CORRESPONDENCE
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Courtney Morris •
Tuesday, March 31, 2026 7:06 PM
PublicComment-AutoResponse; cityclerk
Public Comment: 710 Stub Visioning - St. John Ave Safety Concerns Some people who received this message don't often get email from1m. Learn why this is important [ I ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you tooM/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 Members of the City Council,
Thankyouforthe thoughtful presentation on the 710 Stub revisioning project and for the work that has gone into it. I watched via livestream from home.
My family and I, including our three young children, live in the first house next to Singer Park near the corner of California and St. John, so this project has a direct impact on our daily Lives. Since purchasing our home in 2022, we have experienced break-insthatwecan only attribute to the long-standing vacant properties leftbyCaltrans and the instability created by years of mismanagement. We are encouraged to finally see these homes selling and Look forward to welcoming new neighbors, including those connected to Huntington h-lospital. We strongly encourage the City to accept transfer of all available vacant properties to help move this process forward.
The impacts of this prolonged vacancy, and slumlord level management by CalTrans, are not abstract.
Our neighbor across the street passed away inside his home and went unnoticed for an extended period.
Agents for CalTrans repeatedly posted notices on his door about late rent and abandonment of property - and never intervened otherwise. It has been probably 6 months since then - and this week, his belongings are being tossed into a giant dumpster. I heard many presentations last night about the harms done to this community dating back LONG before we have been here - but want to remind people that they are still being done.
We are also dealing with near-nightly drag racing on St. John Avenue, which effectively functions as a quarter-mile stretch due to the Lack of enforcement and traffic calming. It is loud, dangerous, and ongoing. When I have reached out to the City Service Center for support, I have been told to replace our windows, which is not feasible for a historic home, or to ask neighbors to also report the issue, which is not realistic given that many surrounding homes are vacant. In the meantime, my 5-year-old, 2.5-year- old, and 5-month-old are routinely awakened at night by engine noise and deliberate acceleration.
We strongly support the City's vision for housing, commercial use, and especially expanded green space (please no office space. the LAST thing we need is more vacant office buildings). However, we urge the City to act immediately on traffic and speed calming measures on St. John. Residents should 1 not have to wait years for a larger project, especially when temporary, proven solutions like speed tables can be implemented now.
Please prioritize near-term solutions that improve Livability while long-term plans are developed, and feasibility of those very Large and exciting plans are being determined.
Thankyou foryourtime and consideration.
Sincerely,
CourtneyWeil
2 Dear City Council, my name is Max Dyson, and I'm a senior at Sequoyah High School in Pasadena. I go to school and spend most of my time in this community, which means the decisions made through the 710 Vision Plan will directly shape my daily life for years to come. My specific request is this: dedicate a significant portion of the Vision Plan's streetscape and plaza design budget to tree canopy and cooling features.
The 710 Vision Plan acknowledges that Pasadena's "heat stress" days could triple by 2080, and that the area's existing asphalt-heavy, low-canopy environment already intensifies the urban heat island effect. As heat stress increases, so will electrical demand, making cooling strategies essential (Vision Plan p. 161).
This connects directly to the Vision Plan's Organizing Concept of Communitty repair, and health and well being as well as Sustanilbity, climate, and resilance, I believe shade and cooling infrastructure are central to achieving that goal.
Research consistently shows that urban tree canopy reduces surface temperatures by up to 45°F and lowers ambient air temperatures by 2-9°F (EPA Urban Heat Island Effect data).
Shade must be treated as foundational infrastructure, not an afterthought. This means prioritizing large canopy trees along every street and public space to create continuous shade coverage. Additionally, I hope to see the integration of shade structures, pergolas with climbing vines, shade sails, trellises, and green walls throughout plazas and pedestrian areas.
I also encourage the group to consider water features as an additional cooling strategy.
Research shows that fountains and other "blue spaces" considerably reduce heat stress and improve public mental health and social well-being.
