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Agenda Report
August 24, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Manager's Office
SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE TECHNICAL
ADVISORY PANEL (ULI TAP) REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR THE RELINQUISHED 710 STUB PROPERTY
I
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Find that the action proposed herein is covered by the commonsense exemption set forth in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) as CEQA only applies to projects that may have a significant effect on the environment; and
2. Provide feedback and direction to staff in the following areas:
a. The recommendations prepared by ULI TAP; and
b. Options for governance models to engage in public/private partnerships; develop infrastructure improvements; implement Council-approved restorative justice elements; and oversee development, buildout and management of the relinquishment area.
BACKGROUND:
In August 2022, the 710 Stub (Figure 1) was relinquished by the California Department of Transportation (Cattrans) and the City gained legal ownership of approximately 50 acres referred to as the SR-710 Stub area. Following this:
• By April of 2023, the City Council appointed Reconnecting Communities 710 Advisory Group (RC 710 Advisory Group) to provide input to staff on Reconnecting Pasadena 710 Vision Plan;
MEETING OF.08/24/2026AGENDA ITEM NO.8
Review of the U LI TAP Report for the 710 Relinquished Property August 24, 2026
In March 2024 Perkins Eastman was hired to assist in the 24-month vision plan process, with a delivery date for the Vision Plan of March 2026.
The Vision Plan was approved by the City Council in April of this year with the accompanying Restorative Justice components approved in June.
The Vision Plan is meant to be the foundation for additional work to come, including the Planning Department led Specific Plan and environmental documents, establishment of an EIFD, and development of the Restorative Justice work program.
Figure 1: 710 Stub Area
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CONTEXT
As the City worked on the 710 Vision Plan, the governance structure and implementation phasing became emerging topics of discussion. Staff began studying comparable models that could provide guidance on how other communities have managed similar projects. During the final stage of the Vision Plan process an excellent opportunity arose to have the ULIconvene a panel to review the relinquishment and Vision Plan and prepare an analysis of possible options for project governance and implementation phasing.
THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE
ULI is a global nonprofit education and research organization comprised of land development professionals with local and national experiences and backgrounds whose mission is to influence the built environment in meaningful ways. Urban Land Institute, Los Angeles (ULI-LA) is the local branch of the organization comprised of local area 2 Review of the ULI TAP Report for the 710 Relinquished Property August 24,2026
professionals. The City has a history of working with ULI on land use and community development issues.
City staff met with ULI-LA's executive team in late 2025 to discuss the project and invited ULI-LA to determine if it would merit assembling a technical advisory panel for the benefit of the City. The project was selected based on the uniqueness of the Vision Plan and the once in a generation opportunity to reconnect approximately 50 acres of developable land back into the City's historic neighborhoods alongside the City's first Restorative Justice Framework. ULI-LA's executive team agreed to assemble a Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) of professionals, including Richard Bruckner who was appointed chair of the TAP and previously the County of Los Angeles's and the City of Pasadena's Planning Director.
The U LI TAP met the first week of March 2026 for a two-day roundtable of nine local practitioners in urban planning, real estate development, project funding, and public/private pariinerships. In addition to the group's collective experience and knowledge, the TAP conducted interviews with other land development professionals associated with various successful projects nationwide. Participants were asked about their experience with a specific project and what "lessons learned" they would impart to the City as it prepares to develop the 710 Stub. Case studies discussed during the panel interviews include the Seattle Waterfront project, the Denver Union Station, Battery Park City Authority, East Bank Development Authority in Tennessee, and the Presidio in San Francisco. At the end of the two-day session, a summary presentation of their work was given by the TAP to the 710 Ad Hoc Committee and executive team.
The completed report was submitted to the City in May 2026 (Attachment A) and is outlined below.
