Sabha, Tamer
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cityclerk
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 3:15 PM
Iraheta, Alba; Jomsky, Mark; Robles, Sandra; Sabha, Tamer; McMillan, Acquanette (Netta); Soo, Christine
FW: Abundant Housing: Concerns about hastily submitted SB 677 letter SB 677 (AHLA Abundant Housing, Pasadena).pdf
From: Jacob Pierce
Sent: Tuesday, January 6, 2026 3:14:05 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: Rivas, Jessica <[email protected]>; Masuda, Gene <[email protected]>; Madison, Steve <[email protected]>
Cc: Scott Epstein . , •; Michael Canavan ' -; cityclerk <cityclerk@cityofpasadena. net>
Subject: Abundant Housing: Concerns about hastily submitted SB 677 letter [You don't often get email frorr'.. Learn why this is important [ t ] 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 Chair Madison and members of the Legislative Subcommittee, It has come to our attention that the letter before you from Mr. Gordo re: SB 677 has already been submitted to GOV. Gavin Newsom's office (Item #5 on tonight's agenda).
Unfortunately, it is not the first time in recent memory that Mayor Victor Gordo has taken the unusual and inappropriate step of sending a letter about pending state legislation without approval from the Council, or input from members of the public. Furthermore, the bill language was not yet in print at the time the letter was submitted.
Abundant Housing LA and Abundant Housing Pasadena encourage you to draft a new message stating that the message from Dec. 30 does not speak for the Pasadena City Council and that you and your colleagues are still reviewing the materials and plan to consider the language of SB 677, which is now in print and available to the public. The attached letter has our full comments.
Thank you for your attention to these matters.
Sincerely,
Jacob Pierce
Housing Elements & Policy Analyst
Abundant Housing LA
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Pasadena City Hall
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Pasadena, CA 91101
Re: Response to SB 677 Comment letter
Dear Chair Madison and members of the Pasadena Legislative Committee, It has come to our attention that the letter before you for consideration has already been submitted to the GOV. Gavin Newsom's office without input from your body or colleagues on the City Council. It is not the first time in recent memory that Mayor Victor Gordo has taken the unusual and inappropriate step of sending a letter about pending state legislation without approval from the Council, or input from members of the public. The Mayor's recent letter addressed SB 677, the language for which was not yet in print. This bill is clean-up legislation for SB 79 (Wiener), a significant transit-oriented development (TOD) bill, signed into law by Mr.
Newsom this past fall. A primary intent guiding SB 677, which AHLA is sponsoring, is to clarify definitions of relevant TOD stops.
We write on behalf of our respective organizations to remind you that Pasadena has an acute housing shortage, worsened by the disastrous Eaton Fire, sparked one year ago this week.
Despite this fact, the City is not on track to come close to meeting its Regional Housing Needs Allocation numbers at any of the four income levels. By increasing zoned capacity around major transit stops, such as A Line stations, SB 79 provides an opportunity for new car-light development and housing for Pasadenans of all incomes. We understand the impulse, as seen in the letter, to protect historic resources, but many of the letter's suggested amendments for historic preservation, such as those to exempt all current and future historic districts, would conflict with goals to affirmatively further fair housing, as well as the need to build more homes, and should be viewed as nonstarters. So, too, with the proposal to reduce the applicable radii of SB 79 development zones in cities with populations under 200,000 residents.
We encourage you to draft a new letter stating that the message from Dec. 30 does not speak for the Pasadena City Council and that you and your colleagues are still reviewing the materials and plan to consider the language of SB 677, which is now in print and available to the public.
Thank you for your attention to these matters.
Sincerely,
Mi'cka.e/ ^M^i^A^.
Michael Canavan
Chapter Chair
Abundant Housing Pasadena
Azeen Khanmalek
Executive Director
Abundant Housing LA