I'll leave you with this question to carry forward: If shade and cooling are truly a priority, how will this plan make sure they actually get built, and don't get cut when budgets get tight? I;
"
^?3
$R
~^^
§^
z>
r~k3
CS3
L"0
ry>
3»
-0
?0
CT>
:CT»
=s
0 C<5
^0
rn
0 rn
<
m
0 52RESTORATIVE CITIES
e
I
ilg
I
g y
r
vW.
Sfe^
B«yc.
•a
FIGURE 3.3 Cooling water mister, Shanghai Expo Park, China. Source: Jiapeng Sheng. ~ ,.:,l|
P-rs s
ss"Bi i
•[••',;:»•:'•!'
my» • 3S
s
a"
»sin K
•
L<
wai M•wra"
i8S
»• an w•I »
II 4
••.w»
n^
<»"•
as
s
i
a"
m
w
dffi
•^
w^^
ss-
SB
•d
a
<
T
UrbanShade
.UjcbjanShadtt is a stiucture that
contains vines plants that cllimbs
and grows over the structure and
creates a shade by Mocking direct
sunshine.
Shade is an important issue in
temperate and tropicai zones for
providing cooling and shelter from
the sun. PfQviding certain
configurations of shading is an
impsr^int pas^e solar lechnicju^ it
also has been shown that the shade
from a natural trea can be aeverat
degrees cooler than Itiat provided by
artificial structures or umbrelias.
This configuration of blades wwild help to
reduce heat an airborne contamJnaUon in
heavily urttanaed zones that doesn't have
dedicated araas to place sonvmtfonal trees
This structure also has the function to be low
consumption street lamp that has the capacity to
work wth energy provided by the plant itself
(according to a recent publication wrote by Davifi
Slrik, "Green electricity produclion with living plants Ihacferiain a fuel cell", 2008}
^11^
%
Dear City Council,
My name is Hart LippSmith and I am a Junior at Sequoyah High School in Pasadena. I went to the Sequoyah K-8 for middle school, right next to the 710 stub. Now I'm at the Sequoyah High School and I am quite excited to be in an elective where we're learning about the history of the 710 stub and how it works.
I am writing this letter to recommend that you will put a community garden in the 710 property.
The Vision Plan already includes plans for greenspace and trees in the neighborhood under the Resilience and Sustainability section. Both green space and trees are wonderful, but a community garden would meet this goal to an exemplary standard.
In the Resilience and Sustainability section, the Vision Plan emphasizes making a more comfortable environment with our current and anticipated future struggles with climate change.
A community garden extends the effort for a healthier planet outside of the new neighborhood.
Growing food instead of buying it from a grocery store is a way to be more sustainable.
Lowering one's use of large-scale agriculture that harms the environment is a wonderful way to take personal initiative in the face of climate change.
Green space, especially green space that is interactive, is proven to increase mental health and wellbeing. A study through the National Institute of Health encourages the incorporation of "shared spaces which facilitate interaction" (Rogerson and Barton). A community garden is a piece of green infrastructure that encourages social interaction.
Growing and caring for a plant can bring a sense of purpose into someone's life. Harvesting a tomato that took months to grow can generate appreciation for California's large agricultural economy. This could help Pasadena be more connected to California as a whole.
In a study done on community gardening and its impact on stress levels, researchers found that "community gardeners reported higher levels of resilience and optimism than the non-gardening control group" (Koay and Dillon). Wouldn't it be wonderful to build a neighborhood that has resilience and optimism boosters built into its infrastructure? Before the Eaton fires, the Altadena Community Garden had a 2 year long waitlist to have a plot for a growing season. The garden has been closed since the Eaton fires. By building a community garden in the Pasadena area, this could relieve some of that waitlist and bring growth back into people's lives after the fires.
Please consider adding a community garden into the 710 Stub.
Kindly,
Hart LippSmith
p
Is
-n:<
3?
