the most recent standards of the International Society of Arboriculture.
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord. No. 7184, §8, 3-15-2010)
8.52.075 - Private property tree removal and landmark tree pruning permits—Issuance.
A. Any permit or approval which will result in injury to or removal of a mature, landmark, landmark- eligible, native or specimen tree protected under this chapter shall be denied unless one of the following findings is made: (1) there is a public benefit as defined in Section 8.52.024(R), or a public health, safety or welfare benefit, to the injury or removal that outweighs the protection of the specific tree; or (2) the present condition of the tree is such that it is not reasonably likely to survive; or (3) tree is an objective feature of the tree that makes the tree not suitable for the protections of this chapter; or (4) there would be a substantial hardship to a private property owner in the enjoyment and use of real property if the injury or removal is not permitted; or (5) to not permit injury to or removal of a tree would constitute a taking of the underlying real property; or (6) the project, as defined in Section 17.12.020, includes a landscape design plan that emphasizes a tree canopy that is sustainable over the long term by adhering to the replacement matrix prepared by the city manager and included in the associated administrative guidelines. Finding 6 shall not apply to permits or approvals seeking removal of a landmark tree and landmark-eligible trees. In addition, for 94 page 94
removal of a landmark tree, any such permit or approval shall be denied unless procedures specified for removal of landmarks in Chapter 17.62 are first followed.
B. An application shall be granted, denied, or granted conditionally on the date of the associated discretionary decision, or, if none, within 15 business days after a complete application is made. The approval may be based on imposed conditions reasonably necessary to meet the standards of this chapter.
C. Alternative to Replacement Matrix Requirements. When using Finding 6 for removal of protected trees, the planting of required replacement trees on-site may be satisfied through the following alternative, in compliance with the city's regulations for the implementation of this chapter.
1. Alternative Replacement Fee. The developer may request to pay a fee instead of planting on site up to 50 percent of the required number of replacement trees, as follows:
a. The amount of the fee shall be 100 percent of the appraised value of the tree/s that cannot be replaced.
i. Applicant must submit an application that includes: an appraisal by a certified arborist utilizing the most recent edition of the Guide for Plant Appraisal (published by the International Society of Arboriculture), the number replacement trees calculated using the replacement matrix, and a report by a certified arborist or landscape architect that determines that the number of required on-site replacement trees would inhibit healthy growth (e.g., overcrowding of new trees; interfere with roots and canopy of existing protected trees and street trees);
ii. Up to 50 percent of the required replacement trees must be planted on-site and the replacement fee shall be a maximum of 50 percent of the appraised value of all trees to be removed, prorated as necessary.
b. The review authority may approve an alternative replacement fee only after first making all of the following findings:
i. Applicant investigated alternative site designs and building footprints using existing development standards;
ii. Placing the required number of replacement trees on site with existing plan is not conducive to a sustainable landscape plan (e.g., overcrowding with existing or new trees; occluding important view corridors; disrupting the configuration of existing open space; or a landscape design which has historic or aesthetic importance; interfering with existing site features—walls, driveways, berms, planting beds, pergolas—which have historic or aesthetic importance);
iii. A minimum of 50 percent of the required replacement trees are on-site and the spacing and selection of the proposed trees and the landscape design contributes to the city's long-term goals of a sustainable urban forest as determined by the city's arborist;
iv. Project includes a well-integrated and thoughtful design solution that enhances the property and its surroundings;
v. Project is not injurious to adjacent properties or uses, or detrimental to environmental quality, quality of life, or the health, safety, and welfare of the public; and vi. Project is consistent with the objectives and policies of the applicable design guidelines and the citywide design principles in the general plan. c. One-half of the alternative replacement fee required by this subsection shall be paid (or alternate security provided in a form acceptable to the director of finance) before issuance of a building permit for any part of the project. The remainder of the fee shall be paid before a certificate of occupancy is issued for any portion of the project. 95 page 95
d. Fees collected in compliance with this section shall be specified for additional plantings that are above and beyond the city's regular planting programs. (Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord.No. 7184, § 9, 3-15-2010; Ord.No. 7322, § 4, 5-7-2018)
8.52.076 - Work on public trees.
Public Trees. No permits will be issued to any person or entity for pruning or removal of public trees, and all pruning and removal of public trees shall be undertaken by employees or contractors of the city pursuant to Section 8.52.080. Any person desiring to initiate special maintenance or removal of a public tree by the city, may make a written request to the city manager and pay the costs of service and replacement at rates established by the city manager and set forth in the tree protection guidelines, should the request be granted. Any such request will be considered based on the provisions of this chapter, established public tree removal criteria, other ongoing public tree work and available resources. (Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord. No. 7322, §5, 5-7-2018)
8.52.077 - Tree relocation.
If recommended by a certified arborist or landscape architect, proposals to relocate a protected tree shall be considered by the review authority if after receiving an approval, the applicant posts a performance bond (or alternate security provided in a form acceptable to the director of finance) in an amount equal to 100% of the appraised value of relocated tree/s, calculated using the most recent edition of the Guide for Plant Appraisal published by the International Society of Arboriculture) to ensure that the relocated trees are properly established and maintained for three years. Landmark trees are ineligible for relocation.
(Ord.No.7184,§ 11,3-15-2010)
8.52.080 - Exemptions—No permit required for certain pruning and removal.
A. No permit is required to prune a native or specimen tree on private property as long as the tree is not injured.
B. No permit is required to prune, injure or remove a tree that is not explicitly protected by this chapter.
C. Where immediate action is required for the protection of life or property, no permit is required to remove or to injure a protected tree which has been determined to be hazardous, by the city manager or his/her designee, any police officer or any fire fighter, after inspection of the tree.
D. No permit is required for city employees or contractors of the city to do the following: to prune native, public or specimen trees under the direction of the city manager; to prune native, public or specimen trees as required for compliance with statewide regulations applicable to trees around electrical lines; to injure or remove native, public or specimen trees as the city manager has determined is necessary or prudent for the public health, safety or welfare provided advance notice is given by the city manager to the city council unless advance notice is not feasible, in which case notice will be given promptly thereafter. All tree removal shall be otherwise consistent with adopted public tree removal criteria.
96 page 96
E. No permit is required to prune, injure or remove a tree on a project for which a variance, conditional use permit or design review approval has been obtained from the city prior to the effective date of this chapter or for a project for which a valid building permit has been lawfully issued by the city prior to the effective date of this ordinance.
F. No permit is required for any tree removal undertaken to cover the city-owned drainage channel known as the East Side Storm Drain as shown on Drawing No. 5095 on file in the offices of the city department of public works and transportation.
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord.No.7184,§ 10,3-15-2010)
8.52.085 - Prohibited acts.
The following are prohibited acts under this chapter unless expressly exempted:
A. Landmark Tree. To prune, injure, or to remove without a permit, a landmark tree located anywhere in the city.
B. Native Tree. To injure, or to remove without a permit, any native tree located in the established front yard, required side yard, established corner yard, or required rear yard of all property located in a single-family residential or RM-12 multifamily residential zone, and in all areas of all other zoning district anywhere in the city.
C. Public Tree. To prune, to injure or to remove a public tree located anywhere in the city.
D. Specimen Tree. To injure, or to remove without a permit, any specimen tree located in the established front yard, required side yard, established corner yard, or required rear yard of all property located in a single-family residential or RM-12 multifamily residential zone, and in all areas of all other zoning districts anywhere in the city.
E. Landmark-Eligible Tree. To injure, or to remove without a permit, any iandmark-eligible tree located in the established front yard, required side yard, established comer yard, or required rear yard of all projects subject to RS and RM-12 development standards, and in all areas of all other zoning district anywhere in the city.
F. Mature Tree. To injure, or to remove without a permit, any mature tree located in any zone except projects subject to RS and RM-12 development standards.
G. To plant a tree of a species other than the official street tree in a parkway, median or traffic island, and a violator shall be subject to a civil penalty.
H. To fail to adhere to the terms and conditions of any permit issued under this chapter.
I. To fail to adhere to the terms of any tree protection plan imposed as a condition of any discretionary land use approval or development agreement with the city.
J. To do or commit any unpermitted act that is injurious to a protected tree, including, but not limited to, causing root damage, damage to the trunk, scarring, or any other unpermitted alteration of a protected tree.
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord.No. 7184, § 12, 3-15-2010; Ord.No. 7322, § 6, 5-7-2018) 97 page 97
8.52.090 - Sidewalk and street repair.
The repair of sidewalks, curbs, gutters or streets may create a need to prune tree roots to the extent that the tree is damaged or becomes unstable. When this occurs, the city manager, whose decision shall be final, shall give consideration to the following in lieu of action that may damage, destabilize or cause the removal of a tree:
A. To not make such improvements;
B. To displace the sidewalk laterally away from the tree trunk, either locally for each tree, or uniformly along length of the street;
C. To displace the curb and gutter laterally into the paved roadway of the street, either locally, or uniformly along a length of the street, which in some cases may necessitate the prohibiting of street parking of vehicles at all times, provided such displacement does not create traffic hazard, or conditions adverse to proper street sweeping or drainage; D. To defer repairs with temporary asphalt patch to eliminate hazard; E. To widen the parkway;
F. To relocate the sidewalk or curb;
G. To eliminate the sidewalk on one side of the street; H. To raise the sidewalk.
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
8.52.100 - Hazards—Private property.
It shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter to allow any tree, shrub or plant located primarily on private property to create a hazard or to create danger or likelihood of harm to any public place, public area, parkway or street or to public health, safety or welfare. (Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
8.52.110 - Protection of trees during improvements.
During the construction, repair, alteration, relocation or removal of any building, structure or accessory structure in the city, no person in control of such work shall leave any protected tree without sufficient guards or protections to prevent injury to the protected tree, in connection with such construction, repair, alteration, relocation or removal and it shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter to do so.
Condition monitoring shall be required for all projects with affected protected trees and/orthe planting to ensure that trees are properly established and maintained for three years. (Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord.No.7184,§ 13,3-15-2010)
8.52.120 - Attachments to street trees.
No person shall, without the written permission of the city manager, attach or keep attached to any public tree, street tree, shrub or plant in any street, park or other public place of the city, or to the guard or stake intended for the protection there of, any wire, rope, sign, nail or any other device whatsoever. 98 page 98
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
8.52.140 - Interference.
No person shall interfere with any city employee or city contractor acting under this chapter. (Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
8.52.150 - Notice of public tree removal.
The city manager shall give at least 10 days written notice to abutting property owners prior to the removal of any public tree. No notice shall be required to be given, however, if the public tree has been determined to be hazardous under the standards in Section 8.52.080(0). In the event of a decision under this chapter for the removal of 3 or more public trees in an area, the city manager shall also notify the city council, the design commission and any neighborhood organizations located in such area which are known.
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
8.52.155 - Prosecution of violations.
A violation of any provision of this chapter shall be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or infraction at the option of the city prosecutor and as further set forth in Section 8.52.160 with respect to penalties and administrative proceedings.
(Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord. No. 7322, §7, 5-7-2018)
8.52.160 - Penalties and administrative proceedings.
A. Misdemeanors. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter and is convicted of a misdemeanor shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or by imprisonment for a period of not more than 6 months or by both such fine and imprisonment.
B. Infractions. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter and is convicted of an infraction shall be punished by a fine as established in Section 1.24.025. Each person convicted may be deemed guilty of a separate offense for every day during any portion of which any violation is committed or permitted.
C. In addition to the penalty provisions of subsections A and B of this section, violations of Sections
8.52.085, 8.52.100, 8.52.110, 8.52.120 or 8.52.140 may be subject to the administrative proceedings set forth in Chapters 1.25 and 1.26 of this code, including, but without limitation, civil penalties, late payment penalties, administrative fees, other related charges and, to the maximum extent permitted by law, tree replacement costs as established by the city manager and as set forth in the tree protection guidelines.
D. Civil Penalties. In addition to the penalty provisions of subsections A, B and C of this section, the city may bring a civil action against any person who commits, allows, or maintains a violation of any provision of this chapter. As part of such civil action, a court may assess against any person who commits, allows or maintains a violation of any provision of this chapter a civil penalty in an amount up to five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) per violation or in an amount as set forth below:
99 page 99
1. Where the violation has resulted in irreparable injury to or removal of a tree, the civil penalty shall be in an amount of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) per tree unlawfully injured or removed, or in the full amount of the replacement value of each such tree, whichever amount is higher. Such amount shall be payable to the city. Replacement value for the purposes of this section shall be determined utilizing the most recent edition of the Guide for Plant Appraisal, published by the International Society of Arboriculture ("ISA").
2. Injunctive Relief. A civil action may be commenced to abate, enjoin, or otherwise compel the cessation of such violation.
3. Costs. In any civil action brought pursuant to this chapter in which the city prevails, the court shall award to the city all costs of investigation and preparation for trial, the costs of trial, reasonable expenses including overhead and administrative costs incurred in prosecuting the action, and reasonable attorney fees.
E. In addition to the penalty provisions of subsections A, B, C, and D of this section, the city may suspend or revoke any application for, or grant of, any discretionary permit that may be associated with the address upon which such irreparable injury or removal of a protected tree has occurred.
1. Protected Trees. If a tree that is protected by this chapter is irreparably injured or removed in violation of this chapter after the responsible person has been previously notified or warned of the tree's protected status, then no building or construction-related permits shall be issued, and no permits or use of the property shall be allowed, from the date of irreparable injury or removal for a period of one year.
2. Date of Actual Injury or Removal. For purposes of this section, the irreparable injury or removal of any tree protected by this chapter shall be presumed to have occurred on the date the city has actual knowledge of the injury or removal. The person responsible for the injury or removal shall have the burden of proving a different date if one is claimed. (Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
(Ord. No. 7322, §8, 5-7-2018)
8.52.165 - Remedies not exclusive.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, administrative remedies specified in this chapter are in addition to and do not supersede or limit any and all other remedies, civil or criminal. The remedies provided for herein shall be cumulative and not exclusive. (Ord. 6896 § 2 (part), 2002)
100
page 100
City of Pasadena Urban Forestry Advisory Committee
A subcommittee of the Design Commission
By-Laws
April 9, 2019
In accordance with Ordinance 2.80.135 which initiated the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee dated May 9th, 2002, the following by-laws shall govern the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee of the City of Pasadena in the performance of its duties and the exercise of its powers as set forth in Section 2.80.135 of the Pasadena Municipal Code).
Delegation of Authority
Pursuant to section 2.80.135 of the Pasadena Municipal Code, UFACmay be delegated by the Design Commission the following: the review, advise and recommendations with respect to street trees as are specified in in Section 2.80.110 (B)(2) and (3), related to streetscapes and city construction, respectively; the review, advice and recommendations specified in Section 2.80.110 (B)(ll); and for projects sent to the Design Commission for review under Title 17 of this code, the review of landscape design plans, and related permits and tree protection plans for protected trees on public and private property as well as for planting new trees on such property.
On August 9, 2004, the Design Commission reaffirmed UFAC's ongoing practice of reviewing non-hazardous tree removal requests. Additionally, the Design Commission delegated UFAC the authority to review, advise and make recommendations related to the City's Master Street Tree Plan; and delegated UFAC the authority to review, advise and make recommendations related to public tree planting, maintenance and removal practices.
Membership
1. Membership terms for UFAC members serving as representatives of either the Design Commission or Parks and Recreation Commission serve concurrent with their commission term, and term out with their respective commission term. At that time, the Design or Parks and Recreation Commission shall elect another representative to UFAC.
2. The Pasadena Beautiful Foundation representative is selected by that organization and shall serve a 3 year term with the possibility of an additional 3 year term for a total of 6 years.
3. There are two "At Large" UFAC members as selected by the City Council. These members shall demonstrate knowledge and experience in arboriculture, or in the alternative, one of whom maybe another representative of the Pasadena Beautiful Foundation. Each membershall serve a 3yearterm with the possibility of an additional 3 year term, for a total of 6 years.
Vacancies
Should the office of the chair or vice chair become vacant, the committee shall elect a successor from its members at the next regular meeting.
Public Meetings:
All meetings of UFAC shall be open to the public and to the press and in conformance with the Brown Act..
Member Responsibility:
No committee member shall purport to represent UFAC without the prior approval of a majority of the committee.
Code of Ethics:
The Code of Ethics shall be in conformance with Resolution No. 4830 as provided in the Commissioner Orientation Handbook.
101
page 101
Conflicts of Interest:
Conflicts of interest shall be in conformancewith Section III -Conflicts of Interest-of the Commissioner Orientation Handbook.
Attendance:
A. Members of the committee shall inform the recording secretary at least 48 hours prior to a regular meeting of the committee if they are unable to attend the scheduled meeting. Anymemberwho is absent from three consecutive regular meetings of the committee, and who has not provided prior notice shall be deemed to have resigned from membership. The recording secretary shall notify the secretary to the Mayor of any member with three consecutive unexcused absences. Committee members who are to be absent shall notify the chair and the recording secretary, stating the reason for the absence by email. The chair of the committee may excuse absences. Absences shall be recorded in the minutes as "absent" or "excused."
B. Quorum. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
Chair
The chair of the committee shall preside at all meetings of the committee with the same responsibility to vote as other members, and shall have the powers and duties usually incident to such office as prescribed in Robert s Rules of Order, latest revised edition.
Vice Chair
The vice chair of the committee shall carry out the duties of the chair in the chair's absence. If neither the chair nor the vice chair is present at a meeting, the duties of chair shall be assumed by the most recent past chair, Recording Secretary
The Public Works Director shall designate an employee to act as recording secretary to the committee. The duties of the recording secretary shall be to take minutes of all committee meetings, to make and serve all required notices, and such other duties as may be prescribed by the Public Works director.
