RECE?VED
To: Pasadena City Clerk
Re: Correspondence in Support-Agenda Item No. 5 292(1 JAN |? PM [:{)( Meeting Date: January 12, 2026
Project: 434-470 North Lake Avenue - Exclusive Negotiation Agreement withHpiyirtcianldRK Heritage Housing Partners .. CiTY OF PASADENA
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council,
My name is Mr. Ronald Matthews, a Pasadena-based Local Hiring Coordinator, and I respectfully submit this correspondence in support of Agenda Item No. 5, which proposes approval of an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) with Holos Inc. and Heritage Housing Partners for the development ofamixed-use affordable housing project on City-owned property located at 434-470 North Lake Avenue.
I support the City's decision to move forward with this development team and respectfully request that the ENA and any subsequent Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) include a formal First Source Local Hiring Plan with clearly defined workforce participation goals and mandatory monthly workforce and payroll reporting consistent with Pasadena's First Source Local Hiring Ordinance.
This project represents a significant public investment in City-owned land and is intended to deliver affordable housing, health and mental-health services, and community-serving amenities.
The staff report notes that the selected development team has prior experience delivering affordable housing projects in Pasadena and has previously participated in First Source Local Hire with a record of success in applying local preference. That record provides a strong foundation for the city to require that workforce commitments on this project be formally structured, monitored, and enforced.
A Local Hiring Plan with measurable participation goals—supported by monthly reporting—will ensure that construction jobs, apprenticeship opportunities, and prevailing-wage employment generated by this project flow to workers connected to Pasadena and its surrounding communities. Monthly reporting allows the city, staff, and the public to verify performance, identify shortfalls early, and maintain accountability throughout the construction period. This protects the public interest and ensures that the economic benefits of this publicly owned site are realized in real time, not merely promised in concept.
The staff report also correctly identifies the ENA as an administrative action that establishes the framework for negotiating the final development agreement. This makes the ENA the appropriate stage for the City Council to establish clear expectations regarding First Source hiring compliance, workforce outreach, and ongoing reporting so these requirements are embedded in the final project structure.
For these reasons, I respectfully urge the City Council to approve Agenda Item No. 5 while directing that the ENA and any future DDA include:
1/12/2026
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A written First Source Local Hiring Plan with workforce participation goals; and Monthly workforce and payroll reporting to ensure transparency, accountability, and meaningful community economic benefit.
Respectfully submitted,
Mr. Ronald Matthews
Local Hiring Coordinator
Public Comment - Three-Minute Statement
Pasadena City Council - Agenda Item No. 5
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council, my name is Mr. Ronald Matthews, a Pasadena-based Local Hiring Coordinator. I am here this evening in support of Agenda Item No. 5, the proposed Exclusive Negotiation Agreement for the City-owned property at 434-470 North Lake Avenue, and I respectfully urge the Council to ensure that this agreement includes strong First Source local hiring requirements and transparent monthly workforce reporting.
This project represents a major public investment in City-owned land for a mixed-use affordable housing development that will include health and mental-health services and community-serving amenities. While physical development is important, the economic impact of how this project is built is just as important. Construction activity of this scale creates hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in payroll, and the City has both the authority and the responsibility to ensure that those jobs provide meaningful opportunity for workers connected to Pasadena and the surrounding communities.
Local hiring is one of the most direct and effective tools the City must translate development into real economic benefit. These are not just temporary jobs; they are prevailing-wage careers that offer health benefits, skill development, and pathways into the building trades. When local workers are hired on projects like this, their earnings are reinvested in housing, food, transportation, and family needs, creating a multiplier effect that strengthens neighborhood stability and the local economy.
However, local hiring only works when it is backed by accountability. That is why a formal First Source Local Hiring Plan with clear participation goals and mandatory monthly workforce reporting is essential. Monthly reporting allows the City Council, staff, and the public to see whether commitments are being met, to identify shortfalls early, and to make corrections before opportunities are lost. Reporting turns policy into performance and ensures that public goals are achieved during construction, not just discussed at approval.
The development team selected for this ENA has prior experience delivering affordable housing in Pasadena and has previously participated in First Source Local Hire. That history makes this an ideal project to set a clear, enforceable standard for workforce equity. The ENA is the right moment to do that, because it establishes a framework that will govern the negotiation of the final development agreement.
I respectfully urge the Council to approve Agenda Item No. 5 while directing that enforceable First Source local hiring goals and monthly workforce reporting be written into the ENA and carried forward into the final development agreement. Doing so will ensure that this affordable housing project also provides meaningful economic opportunities for workers and families connected to Pasadena. Thank you for your time and consideration. 1 Iraheta, Alba
From:
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2026 5:08 PM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse; Gordo, Victor; Rivas, Jessica; Cole, Rick; Lyon, Jason; Hampton, Tyron; Masuda, Gene; Madison, Steve; Jones, Justin Subject: Re: #5 on the consent calendar
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Dear Mayor Gordo and City Councilmembers,
I just heard from Jim Wong about the target numbers for affordability for the HHP project and I am very pleased and supportive.
There is a good mix of very low (40%), moderate (30%), workforce (20%) and market rate (20%) homeownership units. And a good mix of market rate and low and very low income rental units (80%) and 20% market rate.
Mixed income development is an excellent approach since it integrates people from different economic strata.
Kudos to HHP and to our City for its commitment to affordable housing! Anthony Manousos
Co-founder of Making Housing and Community Happen
On Monday, January 12, 2026 at 04:17:01 PM PST, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
Dear Mayor and City Council members,
We are pleased that City is committed to affordable housing at the Kaiser site, including housing for those with mental health issues.
Heritage Housing Partners (HHP) does excellent work, particularly when it comes to affordable home ownership. HHP is proposing that 80% of the rental units and 90% of the homeownership be "affordable." However, the staff report does not indicate the level of affordability HHP is proposing.
In contrast, the staff report makes it clear that Cypress Community Investments proposed 225 rental units at 30 to 60 percent AMI. The Urban Coalition proposed 337 units at 30 to 80 percent AMI.
For MHCH to support this project, we need to know what percentage of the units will be for very low, low and moderate income? Will any of the units be designated for those with mental health issues?
Thank you for all you do to support affordable housing in our city! 01/12/2026
Item 5
2 Anthony Manousos and Jill Shook
Making Housing and Community Happen