00 Is.
1~~3
^
cr>
2 ^
SD
0 m
g
n
r--
m
33 ^
cn
73 m
0 m
3 <
I 3
cn
r^j
K
?ys.<»
;i
^
fs a-
^s
iS Si^?
IfIK •>S^m^^m iiy 'Ki^ m-€,^-^iS
i^t»4
S£ •fc;
m
mg^
m
Altadena Community Garden, 2024.
<»
,.fe
•^mf
»
gE
i@ ;Bs
^
^I?
sti
^
mi s*-.*•
I^m^ y^ia ifo^3 I
U!
--CS&i ^^ a
66m^ 5^»»
8 A community garden in an urban area
^mI ^S5s. gl
s',
ss$xSm 8-Sy &mI
:fi
^s
<•..
^
sa
^?"«
£^.* m
•»>
m m
Niles
Potential Layout of a Community Garden
These are the studies I referenced:
Way Inn Koay & Denise Dillon. "Community Gardening: Stress, Well-Being, and Resilience Potentials." National Library of Medicine, 2020.
httDS://Dmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.aov/articles/PMC7558991/
Jo Barton & Mike Rogerson. "The importance ofgreenspace for mental health." National Library of Medicine, 2017. httDS://Dmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.aov/articles/PMC5663018/ Catherine Jurca
Pasadena, CA 91106
April 8, 2026
RECEIVED
^APR-8 ftM11^33
CiTY Ci£R^
CITY OF PASADENA
The Honorable Mayor Gordo and Members of the City Council City of Pasadena
Via email
Re: Consideration of Vision Plan for the 710 Property
Dear Mayor Gordo and Members of the City Council:
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft Vision Plan and Advisory Committee recommendations. I am impressed by the efforts of all involved, especially the Council-appointed Advisory Committee. This is a project of great significance and enormous complexity, and I am grateful that the expertise of residents was brought to bear so much in the visioning process.
I support the City's broad goals to develop the 710 project site with housing, open space, and other amenities, and to include a robust restorative justice component to compensate individuals and communities harmed by the freeway's construction.
But as one of thousands of residents who live in multi-family housing near the project area, I also want to raise concerns. The Committee mentioned some of these, but others have not been seriously considered, let alone studied or addressed in the Vision Plan. A "vision plan" sounds fuzzy, but it makes very concrete recommendations for future development while remaining largely indifferent to the impacts. I ask Council to acknowledge how much work needs to be done before vision becomes reality and to clarify measures that will be taken on behalf of adjacent areas.
Pasadena Must Retain Title to the 710 Property
The Land Use and Mobility Committee's (LUMC) recommendation #23/ that Pasadena retain title to the land and offer ground leases/ is critical. Out state government has repeatedly demonstrated that they do not respect local planning and zoning decisions, regardless of how thoughtfully they are developed or implemented. The legislature's continuous onslaught of bills and revisions to existing bills makes it impossible for cities to know what the rules will be even a year from now. The stakes are high, with cities risking the loss of all control over housing production, even if only temporarily (the dreaded "builder's remedy").
Unless Council adopts recommendation #23, the City would also be unable to achieve its design goals to ensure that over time the project "fit[s] in the context of the area" and respects "Pasadena's unique sense of place" (#19) as best it can. One cannot overstate this point: the State could not care less about Pasadena's sense of place. Even our own elected state representatives have done little to protect it.
Please note that the recommendation to retain title does not preclude home-ownership opportunities sought by both the LUMC and the Restorative Justice Committee (RJC). 2 The Study Area Lacks a Definition
I was impressed that the LUMC offered as their very first recommendation:
1) No net additional daily vehicle trips through the study area should be the goal against which all of the other land use decisions are made. The transportation system should be designed to minimize through traffic and facilitate local mobility (emphasis added).
The problem is that the exact boundaries of the "study area" are unknown. I could not find a description anywhere in the Perkins Eastman Vision Plan, as I mentioned at the Council meeting on March 30.