Reports of the Director of Public Works
The Public Works Director may designate staff of the Public Works Department to make any reports, recommendations or presentations to the committees which are required by ordinance or these By-Laws.
Proceedings
Regular Meetings:
Unless circumstances warrant otherwise, the committee shall hold at least one regular meeting per month, scheduled on the second Wednesday. The committee shall designate location and the hour and day of the month upon which its regular meetings shall be held. Upon theestablishmentof the time and place of such meetings, notice in writing shall be given each member thereof by the recording secretary, to the City Council and to the City Manager. Such notice shall constitute notice of each meeting thereafter held pursuant to such action until such time is changed by action of the committee, and no other or further notice shall be required.
Special Meetings:
Special meetings must be in conformance with Sections- Public Meetings- of the Commissioner Orientation Handbook,and must not be scheduled in conflict with the regular meetings of the Design Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, or Recreation and Parks Commission, when a memberofone of those bodies is also a member of UFAC.
102
page 102
Robert's Rules of Order
Order of business for the committee shall be as follows, unless altered by the chair:
1. Call to order
2. Roll call
3. Comments from the public on matters not on the agenda
4. Comments on the agenda
5. Approval of minutes
6, New Business/Action Items
7. Comments from the staff/Announcements
8. Comments from the commission Committee
9. Date of next meeting
11. Adjournment.
The following procedure shall be followed by UFAC in reviewing New Business/Action Items applications:
A. The title of the matter before the committee shall be read or announced by the recording secretary.
B. The committee chair shall request that the staff report be presented to the committee.
C. Questions to Staff from the Committee Members.
D. The chair shall call for the applicant or proponent to present or submit additional facts or evidence.
E. The chair shall call for statements of any other persons about the matter under consideration by filling out a speaker card and delivering the card to the recording secretary.
F. In hearings where there are delegations or groups of persons as proponents or opponents, the chair may request the group or delegation to appoint spokespersons in order to aid in an orderly presentation of the evidence and to avoid redundancy.
G. On completion of statements of proponents and opponents, an opportunity for rebuttal shall be given to the applicant.
I. The chair, after completion of statements by applicants, proponents and opponents, shall declare the matter to be closed to public comment. Thereafter, no further evidence shall be received by the committee, unless the majority of the committee votes to reopen the matter for public comment.
J. The committee shall then take action by voting on the matter, either by approving, approving with conditions, denying, or continuing the matter for further consideration. The action shall be made by motion, a second and a vote of the committee.
K. The chair shall announce the decision of the committee. Where the matter is under advisement, the chair shall state that any person wishing to be given notice of the action of the committee shall file, in writing, his or her name and address with the recording secretary.
L. Field Inspection. The chair shall announce any field inspection to be made, stating the itinerary, date and time of recessing and reconvening.
Preserving Decorum
In all matters and considerations not otherwise provided for in these rules, the proceedings of the committee are governed by the most recent edition of "Robert's Rules of Order." During a public hearing or other meeting where the public is authorized to speak, no person may speak unless recognized by the chair who shall not unduly withhold such recognition. The Chair has authority to restrict public comment to a time to be specified, if they wish, and stated prior to public comment beginning of public comment.
All persons shall preface their comments by citing their name and address for the record. Once a motion is before the committee, the public will not be permitted to speak nor comment aloud during the committee or discussion of the motion.
Voting
All voting shall be by voice vote unless a roll call is requested by the chair or a memberof the committee. No action of the committee shall be valid without a majority vote of all members present. Any member may have an
103
page 103
explanation of her or his vote recorded in the official minutes provided the request is made while the vote is being taken or before the next item of business is taken up.
Minutes
Minutes of committee meetings shall be distributed to each member prior to approval. The minutes shall be prepared as "Action Minutes" in conformance with Resolution No. 7508. The minutes shall be reviewed and approved priorto them entering into the permanent UFAC record.
Agenda
The Public Works Director or assigned representative shall prepare an agenda for each committee meeting to transmit to the individual members of the committee and other interested persons at least 72 hours prior to the meeting, and post on the City's Web Site.
Submittals
The Public Works Director shall establish procedures and schedule for submittals by applicants to the committee, Submittals shall include information and plans as may be reasonably required by the committee in its deliberations.
LimitingTestimony
At any meeting or hearing, the chair may limit the presentation of any testimony to relevant matters, and place reasonable restrictions upon the time of presentation.
Election of Officers
Nominating Committee
The committee shall elect its officers according to the following procedure. Any member of the commission may volunteer to serve on the nominating committee, whose function it shall be to make recommendations to the full committee on candidatesfor the offices of chair and vice chair. The nominating committee shall consist of two or three committee members.
Election of Officers
The committee shall schedule an election of officers for the last regular meeting of the committee in June. The newly elected officers shall commence the performanceof their duties at the next regular meeting of the committee after the meeting at which the election of officers is held. The chair and vice chair office shall last one year and shall not serve more than two consecutive terms.
Guidelines
A. The following documents shall serve as standards for deliberations by the committee and current copies shall be given to each UFAC member upon joining the committee.
The Committee By-laws
Master Street Tree Plan
City Trees and Tree Protection Ordinance
Commissioners Handbook
Amendments
These rules may be amended by City Council according to Section II of the Commissioner Orientation Handbook.
104
page 104
Takeda, Michi
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Lisa Quinnl
Tuesday, May 27, 2025 1:43 PM
commentsDC
Support of the revision of the Trees Ordinance to protect our urban forest IYou don't often get email fronfl. Learn why this is important { I ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
I support the revision of the Trees Ordinance to protect our urban forest.
I spoke at the May 14 UFAC meeting regarding my experience with a specific tree scheduled for removal by the city.
There is no process for the community to appeal.
I called the Citizens Service Center as directed on the removal notice. They could not provide any information and informed me that the forestry department which was in charge, could not be reached directly.
They submitted a question for me as to why the tree was going to be taken down and read me the answer when it came back. It was very hard to understand, but there seemed to be no way to get clarification or to do anything about it.
It was suggested at the UFAC meeting that perhaps these folks were not well trained or that this was a fluke. It was not. I called back on Friday, May 23rd and got the same treatment, leaving me frustrated that there were no steps I could take that would have any effect on the determination.
I feel strongly that there needs to be:
1) An appeal process and instructions on the white Removal Paper posted on the tree as to exactly what a citizen can do to appeal
2) A Board of Appeals consisting of independent arborists to make the final decision about killing or saving a tree
3) A Report Form requiring a listing of ways the tree in question could be helped to regain its health 4) A place on the Tree Removal Report form to list all the methods that were used to try to save the tree Lisa Quinn
91104
1 105
page 105
Takeda, Michi
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
MalieTsumnaga
Thursday, May 22, 2025 7:42 PM
commentsDC
Tree ordinance
[You don't often get email from |
https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderldentification ]
|Learn why this is important at
[ i ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal, It's not bad but we should require more trees rather than just prosecuting their removal.
We should require a certain shade area in all above ground parking lots coming from trees so developers don't just plant small sickly non shade trees.
Happy with the revocation of building permits but other penalties seem slight. Many people just factor in the cost of penalties when they cut down protected trees.
In fact maybe tie penalties to the side/age of the trees.
You should also consider helping homeowners with deep watering so the roots don't break up sidewalks.
And finally I hope you never repeat the removal of the beautiful shade trees on Colorado. Downtown now looks like San Bernardino and not the cool old part.
1 106
page 106
Takeda, Michi
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
SuzanneYorkl
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 6:37 AM
commentsDC
Takeda, Michi
Strengthening Pasadenas tree ordinance
Some people who received this message don't often get email frorLearn why this is important [ l ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Good evening commissioners. My name is Suzanne York and I'm a Pasadena resident.
I'm writing tonight because our city's current tree ordinance is inadequate. With increasmgly extreme heat and wildfire risk, we need our mature and native trees more than ever. Each mature tree removes about 48 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, cools our air, filters pollution, stabilizes soil, and provides critical habitat and shade. Fire-tolerant native species even help suppress embers and protect our homes.
But Pasadena is losing hundreds of trees evety year—many of them mature, healthy, and irreplaceable. While some tree loss is unavoidable, we are not doing enough to prevent umiecessary' removals or engage the public in the process.
I urge you to revise the ordinance with the following improvements:
Create a clear and accessible appeal process for tree removals. Right now, public input goes nowhere unless we organize rallies or call the media—this is not sustainable. • Require written evaluations of mitigation options—like pmning or treatment—before any removal moves forward.
Add two certified arborists to the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee, and ensure UFAC reviews all removals of mature or native trees.
Give UFAC real authority to request independent assessments or additional testing like sonic tomography.
Use standardized tools like the ISA Basic Tree Assessment Form to guide decisions.
And finally, educate and support residents in caring for trees on the parkways near their homes.