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION THEMES
Themes identified in the TAP'S analysis, centered around the complexity and aspirational goals of the Vision Plan and how the City must align in order to meet its goals. These themes help organize and prioritize the next steps the City should take in relation to the 710 Stub project:
1. Vision Clarity - The project will unfold over multiple decades, it is important to identify a foundational guiding principle to anchor the project throughout changes in management, city council, economic and political cycles.
2. Outcome-focused - The most effective way to manage the project's complexity, is through a structured and phased approach where each phase establishes intended outcomes and the conditions for the next phase.
3. Governance for Success - A project of this scale and duration with a governance model that can sustain focus over a long period of time across various development factors.
3 Review of the ULI TAP Report for the 710 Relinquished Property August 24, 2026
4. Invest for Returns - The 710 Stub in its current state, does not automatically create value. Upfront public investment, particularly infrastructure, planning and entitlements, is necessary to engage private investment.
5. Certainty in the Process - From a development and investment perspective, the success of the project will depend on how predictable the development process for the project is. Private investment responds to clearly defined rules, and expectations. The City must build this into its process.
6. Flexibility for Balanced Outcomes - A flexible and multi-modal approach to the development of the property will be necessary, considering the proposed various uses and goals for the site.
7. City Creates the Structure, Makes the Rules - Regardless of the governance structure implemented for the project, the City will remain the sole owner and its role will not diminish over time. A coordinated "strike team" that navigates between the City and the project governance structure will ensure efficiency.
8. Embed Restorative Justice - The central challenge of the Vision Plan's restorative justice component will be implementation. For the restorative justice framework to be effective, its principles must be integrated into the project's core processes and evolve into durable, measurable outcomes.
9. Commitment + Adaptation = Success - The project should be approached as a long-term civic effort that will evolve over time without losing its core values and goals. Establishing a project structure that can respond to change over time should be fundamental.
GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
One of the TAP'S overarching themes in its report is that process drives outcomes. The distinct goals of the 710 Stub project call for a new type of governance structure that provides the flexibility the City's municipal format can sometimes struggle to accommodate. A hybrid governance structure for the area must be adaptable to public- private partnerships, investment, and development needs, and capable of enduring economic cycles and political trends while remaining focused on future implementation phases. The magnitude of the infrastructure and land-use development needed for the area requires a leader and team who are experienced in large land negotiations, real estate development and market shifts, and they must have the authority to work independently but within the rules and regulations that will be adopted by the City Council.
The TAP report does not recommend a specific governance model but rather identifies a list of characteristics that were prominent in other successful projects similar in complexity to the 710 Stub project. Those characteristics include:
4 Review of the ULI TAP Report for the 710 Relinquished Property August 24, 2026
1. Clarity of roles and decision-making authority - The creation of an executive role outside the City Council structure whose focus is solely on the development and operation of the 710 Stub project. The City already has experience working with external governing bodies within its purview, including the Rose Bowl Operating Company (RBOC) and the Pasadena Center Operating Company (PCOC).
2. Capacity for sustained attention - A separate governance structure that's sole focus is the 710 Stub development is necessary to successfully create and maintain the momentum to deliver the 710 Vision Plan.
3. Insulation from short-term disruption while maintaining public accountability - An independent governance structure can shield the project from political and governmental issues that may arise and occupy the time and energy of City administrators and department executives.
4. Ability to coordinate complex financial, technical, and community functions - The new governance team should have vast experience in complex real estate development, economic development strategies, and familiarity with private investment in order to meet the City's strategic project goals.
5. Equivalent level of technical knowledge and experience - A successful governance body will be equal parts knowledge and experience.
While the listed recommendations are characteristics of successful project governance, the TAP makes it clear that the City will retain a central role throughout the process.
PROPOSED IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK
The TAP'S report identified and outlined what they see as logical phasing steps for the project given its magnitude and complexity. Each phase should achieve specific outcomes that enable the transition into the next phase:
Phase 0: Vision Study
• Formalize and adopt a clear mission and guiding objectives to serve as the project's long-term foundation.