The Vision Plan refers to a study area, a relincjuishment area, and a project area (the latter apparently refers to "The 'Northern Stub' of the land relinquished[, which] covers the area from Union Street to California Boulevard, and St. John Avenue to Pasadena Avenue - an area of roughly 50 acres" as well as "its immediate surrounds" (Perkins Eastman Draft Vision Plan, March 30, 2026, p. 20). What are the immediate surrounds? If the study area is different from the project area, how is it different? If it is the same, why are two terms confusingly used to describe one area?
Each of the named areas, including "immediate surrounds/' must be clearly defined in words and delineated in maps of legible scale.
This objection is not splitting hairs. The lack of clear definitions is a serious deficiency in the Vision Plan draft. Presumably a "study area" for a project of this magnitude would include consideration of areas outside the boundaries of the project area. Study area certainly implies that the consultants are considering something larger than the project area that factors into their recommendations. We have been told repeatedly how important context has been in developing the Vision Plan (i.e. most recently, the Perkins Eastman presenter told Council that "one of the things that we looked at extensively.. .is response to context" (March 30, 2026, approx. 2.05.30 in video). Old Pasadena is a context the consultants care about. And the Playhouse District is as well. But not the residential areas that will be greatly impacted by many of the proposed changes. I have sat through several presentations on the Vision Plan and have found the consultants spent no time on local residential neighborhood contexts (an exception is the newer Westgate apartments, mentioned on p. 36 of the draft), which may or may not be part of the study area.
Thus, when the LUMC urgently recommends "No net additional daily vehicle trips through the study area should be the goal against which all of the other land use decisions are made/' neighboring residents can be reasonably concerned about what is included in the study area. They also, of course, wonder about the distribution of daily trips within that Study Area. The fact is, no net increase can still result in substantial impacts. I asked a member of the Committee about the Study Area and was told that it included Orange Grove and "sometimes" Fair Oaks. Hmmmm. A clear description of the Study Area is needed. Otherwise it's impossible to assess the scope of the recommendations.
3 Neighborhood Impacts
Concerns about traffic impacts usually mean concerns about density. But I and many of my neighbors (who only learned of the project when I told them) agree that the 710 property is an unprecedented opportunity to add housing and to make some amends for unjust displacement to build the 710 interchange. I also understand that it is not feasible to develop the 710 property with housing unless the stub and existing on- and off-ramps are demolished.
But the Vision Plan options are committed to redesigning the north/south street system tout court, well beyond eliminating 210/134 access and egress within the "project area." I hope you can understand why residents on Orange Grove and surrounding streets would be concerned about where the traffic will go, including the thousands of drivers who will continue to move between the 134/210 freeways and the 110 each weekday, and why we are dismayed these serious concerns are barely acknowledged.
The Vision Plan acknowledges that north-south traffic volume in the project area (and outside it) is far greater than east-west traffic volumes (p. 71). The high-level traffic study prepared by Iteris, found that traffic would be significantly worse on both Orange Grove and Fair Oaks with any of the five alternatives (Appendix C, p. 300; the analysis looked at an unidentified "congested location" on each street). The Vision Plan acknowledges traffic on Orange Grove and Fair Oaks is an issue (each has "capacity limitations" and the existence of "sensitive uses" such as "residential, park" [p. 24]), but beyond that has little to say. It states that "Existing north-south traffic would need to be redistributed at the subregional and regional level (either further to the east or west than Orange Grove Boulevard, Fair Oaks Avenue, Marengo Ave, and Arroyo Parkway or via other modes of travel), otherwise that traffic would need to be accommodated within the Project's new street network" (p. 24, emphasis added). This claim assumes that existing traffic 'would be shifted beyond Orange Grove and Fair Oaks, which does not make a lot of sense.
It is difficult to imagine that north-south traffic would be profitably redistributed west of Orange Grove to the residential and recreational streets of South Grand Avenue or South Arroyo Blvd (Figure 1). Among other issues, redirected traffic would now esuit s*
it A^toyo Pat^
w
W 0<1 Mw Bhd
1}.