Our trees are not disposable—they are vital infrastructure in a changing climate. Please act now to protect and preserve them with a stronger, smarter ordinance. Thank you. 1 107
page 107
Takeda, Michi
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Tina Miller
Monday, May 26, 2025 10:10 PM
commentsDC
Comment for 05.27.2025 Meeting of the Design Commission - Tree Protection Ordinance
You don't often get email fro�. Learn why this is important [ 1 ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Dear Design Commissioners,
I am writing in strong support of the much needed revisions to the Tree Protection Ordinance. Although each of the topics stated in the Ad Hoc Urban Forestry Task Force are very important, I feel the area that needs extra attention is the role of the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee (UFAC). Like you, Pasadena residents serve on this city committee to provide opinions to the departmen s aff. But unlike you, UFAC has no real authority. Their opinions are just that, opinions. Therefore, the committee's role should be strengthen so that it has a true purpose. It should provide a place where concerned residents can voice their thoughts to the UFAC members regarding tree treatment and be heard knowing that has their concerns have consequences and weight.
To insure that the committee speaks from knowledge, they should be required to attend educational forestry workshops. This requirement is necessary for other city commissions and should be followed by UFAC, also. It would also benefit from having a couple of certified arborists to provide even more independent and in depth review.
Thank you.
Tina Miller
Chair of the Historic Preservation Commission
Board Member of the Bungalow Heaven Neighborhood Association 1 108
page 108
CORRESPONDENCE
FROM 06/02/2025
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
109
page 109
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Victor Caballero
Thursday, May 22, 2025 7:33 PM
Reyes, David
Hampton, Tyron; Marquez, Miguel; Avedian, Varoojan; Jones, Justin; Cole, Rick; Gordo, Victor; Madison, Steve; Lyon, Jason; PublicComment-AutoResponse; Masuda, Gene; Rivas, Jessica
Re: State of PWP EV DC Fast Charging in Pasadena May 2025 [ l ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you toowthe content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
I want to let you know I went to Victory Park tonight and while all the DC Fast chargers did not work, it is encouraging to see new visible signage. I called to report two vehicles blocking fast chargers and not charging.
How can we get parking enforcement to making regular rounds at these Locations and enforce.
Other than reporting violations is there anything I can do to be supportive? Regards,
Victor
On Non, May 19, 2025 at 11:27 AM Reyes, David <davidreyes(a)cityofpasadena.net> wrote:
Hi Victor,
Thanks for taking time to write this email.
As of Thursday, of last week, out of 288 total chargers we had 23 that were networking. I recognize that you are focused of the fast chargers, where the percentage of non-operable chargers is much higher. We are working on multiple contracts for repairs, new installations and ongoing maintenance. We have a company on retainer performing work now, but hope to have multiple companies very soon.
As far as the cost, we are currently going through a rate study and the cost will Likely be increased. I will ask staff to take a look at the signage issue.
1 110
page 110
Happy to provide update on number of chargers at end of week and are website will be upgraded very soon so that downed chargers will be shown and updated. This has been an issue where one charger is fixed and another goes down so that we are constantly chasing it.
Thankyou,
David
—-Original Message-—
From: Victor Caballero'
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2025 10:49 AM
To: Reyes, David <[email protected]>
Cc: Hampton.Tyron <[email protected]>; Marquez, Miguel <miguelmarquez(a)cityofpasadena.net>; Avedian, Varoojan <[email protected]>; Jones, Justin <justinjones@)cityofpasadena.net>; Cole, Rick <[email protected]>; Gordo, Victor <[email protected]>: Madison, Steve <[email protected]>; Lyon, Jason <[email protected]>: PublicComment-AutoResponse <[email protected]>; Masuda, Gene <gmasuda(acityofpasadena.net>; Rivas. Jessica <jerivas(a)cityofpasadena.net> Subject: State of PWP EV DC Fast Charging in Pasadena May 2025 [ A } CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
I Mr. Reyes,
Good morning.
As of this morning the state of PWP DC Fast charging is no better and actually worse.
For instance
Robinson Park, only 2 of 5 DC Fast chargers work. One of the 5 is on but does not work. 2 111
page 111
Victory Park, 1 out of 3 DC Fast chargers works.
Del Mar, 1 of 2 DC Fast chargers works.
Shopper's Lane as of Last week it appeared Less than half the ports worked. The ports that showed as working, the connector would not work, or the credit card machines did not register.
Obviouslythis is unsustainable and unacceptable.
Could you please provide an update on where we stand with DC Fast charging in Pasadena? ] Also, I want to bring to your attention the inconsistencies in the parking signage at EV parking locations [ with Del Mar being the most confusing and other locations many not having any signage. But at least Del I Marhassignage.
As a rule and common practice is to have a time Limit of 30min, or charge 80%. There should be overstay fees implemented, and also CVC
22511 needs to be posted and enforced, if not posted it cannot be enforced.
And, the rates charged at PWP chargers are the lowest around, perhaps to help fund maintenance and abuse, the rates should be comparable
while still be competitive with other EV charging. Nobody charges 20 cents/kWh, let alone 15cents/kWh unless it is free...For comparison BurbankBWPis .37 cents perkWh on DC Fast Charging and 22 cents/kWh on L2 charging. Testa is 36 cents per kWh on the lower end and 54 cents/kWh or more.
PWP needs reliable charging if it is going to be in the game, and competitive pricing that is sustainable, but so far it has been a failure. I sure hope PWP can turn this around, otherwise it needs to partner with a provider who can deliver a reliable, consistent and competitive service.
The best analogy I can draw is that PWP is trying to operate gas stations and most of the gas pumps are broken or off. Imagine what people who rely on EV's feel like trying to use the PWP chargers? 3 112
page 112
I look forward to an update.
Regards,
Victor
4 113
page 113
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
cityclerk
Thursday, May 22, 2025 10:45 PM
Iraheta, Alba; Jomsky, Mark; Robles, Sandra; Sabha, Tamer; McMillan, Acquanette (Netta); Soo, Christine; Ashikyan, Elizabeth; Padilla, Adrian FW: Request for EV-Friendly Electricity Rate Structure
From: Jordi Nadal
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2025 10:44:41 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; cityclerk <[email protected]> Subject: Request for EV-Friendly Electricity Rate Structure You don't often get email fromi. Learn why this is important [ I ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Dear Pasadena Water and Power Team,
I'm writing as a resident and electric vehicle (EV) owner to express concern about the current tiered electricity rate structure. While I appreciate PWP's support for EV adoption through rebates, the existing rate system penalizes responsible EV users by pushing them into higher-cost tiers after just 350 kWh of usage—something nearly unavoidable when charging an EV at home.
This feels counterintuitive and unfair. If the City of Pasadena is encouraging clean transportation, the rate structure should reflect that commitment. I respectfully urge PWP to consider one or more of the following:
1. Introduce Time-of-Use (TOU) rates to incentivize off-peak EV charging.
2. Expand the base tier usage limit for verified EV owners.
3. Offer separate metering or dedicated EV rates to avoid penalizing clean energy users.
Pasadena has a great opportunity to be a leader in sustainable policy—not just in rebates but in equitable utility practices. I hope you'll consider adjusting the rate structure to better align with the city's environmental goals.
1 114
page 114
Thank you for your time and attention.
Best regards,
Jordi Nadal
Pasadena Resident
2 115
page 115
From:
To:
Subject:
Date:
pwpcarefadtvofoasadena.net: cityclf
Request for EV-Friendly Electricity Rate Structure
Thursday, May 22, 2025 10:44:58 PM
^You don't often get email from. Learn why this is important [ ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you /mow the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Dear Pasadena Water and Power Team,
I'm writing as a resident and electric vehicle (EV) owner to express concern about the current tiered electricity rate structure. While I appreciate PWP's support for EV adoption through rebates, the existing rate system penalizes responsible EV users by pushing them into higher- cost tiers after just 350 kWh of usage—something nearly unavoidable when charging an EV at home.
This feels counterintuitive and unfair. If the City of Pasadena is encouraging clean transportation, the rate structure should reflect that commitment. I respectfully urge PWPto consider one or more of the following:
1. Introduce Time-of-Use (TOU) rates to incentivize off-peak EV charging.
2. Expand the base tier usage limit for verified EV owners.
3. Offer separate metering or dedicated EV rates to avoid penalizing clean energy users.
Pasadena has a great opportunity to be a leader in sustainable policy—not just in rebates but in equitable utility practices. I hope you'll consider adjusting the rate structure to better align with the city's environmental goals.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Best regards,
JordiNadal
Pasadena Resident
116
page 116
From:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Date:
Cvnthia Cannadv
Hampton. Tvron: Jones, Justin: R.ick Cole: Lvon, Jason; Raves. David: Marauez, Miauel Public comment for MSC Operating Budget agenda item today Tuesday, May 27, 2025 1:41:54 PM
[ ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "K80011474" on the DolT portal.
May 27,2025
Where is the climate emergency in this proposed operating budget? I searched and I couldn't find it.
What I did see was the extra-large transfer from ratepayers to the city budget, (slide 7 shows a 58% increase from 2025 to 2026)
I did see 11 % growth in personnel costs in a single year. (see slide 7).