Having guiding principles and a mission statement will ensure continued alignment with the City's and the project's long-term goals. The TAP'S report includes a set of guiding principles and a mission statement as a starting point for the City project team to further refine:
U LI Proposed Guiding Principle: From division to connection: A generational investment in Pasadena's neighborhoods and future.
ULI Proposed Mission Statement: To transform the former 710 corridor into a unifying civic asset that reconnects Pasadena's neighborhoods, advances restorative justice, 5 Review of the ULI TAP Report for the 710 Relinquished Property August 24,2026
and creates inclusive opportunities for housing, mobility, economic vitality, and public space— implemented through durable, financially and environmentally sustainable strategies over time.
Phase 1: Pre-Development and Groundwork
• Advance technical studies, define land use capacity, establish a community participation structure, plan infrastructure and secure initial funding, and organize a dedicated City-led project team.
This is the period during which the technical work necessary for Project implementation are developed and completed. The TAP considers this the most consequential phase because of the technical and governance decisions that must be made during this stage. This includes infrastructure plans and funding/finance, completion of a Specific Plan, and the incorporation of sustainable and restorative justice goals.
Phase 2: Entitlement, Governance, and Policy
Complete the Specific Plan and environmental review, define funding/finance and infrastructure delivery strategies, and establish a development authority or equivalent structure to manage project delivery.
With most of the technical studies completed, the City now has the information necessary to make real policy decisions that will set the conditions for private investment and development. This includes creating an implementation framework that is flexible and responsive to entities responsible for delivering various components of the project.
Phase 3: Implementation and Procurement
• Initiate infrastructure delivery, prepare and issue procurement packages, and bring development partners to the project under clearly defined requirements and community benefit commitments
The actual building of the project begins to take shape and begins to move from planning to action. The adherence to the work outlined in previous phases will be reflected here, and how it is received by developers, investors and the public.
Phase 4: Ongoing Development and Operations
Oversee long-term buildout, operations, and maintenance through a financially self-sustaining model that supports public spaces, infrastructure, and community programs.
6 Review of the ULI TAP Report for the 710 Relinquished Property August 24, 2026
This is where most of the investment and development will continue. With a clear implementation program in place, this period will focus on continuing to develop the project area and establishing the City's operational model for it.
CONCLUSION
The ULI Technical Advisory Panel report provides an implementation framework for the governance and buildout of the 710 area. Staff would like to hear the Council's response to the TAP recommendations and feedback on the governance structure the Council seeks to establish.
Staff recommends additional work to outline options for a governance structure derived from successful publicly owned assets developed in partnership with private developers (such as those investigated by the ULI TAP), and including the structure of existing City operating companies of (e.g., RBOC and PCOC) and return to Council for further discussion and direction.
The City project team and Council Ad Hoc have begun studying different projects and governance models. A visit to the Presidio in San Francisco was conducted in July to meet with the governing board and learn from their experiences, and a trip to the Denver Union Station is planned for early September.
NEXT STEPS
Staff plans to return to the Council with the Restorative Justice Work Program in the fall and the Planning Department is preparing to release the Request for Proposals for the Specific Plan within the next few weeks. Work on establishing the EIFD is also underway, with the newly appointed members of the Public Finance Authority (PRA) scheduled to meet for the first time on August 28, 2026. 7 Review of the Urban Land Institute TAP for the 710 Relinquished Property August 24,2026
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact resulting from the action in this report. Staff is seeking response from the ULI TAP report and feedback on potential governance structures staff can study.
Respectfully submitted,
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INIF^ PAIj3^,'^T6p
Acting Assistant City Manager
Prepared by:^
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Wendy Madjas
Senior Pr^jejct Manager
Approved by:
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MATTHEW ^ I^AWKESWORTH
Interim'City Manager
Attachment A- ULI Los Angeles "Reconnecting Pasadena" Technical Assistance Panel report, March 2026
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