WOt)M»f8M
I
.s:;:-i:^:
.So
ik.kn.nSt'
WSdlt«u«Or
Atboia. ... . . : »...
^ I Wri^y Mansi&n <|||jl J Wntriy Or
^ / @:t«k*»
^ i The Vaitey Hunt CHit>
Mtiin«mt*.@; j :| "
•^ :;::/^'''^'pa^'o^^^,i''
Wttdi
!
::g"'
# C«e(omia »<fd
laUwwSwtse^l,,^ ^Uitcm»Rd
StxKort
t.
»wt-
?
s
Fh&y.^nw Sd»o^
I
;w»y»)
:<tfe if |p^ne
/ I
Sdllwi Si;;i
. ..^•c.imi.uri
^gwf^
V^tMt^gtw Hospit^
West low®;
&t.i
Brtifofd;M«iA*n>N
i{
,e
8riWo(rt^i*St ^
i'"»i»i " Figure 1. Google maps, April 6,2026.
4 move through two National Register-designated historic districts, including one that runs the length of South Arroyo Blvd (Figure 2).
^ff-\
\
T
•-8 5••ft» 0
-<
0OldPasadena
SRy tu
L <<.'Arroyo
Terrace '?•<?- A^
<
0tU
0 Ross
V, < Groveco
f ^
ARBOR
-z.
Q
^ ^ec
-n
sSo fc•y
w
^<"r
ORNIAu
,LALOA ilA\^
FORD Peak?Sl a0
^
<-.tflv r ^»•^
f5-
^ 0u royo Seco
0 <
03)
'^^
Bellefontalne
LU
a
aFigure 2. National Register Historic Districts in purple I would like to advocate for the alternative that the Vision Plan cannot envision: that some of that traffic should indeed be accommodated within the project area, that virtually all the project goals can be met without shifting as much of the traffic as possible elsewhere. It is essential to give this alternative serious consideration.
Who Cares about Orange Grove?
South Orange Grove Blvd. is one of the most historically significant streets in Pasadena.
I assumed that a study area for the project would have to include Orange Grove, because how could a meaningful Vision Plan for such a monumental project not contemplate impacts to this magnificent and historic boulevard merely one block away/ where thousands of residents live?
Perkins Eastman is careful to point out that certain streets within the project area are not pedestrian friendly. But because they do not look at Orange Grove/ they do not need to acknowledge what an extraordinary pedestrian street it is. Incredibly, the Vision Plan suggest the opposite (p. 35). People of all ages, from new parents to the elderly, promenade all day long. Residents walk to and from Old Pasadena and to the A-line, less put off by the bridges along Del Mar and Green than the consultants would have you believe (did they never look up to see the mountains?). 5 At the hearing the consultant mentioned that walkable streets have buildings that are close to the street. Sometimes. This is true of a street like Colorado, but its walkability owes so much to the remarkable historic architecture of which this city has been an exemplary steward. By contrast, the walkability of Orange Grove is enhanced rather than diminished by the unusually large setbacks and wide public rights of way. And like Colorado/ Orange Grove is appealing in part because of its architectural excellence, from the handful of remaining single-family homes to the well-designed/ low- to mid- rise apartment and condominium buildings built between the 1950s and 1970s. r
fr
^
ASfc m
*?
^
^^ ...
»
;i»% ;^-
ms m¥ 3sm
f*-
:£"i?;••;
@
•aa
asli §63:
a•SK
a
Figure 3. Architectural distinction, mature trees, gracious setbacks, and historic lamp posts contribute to the walkability of South Orange Grove.
There is no formula for walkability. Westgate Apartments, with its buildings close to the street and landscaped pathways/ is an unpleasant pedestrian experience.