I did see that even though the cost of energy is down (see slide 10), and even though PWP had unusually high revenues, PWP wants to increase rates by 7.6 million (slide 18). This morning the local press is attributing this proposed rate increase to "green energy", an assumption that is incorrect since there's almost nothing in this budget that deals with that transition.
What I did not see were line items showing how PWP plans to implement the 100% carbon free portfolios that we paid consultants $1.3 million dollars to model. After more than 2 years we still don't have a plan to implement Climate Emergency Resolution 9977. And even after the MSC and full Council gave clear direction to PWP this month to begin right away to develop the local solar resources that are required by the preferred portfolios, PWP is still delaying.
I was in Altadena over this past weekend, witnessing the empty blocks, the burned houses, the lone chimneys, the ashes on the sidewalk. I thought of the suffering of the people. I felt my own anxiety about fires and heat in our city. The climate emergency is real and it is now.
But this budget, and the CIP budget, are blind to the climate emergency and deaf to the calls of the people for local climate action.
We implore you to require staff to treat our situation like the climate emergency that it is.
Reject tthis operating budget until staff addresses the climate emergency that we face.
Cynthia Cannady
Chairperson, PASADENA 100 Coalition
117
page 117
Robles, Sandra
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
cityclerk
Tuesday, May 27, 2025 1:29 PM
Iraheta, Alba; Jomsky, Mark; Rabies, Sandra; Sabha, Tamer; McMillan, Acquanette (Netta); Soo, Christine; Ashikyan, Elizabeth; Padilla, Adrian FW: Public Comment MSC May 27, Item 1.
From:
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2025 1:29:04 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: Jones, Justin <[email protected]>; Rick Cole <[email protected]>; Hampton, Tyron <[email protected]>; Lyon, Jason <[email protected]> Cc: cityclerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Public Comment MSC May 27, Item 1.
[A-] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not dick links or open attachments unless you fcnow the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Electric Ratepayers are being asked to pay an additional $1 0.5 million to the city's General Fund, an increase of 58% above the $18 million transferred annually from the Power Fund to the General Fund, FY 2021 - FY 2024. In addition, there is a proposed $7.6 million rate increase "primarily driven by capital revenue requirements." However, electric ratepayers already paid in advance for capital needs through aggressive monthly rate adjustments in 2023 and 2024, resulting in record net income for the Power Fund despite a reduction in usage.
The Power Fund 5-year Operating Summary, (PWP Annual Report FY 2024, page 13) states that in Fiscal Year 2024, retail revenues increased by $30.6 million, even as total usage declined by 6%." Net Income reached a new high of $78,967,000 due to increased revenue and reduced operating expense. On page 17, the report goes on to state that "with favorable prices, diligent cost control and proactive rate management, FY 2024 has a favorable net income that is planned for future reinvestment in the system." WAPD. Annual-Report _2024.pdf
Proactive rate management refers to the Power Fund's aggressive monthly adjustments to the Energy Charge (All kilowatt hours per month) for electric ratepayers. In one month from February to March 2023, there was an increase of 27.4% to the Energy Charge followed by smaller monthly increases. The table below compares PWP Winter and Summer energy charges before and after the initiation of monthly rate increases. The greatest Winter Rate increase is 59% from January 2023 to 2024. The greatest Summer Rate increase is 47% from June 2022 to 2024.
Winter RatesSummer Rates
1/1/20231/1/20246/1/20226/1/2023
Energy Charge$0.09127$0.14477$0.10053$0.13453
% increase59%34%
1/1/20231/1/20256/1/20226/1/2024
1 118
page 118
Energy Charge$0.09127$0.12977$0.10053$0.14803
% Increase42%47%
The Power Fund's record revenue increase in FY 2024 occurred despite a 6% decline in total energy usage. This revenue increase was due to the compounding of upward monthly Energy Charge adjustments referred to as "proactive rate management". Pasadena Power's FY 2024 record high net income was paid in advance by ratepayers and the "surplus" must be used to reinvest in the system as promised by PWP in their 2024 Annual Report.
WHERE IS THE PLAN TO ACHIEVE CARBON-FREE POWER IN 2030? SO-CALLED "SURPLUS REVENUE" WAS PAID IN ADVANCE BY RATEPAYERS AND SHOULD BE USED FOR THEIR DIRECT BENEFIT: CARBON-FREE, AFFORDABLE POWER IN 2030. PLEASE DO NOT APPROVE THE PROPOSED $10.5 MILLION ADDITIONAL TRANSFER TO THE GENERAL FUND.
Sincerely,
Genette Foster
District 2
2 119
page 119
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
cityclerk
Thursday, May 29, 2025 10:14 PM
Iraheta, Alba; Jomsky, Mark; Rabies, Sandra; Sabha, Tamer; McMillan, Acquanette (Netta); Soo, Christine; Ashikyan, Elizabeth; Padilla, Adrian FW: Update Pasadena Tree Ordinance
From: gfoster
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2025 10:13:50 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: cityclerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Update Pasadena Tree Ordinance
[ I ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Please add an update to the Pasadena Tree Ordinance to one of the remaining June City Council agendas.
Trees make it pleasant to walk in our neighborhoods, they cool our homes, lower our utility bills, absorb greenhouse gases and make our city greener and more beautiful. In addition to planting more new trees, there must be better care of newly planted trees which need good staking and adequate water until they reach a sustainable size. I am horrified to see the sad condition of many struggling new trees which are not properly cared for by the city. New trees should be native California species, especially oaks which are better suited to our climate and more able to withstand difficult conditions, once established. Finally, tree pruning must be done with greater care. I see many mature street trees which have been "butchered" by careless trimming and will never recover. Tree service contracts should not be issued to the lowest bidder or tasks to untrained city staff. Crews must be supervised by qualified arborists to ensure survival of existing trees.
1 6/2/2025
Item 12
120
page 120
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
cityclerk
Friday, May 30, 2025 11:18 AM
Iraheta, Alba; Jomsky, Mark; Robles, Sandra; Sabha, Tamer; McMillan, Acquanette (Netta); Soo, Christine; Ashikyan, Elizabeth; Padilla, Adrian FW: Pasadena's Tree Ordinance
From: Mishele Myers
Sent: Friday, May 30, 2025 11:17:38 AM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: cityclerk
Subject: Pasadena's Tree Ordinance
[You don't often get email from
https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderldentification J
Jarn why this is important at
[ ! ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Hello,
I'd like to request that you agendize an update for Pasadena's Tree Ordinance. Our trees are very important and need more attention.
Thank you,
Mishele Myers
Pasadena CA 91104
1 6/2/2025
Item 12
121
page 121
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Andrew Un
Saturday, May 31, 2025 8:33 AM
PublicComment-AutoResponse; Reyes, David; Marquez, Miguel Disrepair of PWP DCFC EV Chargers in Pasadena
[Some people who received this message don't often get email from at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderldent1fication ]
'.earn why this is important
[ I ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Please submit and include this in the upcoming council meeting public comments and confirm that this was received.
The state of EV Charging in Pasadena has reached a new low. So few of the PWP EV DCFC work, and the ones that do are unreliable. The PowerFlex app is not accurate and difficult to use. This email to is to express frustration and disappointment in the non-Tesla PWP DCFC in Pasadena. Millions have been spent and very few DCFC work. Why? And when will they be fixed?
Thank you,
Andrew
1 6/2/2025
Item 12
122
page 122
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
cityclerk
Sunday, June 1,2025 4:27 PM
Iraheta, Alba; Jomsky, Mark; Robles, Sandra; Sabha, Tamer; McMillan, Acquanette (Netta); Soo, Christine; Ashikyan, Elizabeth; Padilla, Adrian FW: Pasadena Tree Ordinance
From: Teresa Parsekian
Sent: Sunday, June 1, 2025 4:26:42 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: cityclerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Pasadena Tree Ordinance
You don't often get email fromLearn why this is important [ I ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you frnowthe content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Dear City Council,
As residents and homeowners in Pasadena, we support the planting of 400 young trees every year in Pasadena, knowing how much in provide shade, cools the city and cuts down on energy costs. We support increasing that number as well.
We also support the protection of existing older trees, knowing first hand the disappointment of the city cutting down a oak tree in from of our house that was 50 + years, that we feel could have been saved. The tree has sustained damage from winds the day of the fire in January but we had been told by the Forest Service with some expert care, the tree could be saved. Instead, the weekend we were out of town for our daughter's wedding, the tree was cut down. With an expert team from the city of Pasadena, perhaps that tree would have been saved. We support a team of arborists that work for the city that determine whether or not a tree needs to be destroyed or saved.
Thank you so much.
Richard and Teresa Parsekian
1 6/2/2025
Item 12
123
page 123
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
jenny yu
Sunday, June 1,2025 9:44 PM
PublicComment-AutoResponse; Reyes, David; Marquez, Miguel Disrepair of PWP DCFC EV Chargers in Pasadena
[Some people who received this message don't often get email from at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderldentification ]
earn why this is important
[ ! ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Please submit and include this in the upcoming council meeting public comments and confirm that this was received.