Even with City control of the land and the ambition to remain true to "Pasadena's unique sense of place/' the scale of the 710 project, the basic fact of construction costs and quality in the second quarter of the 21st century, and the ambitious project goals will collectively limit what can be accomplished. Housing will be provided, new businesses set up/ and open space created. That's all great. But it is unrealistic and unreasonable to imagine that the project area's streets would be more desirable places to stroll than the surrounding areas that are well loved now and receive so little consideration in the Vision Plan, unless those streets are specifically designed in a way that reduces the walkability of adjacent areas through the addition of even more cars.
Figure 4 is a fairly stock image from the Vision Plan, but it's not bad as an approximation of what will be built, and is precisely in line with the consultants' thoughts on what makes a human-scale, walkable, neighborhood-feeling place. Yuck. Is there really anyone inspired by this? Or who feels this captures the term human connection7 The reason Pasadena has cared so meticulously for many of its historic 6 wsr-
^.-^a
t^ff
V.^
<~».i:
^
^
fll»
»s Ms^ twf^
1 /41 a
Design W"dpl<»
Thfee Neighburhyods
Vision Concepts
Pubtic Realm Str<
s;-^
^jllj.j^l
!i!
^^9 «
tei
a EB
ySk
ufy iSt"5B?
i
Itt
*=sA Vteual Catalogue o( Spwij»t Pfaccss ;^-.;/
ffi^, mF
w!\% i=:-i.;::>\ ^.Sfl^11^^"a .^MM sa
»a
d•l!SSa!
Figure 4. Council Vision Plan Presentation, March 30, 2026, approx. 2.21.10 buildings since the 1970s is because their appeal is irreplaceable and unreproducible in our time.
Conclusion
I understand why many members of the community are so excited by this project. And Perkins Eastman has radiated enthusiasm as new urbanists confronted with a (seemingly) blank slate to invent a new neighborhood from scratch. But it is not a blank slate.
There are important older areas that would experience devastating impacts if this vision is not constrained by more analysis and use of common sense. I ask Council to reassure residents that you will envision and develop a plan that promotes smooth traffic flow but does not simply relocate that traffic onto north-south streets outside the project area, or wish it away through hoped-for new concessions from CalTrans. Please ensure that our neighborhood would retain its walkability and unique sense of place, neither of which are looked after adequately in the Vision Plan to date.
Council needs to move expeditiously and smartly. It is easy to overlook these issues in the rush to take advantage of this marvelous land area that can and must be sensitively incorporated into the community writ large.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Catherine Jurca
South Orange Grove Blvd.
Outlook
710 Interpretive Center - Correspondence for City Council's April 13th meeting From Marcus Renner
Date Thu 4/9/2026 12:01 PM
To PublicComment-AutoResponse <[email protected]> B) 1 attachment (408 KB)
RCC_Councit_Letter_04092026.pdf;
[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.
Greetings,
Can you please include the attached letter as correspondence to distribute to the City Council in advance of their April 13th meeting.
Please let me know if you need any more information from me.
Thank you!
Marcus Renner
Marcus Renner, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
"If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." -E.B. White, writer (1899-1985) April 9, 2026
Dear Mayor Gordo and members of Pasadena's City Council, The growing coalition of individuals and organizations listed at the end of this letter believes the City should partner with local organizations and advocates to create a Reconnecting Communities interpretive center within the 710 project area. The transformation of the "ditch," a symbol of Pasadena's long history of segregation, into a vibrant place of civic connection provides a unique opportunity to share stories of community solidarity and cultural resilience that represent the best of our city.
The specific design, programming, and name for this center should emerge from a community- driven planning process led by city staff or one of its public commissions. However, for ease of reference, we believe the Reconnecting Communities Center (RCC) is an appropriate placeholder. This request aligns with the Reconnecting Communities 710 Advisory Group recommendation for "a permanent, programmable, and publicly accessible physical space reflective of the community" that brings to life the neighborhood that existed where Pasadena's 710 freeway exists today and "triggers reflection of cultural histories for the future." The Advisory Group also recommends "an educational or performing arts component" in the curriculum of local schools and/or libraries. The endorsers of this letter suggest that the best way to realize this recommendation is with a flexible program space of at least 1500 square-feet, enough for four exhibition halls or galleries, as well as a handful of indoor and outdoor spaces for meetings, workshops, and public gatherings. The Center could be a stand-alone structure or exist within another building planned for the site.
Such a multi-use space, managed cooperatively by city staff and a collaborative of existing cultural and heritage organizations, including the Restorative Justice Community Oversight Committee recommended by 710 Advisory Group, and will help all corners of our diverse community feel seen and heard and ensure that the 710 area serves the entire city. In addition to exhibits, meetings, and workshops, the RCC could host walking tours, film screenings, presentations, panel discussions, poetry readings, and pop-up theater performances. It could be a resource for wellness services and a hub for neighborhood news as well as providing a gathering space for ArtNight and holiday programming. Such a center would enhance the visibility of the city's arts, heritage, cultural, and community organizations that use the space and allow the City to provide progress reports on the build out of the new neighborhood.
The center could also be a starting point for students to understand what the transformation of the 710 represents. It could host school field trips, exhibit art and design work from PUSD,PCC,Art Center, and Caltech, and provide youth internships and employment. Becoming a paid youth decent and neighborhood tour guide would be a highly competitive position. Responsibility to program one of the halls or galleries could even rotate year-to-year or season-to-season between the different high schools.
The design and programming of the RCC should be a featured item within a community-driven, cultural planning process that addresses the size, location, financing, phasing, and management of public spaces across the 710 project area, what the draft vision plan refers to as the "public realm." But 1 we have included a snapshot of the exhibits and programming the center could provide as an addendum to this letter. Below are some preliminary responses to concerns about the feasibility of such a space:
Financing - There are a number of options to fund the construction and maintenance of the RCC with the specific costs depending upon the design and features for the center.
A portion of the developer fees associated with construction in the 710 project area; A pooling of the one-percent-for-art funds for development within the project area; A portion of a special assessment district fee paid by businesses within the project area; A localized sales tax on retail and commercial activity within the 710 project area, including farmers' or craft markets;
A sliver of Pasadena's transient occupancy tax, perhaps localized to the hotel proposed for the 710 area in the draft vision plan;
Revenue generated by advertising in and around the proposed transit hub or other public commercial spaces owned by the City;
Private philanthropy, corporate sponsorship or community fundraising coordinated through a "friends group" for the center;
Rental fees for institutional or corporate events;
Partnerships with regional universities or cultural institutions similar to USC Pacific Asia Museum; County, state or federal grant funding.
A combination of these sources would provide the most stability for the center. The programming for the RCC would come from community groups and institutions, which would reduce the need for a dedicated full-time staff position.
Management- Management of the RCCand coordination of programming could occur in a number of ways. The City Manager could assign the curation and coordination of activities at the RCC to a city staff member in consultation with a particular city commission. The RCC could also be incorporated into the public library system, which already maintains a number of historic collections and reference information about the city. Alternatively, the City could contract with an existing non-profit organization or institution to manage all or part of the RCC, such as recruitment, training, and coordination of volunteer docents who can staff a public information counter during business hours. A cooperative arrangement for oversight with a collaborative of existing cultural and heritage organizations would reduce the burden on city government.
Partnerships - Rather than duplicating the efforts of existing non-profit organizations and institutions, having an additional city-sponsored exhibit space near Old Pasadena will allow existing organizations to expand their programming and increase their visibility, helping new audiences to discover and support their work. Planning for easy bike and pedestrian connectivity from the RCC to nearby cultural spaces, such as the Pasadena Museum of History, the Gamble House, Arlington Garden, the Norton Simon Museum, and the Central Library will only enhance this effect. The RCC will also encourage partnerships between different organizations, large and small, to assemble exhibits and programming. This could even be a prerequisite to secure a spot on the calendar. 2 The Reconnecting Pasadena 710 Vision Plan should include a vehicle for actively bringing our diverse communities together and making everyone in the city feel a part of this transformative, twenty- year project of turning a symbol of Pasadena's segregated past into a sustainable, affordable, and accessible neighborhood that becomes a model for Pasadena and the larger region. A Reconnecting Communities Center can be this vehicle, and we urge you to join us in endorsing this idea and directing the Planning Department to include this in their scope of work for the area's specific plan.