The state of EV Charging in Pasadena has reached a new low. So few of the PWP EV DCFC work, and the ones that do are unreliable. The PowerFlex app is not accurate and difficult to use. This email to is to express frustration and disappointment in the non-Tesla PWP DCFC in Pasadena. Millions have been spent and very few DCFC work. Why? And When will they be fixed?
Thank you,
Sent from my iPhone
1 6/2/2025
Item 12
124
page 124
SONJA K. BERNDT
Pasadena, CA
RECEIVED
2025 JUN-2 AH 8: !C
CiTV CLERK
CITY QF ?.'.3ft.DENA
June 2, 2025
Mayor Victor Gordo
Members of the Pasadena City Council
Pasadena, CA
(By Email)
(By Email [email protected])
Re: City Council Meeting June 2, 2025, Agenda Item #12: The Recommended FY 2026 Housing Department Operating Budget
Dear Members of the City Council:
A. Introduction
I am a long-time resident of Pasadena and a longtime advocate for the unsheltered residents of our City. This letter is to express my deep concern about the FY 2026 Recommended Housing Department Operating Budget. Year aflter year, the Housing Department receives de minimus General Fund appropriations while the Pasadena Police Department (PPD) receives a grossly disproportionate level of General Fund appropriations. Critical services for our unhoused and especially our unsheltered residents are vastly underfunded because our Housing Department receives only "crumbs'" from City-generated sources to serve our most vulnerable residents.
B. Critical Problems with the Housing Department's Budget
1. Inadequate Funding from City-Generated Sources, Including the City's General Fund
The Recommended FY 2026 Operating Budget shows the following appropriations from the General Fund:
• Police Department: $111,285,954 (91.7% of its total proposed FY2026 appropriations)
• Housing Department: $2,638,887 (2.4% of its total proposed FY2026 appropriations)
1 6/2/2025
Item 12
125
page 125
The Pasadena Homeless Count has not improved per Point-in-Time Homeless Counts (which the department recognizes is an undercount as compared to the annual homeless count).
o 2022-total- 512; unsheltered = 280
o 2024 - total = 556; unsheltered ^ 321
Year after year our City fails to move the needle in the right direction because it fails to provide funding for any meaningful interim and permanent housing to end homelessness in our City.
2. Extreme and Imprudent Reliance on Federal Grant Funding to Fund Programs for Our City's Unhoused Residents
While the Housing Department receives grant funding from county, state, and federal governments, Housing Department staff has already warned the City Council that federal grant funding is currently substantially at risk due to proposed cuts in the federal budget and the policies of the Trump administration. At the City Council meeting May 5, 2025, City Manager Marquez specifically referenced the draconian cuts currently in the proposed federal budget for services for our most vulnerable residents. Additionally, Housing Department staff told the City Council at its May 19, 2025 meeting that all of the City's Measure A Local Solutions Funding will have to be used to continue to fund Emergency Housing Vouchers (currently funded by the federal government) because the federal government will stop funding those vouchers at the end of this year. These funds, which could have strengthened our homelessness programs, are now unavailable for our unsheltered residents.
YET, the proposed FY2026 Housing Department Operating Budget notes 76% of its $48,814,656 Operating Budget as coming from the federal government! This shows a clear lack of planning and preparation for expected challenges.
Thankfully, some City Council members support creating an emergency fund to be used if the federal government makes good on its promise to cut funding for the poor. That needs to be done on an urgent basis.
3. The Court's Decision in the Grants Pass Case Requires Greater Funding to House Our Unsheltered Neighbors
The Supreme Court's Grants Pass decision permits cities to arrest and cite persons for sleeping on public property even if, as in Pasadena, there are a grossly 2 126
page 126
insufficient number ofbeds/units to provide them with shelter. Some on the City Council have stated that unhoused persons will not be arrested in our City for sleeping on public property. However, the City's proposal for a Homeless Court would have allowed citations and required unsheltered folks to go through a court process in order to receive interim housing. This is nonsensical. If you provide the housing FIRST, there is no need for PPD calls for service, citations, prosecutors, defense counsel and court staff. Simply provide local funding for the housing sorely needed by our unsheltered residents without the court process.
C. The City Has the Money Now to Urgently and Substantially Increase Funding for Additional Interim and Permanent Housing for Our Unhoused Residents General Fund
o Cost savings can be achieved by decreasing the number ofPPD officers while maintaining public safety in our City. In FY 2021, there were 5,766 PPD calls for service listed as "transient-related." I once asked former Chief of Police John Perez how many calls for service PPD received from Centennial Place, a City housing site that houses formerly unhoused individuals. He said, "almost none." Instead of incurring the huge expense of responding to calls for service related to unhoused individuals, PROVIDE HOUSING FOR THEM.
Additional revenue from FY2025
o At the May 5th opening of the public hearing on the proposed FY2026 Operating Budget, Director of Finance Hawkesworth gave a Powerpoint presentation to the Council with slides showing many one-time expenditures proposed to be funded with a total of $10.6 million in additional revenue received in FY2025. Housing for our unhoused was not on that list of proposed expenditures but clearly should be. • City's Operating Reserve (5% of annual expenditures). o The City has a $16.184 million Operating Reserve for FY2026. Given the urgent need for more interim and permanent housing, funding from the Operating Reserve is required.
o Significantly, in FY2020 and 2021, the City approved $21.5 million (total) to cover the Rose Bowl debt because the Rose Bowl Operating Company could not make the annual debt payments related to the 3 127
page 127
massive remodel of the Rose Bowl years ago. All of those funds were from the City's General Fund AND GENERAL FUND RESERVES. • City's Emergency Reserve (15% of annual expenditures) o The City has a $48.552 million Emergency Reserve for FY2026. Given the urgent need for much more interim and permanent housing for our unhoused, funds from the City's Emergency Reserve for FY2026 should be allocated to the Housing Department for that purpose.
D. Conclusion
In conclusion, our City has chronically underfunded the Housing Department's programs to provide housing for our unhoused residents and, in particular, our unsheltered residents. The City Council as a whole needs to undertake a serious examination of the proposed FY2026 Operating Budget to find additional General Fund funding for the Housing Department to develop the interim and permanent housing desperately needed to house our unhoused residents. The Council also needs to approve additional funding for this purpose from the FY2026 Operating Reserve, the FY2026 Emergency Reserve and from the $10 million in additional revenue from FY2025.
Thank you for your consideration of this letter.
Sincerely,
/s/
Sonja K. Berndt, Esq. (retired)
4 128
page 128
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Attachments:
cityclerk
Monday, June 2, 2025 4:20 PM
Iraheta, Alba; Jomsky, Mark; Rabies, Sandra; Sabha, Tamer; McMillan, Acquanette (Netta); Soo, Christine; Ashikyan, Elizabeth; Padilla, Adrian FW: Please make our urban forest a priority
unnamed(2).jpg; unnamed(4).jpg; IMG_0743.jpg; IMG_0736.jpg; IMG_0738.jpg; IMG.
O727.jpg; IMG_0720.jpg; IMG_0719.jpg; 309876045_864657347811608_ 4071996899080741070_n.jpg; unnamed (20).jpg; 309543032_509439974346930_ 5048892047185779036_n.jpg
From: cheryl auger
Sent: Monday, June 2, 2025 4:16:55 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: cityclerk <[email protected]>; Madison, Steve <[email protected]>; Lyon, Jason <[email protected]>; Cole, Rick <[email protected]>; Rivas, Jessica <[email protected]> Subject: Please make our urban forest a priority
Some people who received this message don't often get email from important
Learn why this is
[ I ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Dear Councilmembers and Mayor and City Manager,
Please agendize an update to Pasadena's Tree Ordinance. We need to plant as many trees as possible. Planting trees will help reduce emissions through carbon absorption and reduced temperatures. A Los Angeles study found that trees absorbed up to 60% of C02 emissions in the spring and summer. This would greatly help Pasadena reduce emissions from vehicles and small off road engines with internal combustion engines.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Auger,
District 6 Resident
District 7 Business Owner
2022 Clean Air grant recipient to plant trees at New Horizons on Cyprus Avenue (See Photos) Cheryt Auger
www.mvzerowastestore.com
1 6/2/2025
Item 12
129
page 129
"t.
€
.^^m•*
a
^..% v.1;
r:.
ft.fi%
'.?
^t
^1.^i®-
»••
^ '^
•f
,<i
A:Xr
^
130
page 130
^
^
sr
mNttff^U-Ni
IS
Ka
»
M
«
m
s
•t sI
131
page 131
^ iayst8-ia s.<
mi • yi"J
v< ^
w
&ff
^ »%»-( 9^ K»iy •»
^
^
^
V
a,«* .*••
e
m
ifSl -tmtfte ssa
Wat »
m(•Ss ttm
•ni
Ita
^1mg
9 »
» »^
^m t",1*'..!.: .V^V^.A"N
•^Sf. «!1
3-
-•y- ^r r
»>••? i^-« w.s^y
<
flw ft-
s^ t<
IBSf <!
fS'»*^ri 'i
at
1^
•i
s t
s wi
^^sk*«
^ v* «
m ut I •.•
fly"• ^"~^- .^\ ,111::^
hC:--rt''5;:
^
m y
in»s^
^
{-»s.ye-;'» ftr.si- v<1s•*
:*/• ^C3» ^^3?
? ^
2 w
^v •y\ -ye
ss f-W
w
^s
,f
.^%ff:iB•,.«
s m
^s^^.
il^ II
^<
•aw
1»^
jT
»:• •
anil
^
»
:s&»--
3 »f
^
V
•^%
S3.tf»•
»
*.•' ss »:7'-.^.lS9 .-^Si
^"^-^Sa^fSW^a.
m
SS'uSsi-SSi
a»
a"
132
page 132
t^-.
v"<BNC'
*-»f
I^
vs
B11
•ys"
SM»aaI!
N
Min
1 ..i
m
a
'il
:.(1
^1
I^N^I
•w
:.^ill
^M
M
I V
<(.
M
S!
K
'•4
s^
21If
s
««
s
»
s!
^
^
IS
y.
V--
a,
R
.'''
:>..
y t
1»Kffia
^ *^^M.i
.<*!
•t'vS'^
s:-ill
-fSi-..
•Ifi'S:
:IS»;« IR®f^l?'^iii^&^^'<N®9i^®i|»'-^B^ r'
?te?£,
a..
St-
;?
^ ^
i fi-
'^
^•^
g
iM
i§?slS£^i£-S^SB.'Si.&IS%€^?
^. ^•^•a
:;«-K
;\:^«^
m's: •I,-i y
.1^fim "1.% .^<"sS^T<S«'Ns^a. >.
v»AS.
m-.,• &
s.my:
wt1
i.*.
*
•ttl
s «t*»
••? K-.
v*>.
osii
ak.^^
5§»!-» 1.'
«sa
fW
^s
'I'^iSS
"At
.^^&S-T
^:
i
fs^
9 <€
•*•''^:!x
"s
133
page 133
S^M
^ r.
7X:^
B.^•c;
^ ^,
•^w
<
;.!'
s^i^w^i
:S M
€81^'^
ms.IS,
Bi
Li~
fs
g'^':^<.—^.;i^. ry',;^::- ^'-:,' '^
-•^
A? ..I-
\.
^^^
^
"t<
*«>.
'I
m^
•/^.
^fSs^S^J^^
't>!
:kr^^
KM
ife-
I-
:iSs
'^b-
••^. •::»'.
't83
•i
»s,^»..
:Xsa
@Siliil;SJIfii£:?1i!2512.Si
^»^£;«;U^i;;-!ii;
^s:
'^t.
ri'
•"^•-'
/;
~~^~.^--i
'/•.wSS-^.f^'1
iBgBi"r:.,,.'!BS^
s
•IS
® ^vSfm®^ :S1•L-.
^1^1 if^.^
3C:
?*-».''&<; y^?-.s.??-^•-^
^^ s-
.s'^
s
.a^-s
134
page 134
1-:
135
page 135
S4
ly—s&
TS<
Es
m.s <^
^ &is' •»
m
-^ l:US
^
^SSUBUluss
1%% 9h
-s,
il»»i
B:^»
<•
,;?•
s
<•;•^
SIs&
m.m
it.'£::s::'' :;'-SBaE
: -s^?
'::..^.^wt'sa!l-£|iiii:-::-3r::.t%''3ii:'t.;:::giiSA.^il :^i::":::'^-5»wri^%-^:;:i^%i.»"-:'m
§
^
Sf-Sm
i»v
mwSISSK^.
i%18 w;'il
sm
^18S
136
page 136
^
B
mf'dr"::?
K^'y
Rs.s'
^
i^y
N
1.1 !^?
:;1 -
:1
s
^
'h.''-
•»^
-^
'.•*.
•^'</,
1-J-
&"<•$'''lA.
y
p
"1._^
IIIB
^i««
BS
:'«•-•.
g;
s?
^*a.
-*-
-^-,«<» fyi
S!s*#-
•jaS^-'
i3"
^gs •6S ;0sa,y..^i.^5'^
ms**£X- •*'«>^ ^^ ^ s--sss
"^
s-m y!»•; vt
St^s
siSiittiss.A'
%gl ^% •^s;
II ^1^s'»Os
0^
SISg
%
SB ^ «im
m-y @m
siIS »
—m•saw
»I
9. s
1^
aai
'^tiflM
•¥f& ».
A
ii^^i^li
®
-«
.•'-•~t
il1
's
.;:-s:
B!
II
Bta
ses
Ml
6,a
—MlN
| ii
^.'
137
page 137
-V.fV'
».<^^ I?
<
3'r
„*.
::
^
t;IS
s
fe
^ ^
s,;•;
fe vW»
^.^m m ^»w<^ s*ac?*• ^s
Mm ^!-£ 'K ^•^'^A.»•(• SS3ys 5S^^.
•*."
k
^•- a
3:^ k"ms^mwe ^Wnay^ sa;m 7-^
3^^ f. .<t'.^
^ ^ ^M'_i ;c?^»
i m^ s
^
u '.^K
Mii
kC
s -»y
mM m%•'t^"'
's.SSis^ fmi'& affim %t,~.l
4 M .'*'".»<5
^ !-f»
m /.s'^•^
!y,m ^^ '-,^sx ^<<-
^ ^ ^ffm s;
y^% ^fy,.-^K s:*.t St.y. i^
'^?/'*
» :s »iSl"¥:m 1
:»•:A«^ s& .a<w^p v-;xl waS ^-•*
%e^ ft rf
£^$
-;rf«
138
page 138
i.
ms
f .!&»
t*%^*,
ws
c
i°N^1 <fe
w
^y
^^
I
•
•!!!;,;•»
u,: 'i»,
•
.a—a—aat.,,SBa
139
page 139
B
ff
s
6<U^-5.2022
II
^Tv
Clf in
^:i3^W1
tf
caa
11 Ifl11
I.11
"-a
Were planting trees in Pasadena!
On Cypress Avenue near Orange Grove Blvd.
Take the Clean Air Pledge go to cleanairday.org
Donate to plant more trees at
pasadenaaudubon.org/donate
a18Id
SEBI
B
g
i?
"ses
tf
fl
^^
@
ex
«
@^@ yk.iv I
s»
21 Yfl K,
^
140
page 140
CORRESPONDENCE
FROM 05/19/2025
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
141
page 141
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
cityclerk
Monday, May 12, 2025 9:23 PM
Iraheta, Alba; Jomsky, Mark; Robles, Sandra; Sabha, Tamer; McMillan, Acquanette (Netta); Sco, Christine; Ashikyan, Elizabeth; Padilla, Adrian FW: MSC Item 2-A FY 2026 RECOMMENDED OPERATING BUDGET: PUBLIC WORKS From:
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2025 9:22:18 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: Jones, Justin <[email protected]>; Hampton, Tyron <[email protected]>; Rick Cole <[email protected]>; Lyon, Jason <[email protected]> Cc: cityclerk <[email protected]>
Subject: MSC Item 2-A FY 2026 RECOMMENDED OPERATING BUDGET: PUBLIC WORKS [ I] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you fcnowthe content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Despite warnings about city budget constraints, Public Works has proposed a total of more than ten new positions.
SLIDE 4 Lists five positions to be paid by the City General Fund but does not give salaries.
SLIDES 9 &10 "Enhancement Requests" list five positions with salaries ranging from more than $100,000 to $199,000, some of which also include General Fund dollars.
Enhancement Requests (SLIDES 9 & 10)
PositionFundFTEsAmountTotal Salary
Program Coordinator II
2431.00$141,883$141,883
Stormwater Engineer243
301
0.20 0.80
$39,830
$159,319$199,149
SLATS Engineer101
301
0.10 0.90
$19,915
$179,234$199,149
Management Analyst I101
301
0.28 0.09
$38,426
$11,762
Implied salary
$135,643
Sr.Admin Specialist
4061.00$107,672 $107,672
Code Compliance406
101
0.50 0.50
$57,909
$57,909$115,818
Total FTE/Sataries5.37$813,859
Total 101 General Fund$116,250
MSC should consider whether these salary levels are appropriate at this time. 1 142
page 142
Sincerely,
Genette Foster
Council District 2
t
2 143
page 143
Robles, Sandra
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
cityclerk
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 11:28 AM
Iraheta, Alba; Jomsky, Mark; Robles, Sandra; Sabha, Tamer; McMillan, Acquanette (Netta); Soo, Christine; Ashikyan, Elizabeth; Padilla, Adrian FW: Public Comment to Municipal Services Committee
From: Victor Caballero
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2025 11:27:23 AM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: cityclerk
Subject: Public Comment to Municipal Services Committee [You don't often get email from v
https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderldentification ]
. Learn why this is important at
[ ! ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Please confirm receipt.