Thank you for considering this request. We plan to collect additional endorsements for this proposal in the coming weeks. For additional information on this proposal, you can reach out to Marcus Rennerat
List of endorsers
Groups, Organizations, Institutions
710 Community Fellows Program
Center for Restorative Justice
Arroyo Seco Placekeepers
Sequoyah School
Individuals
Marcus Renner
Brian Biery
Danny Parker
LarryWilson
Tim Ivison
Jenna Cobb
3 Addendum: Sample Exhibits and Programming
Stories of community and cultural resilience
At least half of the space in the center would tell the story of the neighborhood displaced by the 710 freeway and how different segments of our community have maintained personal and cultural connections in the face of economic hardship, social segregation, and natural disasters. These stories of solidarity, mutual aid, and personal pride are inspirational and represent the best of our community.
Exhibits could draw from Pasadena's 1995 Ethnic History Project, which describes the diversity of Pasadena's cultural heritage, as well as the recently completed Historic Places Project completed by Pasadena's planning department. It could also make use of the historical research commissioned for the 710 project itself; the oral histories and photographs from existing heritage organizations; and information from the numerous community historians that live in our area.
Permanent exhibits:
Acknowledgement ofGabrieleno/Tongva dispossession, endurance, and cultural revitalization; Life along Vernon Avenue;
710 Displacement: Families and Institutions - including showing of "Amplify" oral history video Potential rotating exhibits:
Overcoming internment: Japanese-American communities of Pasadena and Altadena; The rich diversity of Pasadena's Latinidad;
The Armenian diaspora finds a home in Pasadena;
Outlasting exclusion: Chinese settlements in the Western San Gabriel Valley Community responses to redlining and racial covenants during the 20th century; Revitalization of faith communities displaced by Pasadena's freeway construction; Caltrans Tenants in their Own Words, 1964-2024
Collective caretaking: Responses to the Eaton fire;
Roses for everyone: Diversifying the Tournament of Roses; Histories and evolution of specific neighborhoods in the city; Lessons in remembrance and recovery from other communities around the world; Exhibits from local artists, artisans, arts organizations.
City building and civic participation
Ten years ago, the late David Wolf, an urban designer, architect, and lifelong Pasadena resident, used Pasadena's 1916 "My City" exhibit as a touchstone to advocate for a "permanent interactive incubation space for planning" that would allow city departments and commissions to more effectively share information with the public and encourage civic participation. The RCC embraces this idea as it was the disconnect between city and state government and community voices that resulted in the 710 displacements and the grassroots engagement of local residents that halted the freeway's completion 4 and set the stage for reconnecting Pasadena. Interactive mapping technology and visualization software has opened the door to new modes of public involvement in the decisions that shape our city. Drop-in visitors could review designs of proposed projects, see calendars of upcoming meetings, and write or record public comments. Through exhibits, workshops, and presentations on urban design and city building, the RCC would become a hub for civic participation, demonstrate Pasadena's longstanding commitment to its history, as well as provide additional spaces for city commissions and advisory groups to meet and host public events.
Permanent exhibits:
Story of and fight against the 710;
Sustainability features of the new 710 construction;
Timeline of removal of the freeway and neighborhood construction; Potential rotating exhibits:
The Bennett Plan and Pasadena's history of progressive planning; City Beautiful Association and the 1916 "My City" planning exhibit; Revitalization of Old Pasadena - A long and winding road The rise, fall, and future of freeways in Southern California Railroads, red cars, and light rail: How Pasadena's rail lines shape development Tools to make housing affordable housing;
Fire-safe city building and landscape design;
Exhibits of urban innovations from Caltech, JPL, and local engineering firms 5