Dear Municipal Services Committee Members,
The state of EV Fast Charging in Pasdaena is atrocious.
Millions of dollars have been spent and the current condition of EV DC Fast Chargers at city facilities is an embarrassment and needs to be addressed ASAP. Why people haven't been fired over this is mind boggling. It is a complete dereliction of duties.
Chargers have screws falling out. connectors are broken, cables are laying on the ground with exposed wires. Chargers are on and do not work. Chargers are off and have no signage.
DC Fast Chargers:
At Victory Park there are three DC fast chargers, one works.
At Robinson Park there a re five chargers, and only two of the five work.
At Glenarm - ZERO fast chargers work. One is on with a red light on top..
At Del Mar, one works sometimes.
At Shoppers Lane - occasionally two work.
At Marengo Plaza, once touted as one of the largest EV Fast Charging West of the Rockies.
Close to 50 DC Fast chargers and maybe a handful work.
So far the grade for Pasadena EV Fast Charging is an F - FAIL! 1 144
page 144
Promises had been made by PWP that half of all "broken" chargers would be repaired by the end of April, that came and went and nothing changed as a matter of fact things may have gotten worse. PWP also promised that the remaining DC Fast chargers would be repaired in three months.
The PWP site is littered with bad info related to EV charging including omission of the Robinson Park DC Fast chargers, and the claim that the Marengo Plaza is the largest EV charging facility in the nation, which is false.
Meanwhile there are no clear signs for EV charging, no time limits, to overstay fees, and worse of all is that the PWP chargers are priced so low that you will see Tesla drivers charing at a PWP Fast charger vs using an Tesla Supercharger which is shouldn't be discouraged. Also seeing vehicles parked that are not charging in EV spots and blocking needs to be cited and parking enforcement should be armed with the tools to monitor and enforce.
Meanwhile Tesla chargers there are dozens around the city and 99% of the chargers work.
PWP and staff make justifications for why the chargers are not working, blaming Shell or Tritium, PowerFlex, contractors, supply chain, but that is even more evidence that the issue is chronic and that is not being handled properly. The City of Pasadena never should have let this happen, and it's shameful to realize that our city's EV chargers are in this state of disrepair without a PLAN?
All city council members must go see the facilities for themselves to see the state of EV charging in Pasadena. And speak to the people who
are frustrated trying to use the chargers that DO NOT WORK. City council should also demand a full audit and accounting of all EV charging facilities.
Taxpayers and the community deserve answers and action to resolve the disastrous state of DC Fast charging provided by PWP..
Regards,
Victor Caballero
2 145
page 145
SONJA K. BERNDT
Pasadena, CA
RECEIVED
2025 HAY 19 AM 8: !5
CiTY CLERK
Cin OF PASADENA
May 16, 2025
Mayor Victor Gordo
Members of the Pasadena City Council
Pasadena, CA
(By Email)
(By Email [email protected])
Re: City Council Meeting May 19, 2025, Agenda Item #15: The Recommended FY 2026 Police Department Operating Budget
Dear Mayor Gordo and Members of the City Council:
I am a long-time resident of Pasadena and a longtime advocate for the unsheltered residents of our city. This letter is to express my deep concern about the FY 2026 Recommended Police Department Operating Budget. Year after year, the Pasadena Police Department (PPD) receives a grossly disproportionate level of General Fund appropriations as compared to other vital departments in this city.
Critical services for our unhoused and especially our unsheltered residents are vastly underfunded because PPD, with its escalating salaries and pension costs, continues to swallow up our General Fund, leaving insufficient crumbs for departments that serve our most vulnerable residents.
The Recommended FY 2026 Operating Budget shows the following appropriations from the General Fund:
• Police Department: $111,285,954 (91.7% of its total proposed FY2026 appropriations)
• Housing Department: $2,63 8,887 (2.4% of its total proposed FY2026 appropriations)
A look back at the adopted FY2022 Operating Budget reveals the huge escalation in General Fund appropriations to PPD over the last four years:
• Police Department: $84,605,000
• Housing Department: $1,475,000
1 5/19/2025
Item 15
146
page 146
While the Housing Department receives grant funding from county, state, and federal governments, city staff members recognize that federal grant funding is currently substantially at risk due to proposed cuts in the federal budget and the policies of the Trump administration. At the City Council meeting May 5,2025, City Manager M^arquez specifically referenced the draconian cuts currently in the proposed federal budget for services for our most vulnerable residents. YET, the proposed FY2026 Housing Department Operating Budget notes 76% of its $48,814,656 Operating Budget as coming from the federal government! This shows a clear lack of planning and preparation for anticipated challenges.
The January 2024 homeless "point in time" count, noted over 500 unhoused persons, 321 of which had no shelter at all. Year after year our city fails to move the needle in the right direction because it fails to provide any meaningful interim and permanent housing to end homelessness in our city.
The very substantial increases in General Fund appropriations to PPD year after year are unsustainable. Personnel expenses are unsustainable. Pension costs are unsustainable. But cost savings can be achieved by decreasing the number ofPPD officers while maintaining public safety in our city. In FY 2021, there were 5,766 PPD calls for service listed as "transient-related." I once asked former Chief of Police John Perez how many calls for service PPD received from Centennial Place, a city housing site that houses formerly unhoused individuals. He said, "almost 5;
none/
Instead of incurring the huge expense of responding to calls for service related to unhoused individuals, PROVIDE HOUSING FOR THEM. This would decrease PPD salary and pension costs and at the same time alleviate suffering and promote health and wellbeing.
Finally, the idea of a "Homeless Court," which has been raised at previous Public Safety Committee meetings is not sensible. It would be costly in both staff and court time and money and, more importantly, it would require the "defendant/participant," who may have simply been sleeping on public property, to go through a court process in order to obtain housing. Instead, simply provide the housing sorely needed by our unsheltered residents without the court process.
In conclusion, the enormous General Fund appropriations for PPD and the huge increases in those appropriations year after year leave other critical departments of our city chronically and severely underfunded. The City Council as a whole needs to undertake a serious examination of the proposed FY2026 PPD Operating Budget 2 147
page 147
to look for ways to decrease PPD's General Fund appropriations. Further, the City Council needs to direct PPD to seriously look for greater grant funding opportunities through its Grant Procurement Unit. I urge the City Council to decrease the amount of General Fund appropriations to PPD for FY2026 and to use those funds to provide housing for our unhoused residents. Thank you.
Sincerely,
/s/
SonjaK. Berndt, Esq. (retired)
3 148
page 148
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Victor Caballero <v
Monday, May 19, 2025 10:49 AM
Reyes, David
Hampton, Tyron; Marquez, Miguel; Avedian, Varoojan; Jones, Justin; Cole, Rick; Gordo, Victor; Madison, Steve; Lyon, Jason; PublicComment-AutoResponse; Masuda, Gene; Rivas, Jessica
State of PWP EV DC Fast Charging in Pasadena May 2025
[ 4 ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Mr. Reyes,
Good morning.
As of this morning the state of PWP DC Fast charging is no better and actually worse.
For instance
Robinson Park, only 2 of 5 DC Fast chargers work. One of the 5 is on but does network.
Victory Park, 1 out of 3 DC Fast chargers works.
Del Mar, 1 of 2 DC Fast chargers works.
Shopper's Lane as of last week it appeared less than half the ports worked. The ports that showed as working, the connector would not work, or the credit card machines did not register.
Obviously this is unsustainable and unacceptable.
Could you please provide an update on where we stand with DC Fast charging in Pasadena? Also, I want to bring to your attention the inconsistencies in the parking signage at EV parking locations with Del Mar being the most confusing and other locations many not having any signage. But at least Del Mar has signage.
As a rule and common practice is to have a time limit of 30min, or charge 80%. There should be overstay fees implemented, and also CVC
22511 needs to be posted and enforced, if not posted it cannot be enforced.
And, the rates charged at PWP chargers are the lowest around, perhaps to help fund maintenance and abuse, the rates should be comparable
while still be competitive with other EV charging. Nobody charges 20 cents/kWh, let alone 15 cents/kWh unless it is free...For comparison Burbank BWP is .37 cents per kWh on DC Fast Charging and 22 cents/kWh on L2 charging. Tesla is 36 cents per kWh on the lower end and 54 cents/kWh or more.
PWP needs reliable charging if it is going to be in the game, and competitive pricing that is sustainable, but so far it has been a failure. I sure hope PWP can turn this around, otherwise it needs to partner with a provider who can deliver a reliable, consistent and competitive service.
1 5/19/2025
Item 15
149
page 149
The best analogy I can draw is that PWP is trying to operate gas stations and most of the gas pumps are broken or off.
Imagine what people who rely on EV's feel like trying to use the PWP chargers? I look forward to an update.
Regards,
Victor
*
i
2 150
page 150